Welcome to - Turbo 101

Welcome to the exciting world of auto performance! If you are on this page, you have probably heard the terms “turbo”, “turbo charger”, “boost”, or “forced induction” and are wondering what it is. All the terms mentioned above are synonymous and the purpose of the following is to help you better understand turbos and why they are so common in the world of car enthusiasts. (Pictures Courtesy of Chu Tsai and Gunnar)

 Non Turbo Engine Bay of a Lexus SC300 (Chu) (Left), Turbo Engine Bay a Lexus SC300 (Gunnar) (Right)

  In the world of competitive racing and street racing, each racer aims to harness the maximum performance out of their vehicles. Performance parts and systems costs are known to add up to several thousands of dollars to squeeze even just an extra 10-20% horsepower (hp) out of an engine. With such high costs to gain performance, racers often stress upon getting the most performance for their money. Luckily, the turbocharger (also known as forced induction) exists as a method to do so.

 Turbo charging exists as best performance gain to cost ratio in performance systems. A combination of aftermarket exhausts, pulleys, intakes, high compression pistons, engine work, and headers may cost up to $2000 USD (parts and installation) but yield only a 10-20% hp gain from your engine. A turbo kit around the same price range can easily yield a 20-30% hp gain with little to no other modifications to a vehicle. With slight modifications and management, turbo kits can reliably produce 300+hp on performance and street vehicles. With such a reputation, turbos are seen as relatively “cheap power”.  (Image Courtesy of XSPower)


 
T61 Turbo on a  Lexus sc300 2jzge  manifold

 Power produced by all internal combustion engines are limited by physical engine displacement, fuel, and air. Increasing engine displacement can be done with the purchase of a bigger engine, which is usually costly. However, air and fuel ratios can be manipulated. In a nutshell, burning the correct air and fuel ratio produces power. More fuel paired with more (and correct amount) of air yields more engine power. (Import Image, Garrett Corporation)

Fundamentally, a turbo increases an engines power by forcing more air into the engines combustion chamber. As air density increases, or is “boosted”, fuel is pumped to match the ratio for a safe optimal combustion reaction, creating more power. Keep in mind with higher levels of boost, fuel and other components must be upgraded to maintain reliability of the increased power. Such upgrades are not as crucial if one is using low levels of boost. (Nice)

Turbo 101 - How a turbo works

 A turbo operates on waste energy in the form of exhaust gases from the engine to force more air into an engines combustion chamber. (see illustration, courtesy of Garret Turbo)

1)      Exhaust gases leaving the engine is piped into one end of the turbocharger, spinning a turbine. The turbine spins a compressor at high speeds (up to 150,000+ rpms!).(Import Image)

2)      The compressor on the other end of the turbocharger draws air, compressing it and increasing the density of air present in the engines combustion chamber.

3)      Sometimes an intercooler is present to further cool the air, because cooler air has high density, to increase the oxygen content. also cooling the air can prevent detonation and knockin.

4)      The ECU in the engine calculates and injectors more fuel accordingly to the air present in the engine for maximum detonation without risking engine damage.

5)      After combustion, exhaust gases leave the chamber and the cycle is repeated.

 Recommended Reading for further understanding of Boosting your car
www.homemadeturbo.com
www.forums.clubna-t.com
http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/tech_center/turbo_tech101.html

Available kits at
www.turbo-kits.com
www.xs-power.com
http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett

 Happy Boosting!

(Turbo 1997 Toyota Supra with intercooler, courtesy of XSPower)

Works Cited