A short history of turbocharging.

[Mark S.]

There are a few things I would quibble about with this article (there's a surprise), but for the most part this is a really good primer on the history of automotive turbocharging. After reading this it should be clear to anyone looking to upgrade their turbocharger why it'll almost certainly be a project fraught with compromises.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a45050542/how-twin-scroll-turbo-work-lost-scrolls-of-turbocharging/

Sponsored

 

[WildFord]

brings back memories...

remember the turbo timers?? I had one installed in my Turbo cars of the early 90's. we all afraid to fry our bearings after some highly boosted driving.

a quick Google I found HKS still makes turbo timers. I had these 5th gen models.

The turbo 4 in the BS has twin scroll and DOHC with 16 valves. do we have intercoolers? I assume so. I want a badge sticker says "Intercooled Twin Scroll Turbo DOHC 16 V Goat"

 

[RushMan]

brings back memories...

remember the turbo timers?? I had one installed in my Turbo cars of the early 90's. we all afraid to fry our bearings after some highly boosted driving.

a quick Google I found HKS still makes turbo timers. I had these 5th gen models.

The turbo 4 in the BS has twin scroll and DOHC with 16 valves. do we have intercoolers? I assume so. I want a badge sticker says "Intercooled Twin Scroll Turbo DOHC 16 V Goat"

Don't remember the timers, but I do remember a coworker with a turbo'ed 240Z (maybe it was a 260Z) that sat in his car idling for 5-10 minutes after arrival at work, in order to cool the turbo.

 

[Black Rob]

I had the HKS turbo timer on a Mitsubishi Evolution 8. The purpose was to let the oil drain out of the turbo and oil lines. The oil could end up coking in the lines, clogging them over time.

 

[Mark S.]

I had the HKS one on a Mitsubishi Evo. The purpose was to let the oil drain out of the turbo and oil lines. Supposedly the oil could end up cooking in the lines, clogging them over time.

Oil coking (the link defines the term) was an issue due to the hot turbine bearings. As noted, turbocharger turbines spin at hundreds of thousands of RPM, and they have a constant flow of hot exhaust gases flowing through them. These two factors generate a great deal of heat in the turbine bearings. Early turbochargers relied solely on engine oil for cooling, and when run hard enough the bearings would heat soak enough to require a cool down prior to turning off the engine. During the cool down relatively cool oil flowed around the bearings to reduce temperature below that required to coke the oil. Modern turbos are cooled by the engine's primary cooling system (antifreeze/coolant), so the bearings never get hot enough to coke the oil.

 

[rocks]

Does the Dragon 1.5L have an oil or water cooled turbo?

 

[gatornek]

Does the Dragon 1.5L have an oil or water cooled turbo?

I believe all current Ford turbos are water cooled and oil lubed.

 

[Black Rob]

Oil coking (the link defines the term) was an issue due to the hot turbine bearings. As noted, turbocharger turbines spin at hundreds of thousands of RPM, and they have a constant flow of hot exhaust gases flowing through them. These two factors generate a great deal of heat in the turbine bearings. Early turbochargers relied solely on engine oil for cooling, and when run hard enough the bearings would heat soak enough to require a cool down prior to turning off the engine. During the cool down relatively cool oil flowed around the bearings to reduce temperature below that required to coke the oil. Modern turbos are cooled by the engine's primary cooling system (antifreeze/coolant), so the bearings never get hot enough to coke the oil.

I was going to use the term, but didn’t think anyone would know what I was referring to. You really do know everything.

 

[Mark S.]

I was going to use the term, but didn’t think anyone would know what I was referring to. You really do know everything.

I hope I don't know everything. I really do love learning new things; it'd be a pretty dull world if there wasn't anything new to discover.

Sponsored