Education, I am stupid, how a turbo works...
05 November 2003, 05:09 PM
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I know nothing!
I admit the only thing I know about the turbo is it pushes exhuast gasses back in to the engine (I think) and when my impreza hit's around 2,500rpm it makes a nice whistling noise and goes like hell!....
Can someone give me a quick description of how it all works?
What is boost? How much boost does my car run? Why do people run different boost?
What does a boost gauage show? Is there any point me having one?...
What is a wastegate? What is a dump valve?...
If someone could spare some time to explain how this all works, it would be appreciated, or point me towards some reading matter.
Thanks,
Matt.
I admit the only thing I know about the turbo is it pushes exhuast gasses back in to the engine (I think) and when my impreza hit's around 2,500rpm it makes a nice whistling noise and goes like hell!....
Can someone give me a quick description of how it all works?
What is boost? How much boost does my car run? Why do people run different boost?
What does a boost gauage show? Is there any point me having one?...
What is a wastegate? What is a dump valve?...
If someone could spare some time to explain how this all works, it would be appreciated, or point me towards some reading matter.
Thanks,
Matt.
05 November 2003, 05:12 PM
#2
05 November 2003, 05:30 PM
#3
A very basic overview 
A turbo is driven by the exhaust gases exiting the engine,
it then sucks in fresh air via the airfilter,
it pushes this air into an intercooler (this is like a radiator that cools the air) The air is hot because turbos get very hot due to the exhaust gases,
the air passes through the intercooler and into the engine.
The reason for a turbo is to increase the amount of oxygen entering an engine and you need the fuel to complete this.
A wastegate controls the amount of boost and stays shut until there is enough pressure to open it, it then opens a certain amount to allow a certain amount of boost pressure towards the engine. The is normally controlled by an actuator.
A dump valve dumps pressure either into the intake (re-circ) or to the atmoshpere (atmo) allowing the turbo to keep spinning and reduce lag and stop the turbo from getting damaged due to turbo stall. Dump valves do not increase power
No Idea what boost you are running.
A boost gauge is a very good idea because if you get a leak from a vacuum hose your engine can over boost (too much pressure) and blow up
Different amounts of boost produces different amounts of power but it's not that straight forward, a low compression engine can handle more boost but a higher compression engine would go bang if you wind in lots of boost.
Hope that helps.
Paul
A turbo is driven by the exhaust gases exiting the engine,
it then sucks in fresh air via the airfilter,
it pushes this air into an intercooler (this is like a radiator that cools the air) The air is hot because turbos get very hot due to the exhaust gases,
the air passes through the intercooler and into the engine.
The reason for a turbo is to increase the amount of oxygen entering an engine and you need the fuel to complete this.
A wastegate controls the amount of boost and stays shut until there is enough pressure to open it, it then opens a certain amount to allow a certain amount of boost pressure towards the engine. The is normally controlled by an actuator.
A dump valve dumps pressure either into the intake (re-circ) or to the atmoshpere (atmo) allowing the turbo to keep spinning and reduce lag and stop the turbo from getting damaged due to turbo stall. Dump valves do not increase power
No Idea what boost you are running.
A boost gauge is a very good idea because if you get a leak from a vacuum hose your engine can over boost (too much pressure) and blow up
Different amounts of boost produces different amounts of power but it's not that straight forward, a low compression engine can handle more boost but a higher compression engine would go bang if you wind in lots of boost.
Hope that helps.
Paul
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