Turbochargers

Whenever individuals discuss racing cars, or other high performance cars, it is not long before the subject of turbochargers comes up. Turbochargers are also found on large diesel engines. Turbos are popular because they are able to significantly increase the horsepower of an engine without a comparable increase in weight.

Turbochargers are a kind of forced induction system. A turbo compresses the air that flows into the engine and the advantage of this is that it allows the engine to squeeze more air into a cylinder. More air means more fuel can also be added, this in turn means that with each explosion more power is released. Turbocharge your engine and you will achieve more power overall. This can also significantly improve the engine's power to weight ratio.

In order to do this the turbocharger unit uses the engine's exhaust flow to spin a turbine and this in turn spins an air pump. The turbine in a turbocharger can spin at speeds of around 150,000 RPM, which is around 30 times faster than most car engines. As it is connected to the exhaust the temperature in the turbine can be very high.

An obvious way to increase the output power of an engine is to increase the flow of air and fuel into the unit. This can be achieved by using larger cylinders, but sometimes this is not possible. A turbocharger is a simpler and more compact way of achieving more power. Typically a turbocharger will boost the air pressure by 6 to 8 pounds per square inch, which translates into about 50 percent more air being squeezed into the engine. As the process is not perfect a turbo can give a 30 to 40 percent improvement on power output.

For expert advice on turbos you can contact us at 1-800-276-7566, or email using the address sales@tdotperformance.ca.