Tom25666
08-05-2009, 07:50 PM
This is dedicated to basic information about turbos and turbo systems. This is transcribed from the August 2002 edition of Super Street magazine for the purpose of spreading information. Input is welcome.
"Turbocharging is one type of what's called "forced induction." A turbo is an air pump that pushes compressed intake air into the combustion chambers. This charge is far denser than the air that would normally flow into the cylinders due to atmospheric conditions. When the denser air charge is combined with a greater-than-normal amount of fuel, it will create a more powerful burn, which exerts greater pressure on the pistons and therefore increases the engine's power output.
Inside a turbocharger is a shaft with finned wheels at each end. One wheel, called the turbine, is driven by exhaust gases leaving the engine. The exhaust flowing past the whelel causes it to spin, which in turn spins the wheel at the other end of the shaft, called the compressor. It's the compressor's job to take fresh air and pressurize it before sending it down the intake tract to be mixed with the fuel.
Turbocharging has a couple of advantages over supercharging, the other form of forced induction. Because a turbo has no mechanical link to the engine (like a supercharger's drive belt and pulleys), there is no parasitic drain in power to drive it. Additionally, free-wheeling turbochargers aren't limited to or by engine rpm. Plus, turbos are designed to produce boost at higher engine speeds than a supercharger, which makes them well suited to high-revving sport compact engines."
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj66/chickenheadFoSho/turbochargers_diagram.jpg
"Turbocharging is one type of what's called "forced induction." A turbo is an air pump that pushes compressed intake air into the combustion chambers. This charge is far denser than the air that would normally flow into the cylinders due to atmospheric conditions. When the denser air charge is combined with a greater-than-normal amount of fuel, it will create a more powerful burn, which exerts greater pressure on the pistons and therefore increases the engine's power output.
Inside a turbocharger is a shaft with finned wheels at each end. One wheel, called the turbine, is driven by exhaust gases leaving the engine. The exhaust flowing past the whelel causes it to spin, which in turn spins the wheel at the other end of the shaft, called the compressor. It's the compressor's job to take fresh air and pressurize it before sending it down the intake tract to be mixed with the fuel.
Turbocharging has a couple of advantages over supercharging, the other form of forced induction. Because a turbo has no mechanical link to the engine (like a supercharger's drive belt and pulleys), there is no parasitic drain in power to drive it. Additionally, free-wheeling turbochargers aren't limited to or by engine rpm. Plus, turbos are designed to produce boost at higher engine speeds than a supercharger, which makes them well suited to high-revving sport compact engines."
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj66/chickenheadFoSho/turbochargers_diagram.jpg