Tu r bo Te ch 1 0 1 ( Ba sic )

H ow a Tu r bo Syst e m W or k s

Engine power is proport ional t o t he am ount of air and fuel t hat can get int o t he cylinders.
All t hings being equal, larger engines flow m ore air and as such will produce m ore pow er.
I f we want our sm all engine t o perform like a big engine, or sim ply m ake our bigger
engine produce m ore power, our ult im at e obj ect ive is t o draw m ore air int o t he cy linder.
By inst alling a Garret t t urbocharger, t he power and perform ance of an engine can be
dram at ically increased.

So how does a t urbocharger get m ore air int o t he engine? Let us first look at t he
schem at ic below:

1 Com pressor I nlet

2 Com pressor Discharge
3 Charge air cooler
( CAC)
4 I nt ake Valve
5 Exhaust Valve
6 Turbine I nlet
7 Turbine Discharge

The com ponent s t hat m ake up a t ypical t urbocharger syst em are:

• The air filt er ( not shown) t hrough which am bient air passes before ent ering t he
com pressor ( 1)
• The air is t hen com pressed which raises t he air’s densit y ( m ass / unit volum e) ( 2)
• Many t urbocharged engines have a charge air cooler ( aka int ercooler) ( 3) t hat
cools t he com pressed air t o furt her increase it s densit y and t o increase resist ance t o
det onat ion
• Aft er passing t hrough t he int ake m anifold ( 4) , t he air ent ers t he engine’s
cylinders, w hich cont ain a fixed volum e. Since t he air is at elevat ed densit y, each
cylinder can draw in an increased m ass flow rat e of air. Higher air m ass flow rat e
allows a higher fuel flow rat e ( wit h sim ilar air/ fuel rat io) . Com bust ing m ore fuel result s
in m ore pow er being produced for a given size or displacem ent
• Aft er t he fuel is burned in t he cylinder it is exhaust ed during t he cylinder’s
exhaust st roke in t o t he exhaust m anifold ( 5)
• The high t em perat ure gas t hen cont inues on t o t he t urbine ( 6) . The t urbine
creat es backpressure on t he engine which m eans engine exhaust pressure is higher
t han at m ospheric pressure
• A pressure and t em perat ure drop occurs ( expansion) across t he t urbine ( 7) ,
which harnesses t he exhaust gas’ energy t o provide t he pow er necessary t o drive t he
com pressor

W h a t a r e t h e com pon e n t s of a t u r boch a r ge r ?

The layout of t he t urbocharger in a given applicat ion is crit ical t o a properly perform ing
syst em . I nt ake and exhaust plum bing is oft en driven prim arily by packaging const raint s.
We w ill ex plore exhaust m anifolds in m ore det ail in subsequent t ut orials; however, it is
im port ant t o underst and t he need for a com pressor bypass valve ( com m only referred t o
as a Blow- Off valve) on t he int ake t ract and a Wast egat es for t he exhaust flow.

Ot h e r Com pon e n t s

Blow - Off ( Bypa ss) Va lve s

The Blow- Off valve ( BOV) is a pressure relief device on t he int ake t ract t o prevent t he
t urbo’s com pressor from going int o surge. The BOV should be inst alled bet w een t he
com pressor discharge and t he t hrot t le body , preferably downst ream of t he charge air
cooler ( if equipped) . When t he t hrot t le is closed rapidly , t he airflow is quickly reduced,
causing flow inst abilit y and pressure fluct uat ions. These rapidly cycling pressure
fluct uat ions are t he audible ev idence of surge. Surge can ev ent ually lead t o t hrust
bearing failure due t o t he high loads associat ed w it h it .

Blow- Off valves use a com binat ion of m anifold pressure signal and spring force t o det ect
when t he t hrot t le is closed. When t he t hrot t le is closed rapidly , t he BOV vent s boost in
t he int ake t ract t o at m osphere t o relieve t he pressure; helping t o elim inat e t he
phenom enon of surge.
W a st e ga t e s
On t he exhaust side, a Wast egat es provides us a m eans t o cont rol t he boost pressure of
t he engine. Som e com m ercial diesel applicat ions do not use a Wast egat es at all. This
t ype of syst em is called a free- float ing t urbocharger.

However, t he vast m aj orit y of gasoline perform ance applicat ions require a Wast egat es.
There are t w o ( 2) configurat ions of Wast egat es, in t e r n a l or e x t e r n a l. Bot h int ernal and
ext ernal Wast egat es provide a m eans t o bypass exhaust flow from t he t urbine w heel.
Bypassing t his energy ( e.g. exhaust flow) reduces t he power driving t he t urbine w heel t o
m at ch t he power required for a given boost level. Sim ilar t o t he BOV, t he Wast egat es
uses boost pressure and spring force t o regulat e t he flow by passing t he t urbine.

I n t e r n a l Wast egat es are built int o t he t urbine housing and consist of a “ flapper” valve,
crank arm , rod end, and pneum at ic act uat or. I t is im port ant t o connect t his act uat or only
t o boost pressure; i.e. it is not designed t o handle vacuum and as such should not be
referenced t o an int ake m anifold.

Ex t e r n a l Wast egat es are added t o t he exhaust plum bing on t he exhaust m anifold or

header. The advant age of ext ernal Wast egat es is t hat t he bypassed flow can be
reint roduced int o t he exhaust st ream furt her dow nst ream of t he t urbine. This t ends t o
im prove t he t urbine’s perform ance. On racing applicat ions, t his Wast egat ed exhaust flow
can be vent ed direct ly t o at m osphere.
Oil & W a t e r Plu m bin g

The int ake and exhaust plum bing oft en receives t he focus leaving t he oil and wat er
plum bing neglect ed.

Garret t ball bearing t urbochargers require less oil t han j ournal bearing t urbos. Therefore
an oil inlet rest rict or is recom m ended if you have oil pressure over about 60 psig. The oil
out let should be plum bed t o t he oil pan above t he oil level ( for wet sum p syst em s) . Since
t he oil drain is gravit y fed, it is im port ant t hat t he oil out let point s dow nward, and t hat
t he drain t ube does not becom e horizont al or go “ uphill” at any point .

Following a hot shut down of a t urbocharger, heat soak begins. This m eans t hat t he heat
in t he head, exhaust m anifold, and t urbine housing finds it w ay t o t he t urbo’s cent er
housing, raising it s t em perat ure. These ext rem e t em perat ures in t he cent er housing can
result in oil coking.

To m inim ize t he effect s of heat soak- back , wat er- cooled cent er housings were
int roduced. These use coolant from t he engine t o act as a heat sink aft er engine
shut down, prevent ing t he oil from coking. The wat er lines ut ilize a t herm al siphon effect
t o reduce t he peak heat soak- back t em perat ure aft er key- off. The layout of t he pipes
should m inim ize peaks and t roughs wit h t he ( cool) wat er inlet on t he low side. To help
t his along, it is advant ageous t o t ilt t he t urbocharger about 25° about t he axis of shaft
rot at ion.

Many Garret t t urbos are wat er- cooled for enhanced durabilit y .

W h ich Tu r boch a r ge r is Righ t for M e or m or e a ffe ct ion a t e ly k n ow n a s M y Tu r bo &

Me
Select ing t he proper t urbocharger for your specific applicat ion requires m any input s. Wit h
decades of collect ive t urbocharging experience, t he Garret t Perform ance Dist ribut ors can
assist in select ing t he right t urbocharger for your applicat ion.

The prim ary input in det erm ining which t urbocharger is appropriat e is t o have a t arget
horsepower in m ind. This should be as realist ic as possible for t he applicat ion. Rem em ber
t hat engine pow er is generally proport ional t o air and fuel flow. Thus, once you have a
t arget pow er level ident ified, you begin t o hone in on t he t urbocharger size, which is
highly dependent on airflow requirem ent s.

Ot her im port ant fact ors include t he t ype of applicat ion. An aut ocross car, for exam ple,
requires rapid boost response. A sm aller t urbocharger or sm aller t urbine housing would
be m ost suit able for t his applicat ion. While t his w ill t rade off ult im at e power due t o
increased exhaust back pressure at higher engine speeds, boost response of t he sm all
t urbo w ill be excellent .

Alt ernat ively, on a car dedicat ed t o t rack days, peak horsepower is a higher priorit y t han
low- end t orque. Plus, engine speeds t end t o be consist ent ly higher. Here, a larger
t urbocharger or t urbine housing w ill provide reduced back pressure but less- im m ediat e
low- end response. This is a welcom e t radeoff giv en t he int ended operat ing condit ions.

Select ing t he t urbocharger for your applicat ion goes beyond “ how m uch boost ” you want
t o run. Defining your t arget power level and t he prim ary use for t he applicat ion are t he
first st eps in enabling your Garret t Perform ance Dist ribut or t o select t he right
t urbocharger for you.

Jou r n a l Be a r in gs vs. Ba ll Be a r in gs
The j ournal bearing has long been t he brawn of t he t urbocharger, however a ball- bearing
cart ridge is now an affordable t echnology advancem ent t hat provides significant
perform ance im provem ent s t o t he t urbocharger.

Ball bearing innovat ion began as a result of work wit h t he Garret t Mot orsport s group for
several racing series where it received t he t erm t he ‘cart ridge ball bearing’. The cart ridge
is a single sleeve syst em t hat cont ains a set of angular cont act ball bearings on eit her
end, whereas t he t radit ional bearing syst em cont ains a set of j ournal bearings and a
t hrust bearing

Jou r n a l Be a r in gs Ba ll Be a r in gs

Turbo Response – When driving a vehicle w it h t he cart ridge ball bearing t urbocharger,
you will find except ionally crisp and st rong t hrot t le response. Garret t Ball Bearing
t urbochargers spool up 15% fast er t han t radit ional j ournal bearings. This produces an
im proved response t hat can be conv ert ed t o quicker 0- 60 m ph speed. I n fact , som e
professional drivers of Garret t ball- bearing t urbocharged engines report t hat t hey feel like
t hey are driving a big, norm ally aspirat ed engine.

Test s run on CART t urbos have shown t hat ball- bearings have up t o half of t he power
consum pt ion of t radit ional bearings. The result is fast er t im e t o boost which t ranslat es
int o bet t er drivabilit y and accelerat ion.

On- engine perform ance is also bet t er in t he st eady- st at e for t he Garret t Cart ridge Ball
Bearing
Reduced Oil Flow – The ball bearing design reduces t he required am ount of oil required t o
provide adequat e lubricat ion. This lower oil volum e reduces t he chance for seal leakage.
Also, t he ball bearing is m ore t olerant of m arginal lube condit ions, and dim inishes t he
possibilit y of t urbocharger failure on engine shut down.

I m proved Rot ordynam ics and Durabilit y – The ball bearing cart ridge gives bet t er dam ping
and cont rol over shaft m ot ion, allowing enhanced reliabilit y for bot h every day and
ext rem e driv ing condit ions. I n addit ion, t he opposed angular cont act bearing cart ridge
elim inat es t he need for t he t hrust bearing com m only a weak link in t he t urbo bearing
syst em .

Com pet it or Ball Bearing Opt ions – Anot her opt ion one will find is a hybrid ball bearing.
This consist s of replacing only t he com pressor side j ournal bearing wit h a single angular
cont act ball bearing. Since t he single bearing can only t ake t hrust in one direct ion, a
t hrust bearing is st ill necessary and drag in t he t urbine side j ournal bearing is unchanged.
Wit h t he Garret t ball bearing cart ridge t he rot or- group is ent irely support ed by t he ball
bearings, m axim izing efficiency , perform ance, and durabilit y.

Ball Bearings in Original Equipm ent – Pum ping up t he MAZDASPEED Prot egé’s heart rat e
is a Garret t T25 t urbocharger sy st em . Wit h Garret t t echnology on board, t he vehicle
gains increased accelerat ion w it hout sacrificing overall efficiency and it has received
m any rave review s from t he world’s t op aut om ot ive press for it ’s unprecedent ed
perform ance.