Tu r bo Syst e m s 1 0 2 ( Adva n ce d)

Please t horoughly rev iew and have a good underst anding of Turbo Syst em s 101- Basic prior t o reading t his
sect ion. The following areas w ill be covered in t he Turbo Syst em 102 - Advanced sect ion:

1. Wheel t rim t opic cov erage

2. Underst anding t urbine housing A/ R and housing sizing

3. Different t ypes of m anifolds ( advant ages/ disadvant ages log st y le vs. equal lengt h)

4. Com pression rat io wit h boost

5. Air/ Fuel Rat io t uning: Rich v . Lean, why lean m akes m ore power but is m ore dangerous

1 . W h e e l t r im t opic cove r a ge

Trim is a com m on t erm used w hen t alk ing about or describing t urbochargers. For exam ple, you m ay hear
som eone say " I have a GT2871R ' 5 6 Tr im ' t urbocharger. What is 'Trim ?' Trim is a t erm t o express t he
relat ionship bet ween t he inducer* and exducer* of bot h t urbine and com pressor wheels. More accurat ely , it is an
area rat io.

* The inducer diam et er is defined as t he diam et er where t he air ent ers t he wheel, w hereas t he exducer diam et er
is defined as t he diam et er where t he air ex it s t he wheel.

Based on aerodynam ics and air ent ry pat hs, t he inducer for a com pressor wheel is t he sm aller diam et er. For
t urbine wheels, t he inducer it is t he larger diam et er ( see Figure 1.)

Figure 1. I llust rat ion of t he inducer and exducer diam et er of com pressor and t urbine wheels

Ex a m ple # 1 : GT2871R t urbocharger ( Garret t part num ber 743347- 2) has a com pressor wheel w it h t he below
dim ensions. What is t he t rim of t he com pressor wheel?

I nducer diam et er = 53.1m m

Exducer diam et er = 71.0m m

Ex a m ple # 2 : GT2871R t urbocharger ( part # 743347- 1) has a com pressor w heel w it h an ex ducer diam et er of
71.0m m and a t rim of 48. What is t he inducer diam et er of t he com pressor wheel?
Exducer diam et er = 71.0m m
Trim = 48

The t rim of a w heel, whet her com pressor or t urbine, affect s perform ance by shift ing t he airflow capacit y. All ot her
fact ors held const ant , a higher t rim wheel w ill flow m ore t han a sm aller t rim w heel.

However, it is im port ant t o not e t hat very oft en all ot her fact ors are not held const ant . So j ust because a wheel is
a larger t rim does not necessarily m ean t hat it w ill flow m ore.

2 . Un de r st a n din g h ou sin g sizin g: A/ R

A/ R ( Area/ Radius) describes a geom et ric charact erist ic of all com pressor and t urbine housings. Technically , it is
defined as:

t he inlet ( or, for com pressor housings, t he discharge) cross- sect ional area divided by t he radius from t he t urbo
cent erline t o t he cent roid of t hat area ( see Figure 2.) .

Figure 2. I llust rat ion of com pressor housing showing A/ R charact erist ic
The A/ R param et er has different effect s on t he com pressor and t urbine perform ance, as out lined below .

Com pr e ssor A/ R - Com pressor perform ance is com parat ively insensit ive t o changes in A/ R. Larger A/ R housings
are som et im es used t o opt im ize perform ance of low boost applicat ions, and sm aller A/ R are used for high boost
applicat ions. However, as t his influence of A/ R on com pressor perform ance is m inor, t here are not A/ R opt ions
available for com pressor housings.

Tu r bin e A/ R - Turbine perform ance is great ly affect ed by changing t he A/ R of t he housing, as it is used t o

adj ust t he flow capacit y of t he t urbine. Using a sm aller A/ R w ill increase t he ex haust gas velocit y int o t he t urbine
wheel. This provides increased t urbine pow er at lower engine speeds, result ing in a quicker boost rise. Howev er,
a sm all A/ R also causes t he flow t o ent er t he wheel m ore t angent ially , which reduces t he ult im at e flow capacit y of
t he t urbine w heel. This w ill t end t o increase ex haust backpressure and hence reduce t he engine's abilit y t o
" breat he" effect iv ely at high RPM, adversely affect ing peak engine power.

Conversely, using a larger A/ R w ill lower exhaust gas velocit y, and delay boost rise. The flow in a larger A/ R
housing ent ers t he wheel in a m ore radial fashion, increasing t he wheel's effect ive flow capacit y , result ing in
low er backpressure and bet t er power at higher engine speeds.

When deciding bet ween A/ R opt ions, be realist ic w it h t he int ended vehicle use and use t he A/ R t o bias t he
perform ance t oward t he desired powerband charact erist ic.

Here's a sim plist ic look at com paring t urbine housing geom et ry w it h different applicat ions. By com paring different
t urbine housing A/ R, it is oft en possible t o det erm ine t he int ended use of t he syst em .

I m agine t wo 3.5L engines bot h using GT30R t urbochargers. The only difference bet w een t he t wo engines is a
different t urbine housing A/ R; ot herw ise t he t w o engines are ident ical:
1. Engine # 1 has t urbine housing wit h an A/ R of 0.63
2. Engine # 2 has a t urbine housing w it h an A/ R of 1.06.

What can we infer about t he int ended use and t he t urbocharger m at ching for each engine?

Engine# 1: This engine is using a sm aller A/ R t urbine housing ( 0.63) t hus biased m ore t owards low- end t orque
and opt im al boost response. Many would describe t his as being m ore " fun" t o drive on t he st reet , as norm al daily
driv ing habit s t end t o favor t ransient response. However, at higher engine speeds, t his sm aller A/ R housing w ill
result in high backpressure, w hich can result in a loss of t op end power. This t ype of engine perform ance is
desirable for st reet applicat ions where t he low speed boost response and t ransient condit ions are m ore im port ant
t han t op end power.

Engine # 2: This engine is using a larger A/ R t urbine housing ( 1.06) and is biased t owards peak horsepower,
while sacrificing t ransient response and t orque at very low engine speeds. The larger A/ R t urbine housing w ill
cont inue t o m inim ize backpressure at high rpm , t o t he benefit of engine peak power. On t he ot her hand, t his w ill
also raise t he engine speed at which t he t urbo can prov ide boost , increasing t im e t o boost . The perform ance of
Engine # 2 is m ore desirable for racing applicat ions t han Engine # 1 where t he engine w ill be operat ing at high
engine speeds m ost of t he t im e.

3 . D iffe r e nt t ype s of m a nifolds ( a dv a n t a ge s/ disa dva n t a ge s log st yle vs. e qu a l le n gt h )

There are t wo different t ypes of t urbocharger m anifolds; cast log st yle ( see Figure 3.) and welded t ubular st y le
( see Figure 4.) .

Figure 3. Cast log st yle t urbocharger m anifold

 Figure 4. Welded t ubular t urbocharger m anifold

Manifold design on t urbocharged applicat ions is decept iv ely com plex as t here m any fact ors t o t ake int o account
and t rade off

General design t ips for best ov erall perform ance are t o:

• Max im ize t he radius of t he bends t hat m ake up t he exhaust prim aries t o m aint ain pulse energy
• Make t he exhaust prim aries equal lengt h t o balance exhaust rev ersion across all cylinders
• Avoid rapid area changes t o m aint ain pulse energy t o t he t urbine
• At t he collect or, int roduce flow from all runners at a narrow angle t o m inim ize " t urning" of t he flow in
t he collect or
• For bet t er boost response, m inim ize t he exhaust volum e bet w een t he exhaust port s and t he t urbine
inlet
• For best power, t uned prim ary lengt hs can be used

Cast m anifolds are com m only found on OEM applicat ions, whereas w elded t ubular m anifolds are found alm ost
exclusiv ely on aft erm arket and race applicat ions. Bot h m anifold t ypes have t heir advant ages and disadvant ages.
Cast m anifolds are generally very durable and are usually dedicat ed t o one applicat ion. They require special
t ooling for t he cast ing and m achining of specific feat ures on t he m anifold. This t ooling can be expensiv e.

On t he ot her hand, welded t ubular m anifolds can be cust om - m ade for a specific applicat ion w it hout special
t ooling requirem ent s. The m anufact urer t ypically cut s pre- bent st eel U- bends int o t he desired geom et ry and t hen
welds all of t he com ponent s t oget her. Welded t ubular m anifolds are a very effect iv e solut ion. One it em of not e is
durabilit y of t his design. Because of t he w elded j oint s, t hinner wall sect ions, and reduced st iffness, t hese t ypes of
m anifolds are oft en suscept ible t o crack ing due t o t herm al expansion/ cont ract ion and vibrat ion. Properly
const ruct ed t ubular m anifolds can last a long t im e, howev er. I n addit ion, t ubular m anifolds can offer a subst ant ial
perform ance advant age over a log- t ype m anifold.

A design feat ure t hat can be com m on t o bot h m anifold t ypes is a " D I VI D ED M AN I FOLD " , t ypically em ploy ed
w it h " D I VI D ED " or " t w in- scroll" t urbine housings. Div ided exhaust m anifolds can be incorporat ed int o eit her a
cast or welded t ubular m anifolds ( see Figure 5. and Figure 6.) .

Figure 5. Cast m anifold w it h a div ided t urbine inlet design feat ure
Figure 6. Welded t ubular m anifold w it h a div ided t urbine inlet design feat ure

The concept is t o DI VI DE or separat e t he cy linders whose cycles int erfere w it h one anot her t o best ut ilize t he
engine's exhaust pulse energy .

For exam ple, on a four- cylinder engine w it h firing order 1- 3- 4- 2, cy linder # 1 is ending it s expansion st roke and
opening it s exhaust valve w hile cylinder # 2 st ill has it s exhaust valv e open ( cy linder # 2 is in it s overlap period) .
I n an undiv ided exhaust m anifold, t his pressure pulse from cy linder # 1's exhaust blowdown event is m uch m ore
likely t o cont am inat e cy linder # 2 w it h high pressure exhaust gas. Not only does t his hurt cy linder # 2's abilit y t o
breat he properly, but t his pulse energy would have been bet t er ut ilized in t he t urbine.

The proper grouping for t his engine is t o k eep com plem ent ary cylinders grouped t oget her- - # 1 and # 4 are
com plem ent ary ; as are cy linders # 2 and # 3.

Figure 7. I llust rat ion of div ided t urbine housing

Because of t he bet t er ut ilizat ion of t he exhaust pulse energy , t he t urbine's perform ance is im proved and boost
increases m ore quick ly.

4 . Com pr e ssion r a t io w it h boost

Before discussing com pression rat io and boost , it is im port ant t o underst and engine knock, also known as
det onat ion. Knock is a dangerous condit ion caused by uncont rolled com bust ion of t he air/ fuel m ixt ure. This
abnorm al com bust ion causes rapid spik es in cy linder pressure which can result in engine dam age.
 Three prim ary fact ors t hat influence engine knock are:

1. Knock r e sist a nce ch a r a ct e r ist ics ( k n ock lim it ) of t h e e ngin e : Since every engine is vast ly
different when it com es t o knock resist ance, t here is no single answer t o " how m uch." Design feat ures such as
com bust ion cham ber geom et ry, spark plug locat ion, bore size and com pression rat io all affect t he knock
charact erist ics of an engine.
2. Am bie n t a ir con dit ion s: For t he t urbocharger applicat ion, bot h am bient air condit ions and engine inlet
condit ions affect m axim um boost . Hot air and high cy linder pressure increases t he t endency of an engine t o
knock. When an engine is boost ed, t he int ak e air t em perat ure increases, t hus increasing t he t endency t o
knock. Charge air cooling ( e.g. an int ercooler) addresses t his concern by cooling t he com pressed air produced
by t he t urbocharger
3. Oct a n e r a t in g of t h e fu e l be in g u se d: oct ane is a m easure of a fuel's abilit y t o resist knock. The
oct ane rat ing for pum p gas ranges from 85 t o 94, while racing fuel would be well abov e 100. The higher t he
oct ane rat ing of t he fuel, t he m ore resist ant t o knock. Since knock can be dam aging t o an engine, it is
im port ant t o use fuel of sufficient oct ane for t he applicat ion. Generally speak ing, t he m ore boost run, t he
higher t he oct ane requirem ent .

This cannot be overst at ed: engine calibrat ion of fuel and spark plays an enorm ous role in dict at ing knock
behav ior of an engine. See Sect ion 5 below for m ore det ails.

Now t hat we have int roduced k nock/ det onat ion, cont ribut ing fact ors and ways t o decrease t he likelihood of
det onat ion, let 's t alk about com pression rat io. Com pression rat io is defined as:

or

where
CR = com pression rat io
Vd = displacem ent volum e
Vcv = clearance volum e
The com pression rat io from t he fact ory w ill be different for nat urally aspirat ed engines and boost ed engines. For
exam ple, a st ock Honda S2000 has a com pression rat io of 11.1: 1, whereas a t urbocharged Subaru I m preza WRX
has a com pression rat io of 8.0: 1.

There are num erous fact ors t hat affect t he m axim um allowable com pression rat io. There is no single correct
answer for every applicat ion. Generally, com pression rat io should be set as high as feasible w it hout encount ering
det onat ion at t he m axim um load condit ion. Com pression rat io t hat is t oo low w ill result in an engine t hat is a bit
sluggish in off- boost operat ion. However, if it is t oo high t his can lead t o serious knock- relat ed engine problem s.

Fact ors t hat influence t he com pression rat io include: fuel ant i- k nock propert ies ( oct ane rat ing) , boost pressure,
int ake air t em perat ure, com bust ion cham ber design, ignit ion t im ing, valve ev ent s, and exhaust backpressure.
Many m odern norm ally- aspirat ed engines hav e well- designed com bust ion cham bers t hat , wit h appropriat e
t uning, w ill allow m odest boost levels w it h no change t o com pression rat io. For higher pow er t arget s w it h m ore
boost , com pression rat io should be adj ust ed t o com pensat e.

There are a handful of ways t o reduce com pression rat io, som e bet t er t han ot hers. Least desirable is adding a
spacer bet ween t he block and t he head. These spacers reduce t he am ount a " quench" designed int o an engine's
com bust ion cham bers, and can alt er cam t im ing as well. Spacers are, howev er, relat iv ely sim ple and inexpensive.

A bet t er opt ion, if m ore expensive and t im e- consum ing t o inst all, is t o use low er- com pression pist ons. These w ill
have no adverse effect s on cam t im ing or t he head's abilit y t o seal, and allow proper quench regions in t he
com bust ion cham bers.

5 . Air / Fu e l Ra t io t u n in g: Rich v. Le a n , w h y le a n m a k e s m or e pow e r bu t is m or e da n ge r ou s

When discussing engine t uning t he 'Air / Fu e l Ra t io' ( AFR) is one of t he m ain t opics. Proper AFR calibrat ion is
crit ical t o perform ance and durabilit y of t he engine and it 's com ponent s. The AFR defines t he rat io of t he am ount
of air consum ed by t he engine com pared t o t he am ount of fuel.

A 'St oichiom e t r ic' AFR has t he correct am ount of air and fuel t o produce a chem ically com plet e com bust ion
event . For gasoline engines, t he st oichiom et ric , A/ F rat io is 14.7: 1, which m eans 14.7 part s of air t o one part of
fuel. The st oichiom et ric AFR depends on fuel t y pe- - for alcohol it is 6.4: 1 and 14.5: 1 for diesel.

So what is m eant by a rich or lean AFR? A low er AFR num ber cont ains less air t han t he 14.7: 1 st oichiom et ric
AFR, t herefore it is a richer m ix t ure. Conversely, a higher AFR num ber cont ains m ore air and t herefore it is a
leaner m ixt ure.

For Exam ple:

15.0: 1 = Lean
14.7: 1 = St oichiom et ric
13.0: 1 = Rich

Leaner AFR result s in higher t em perat ures as t he m ix t ure is com bust ed. Generally, norm ally- aspirat ed spark-
ignit ion ( SI ) gasoline engines produce m axim um power j ust slight ly rich of st oichiom et ric. How ever, in pract ice it
is k ept bet ween 12: 1 and 13: 1 in order t o k eep exhaust gas t em perat ures in check and t o account for variances
in fuel qualit y. This is a realist ic full- load AFR on a norm ally- aspirat ed engine but can be dangerously lean w it h a
highly- boost ed engine.

Let 's t ake a closer look. As t he air- fuel m ixt ure is ignit ed by t he spark plug, a flam e front propagat es from t he
spark plug. The now- burning m ixt ure raises t he cylinder pressure and t em perat ure, peak ing at som e point in t he
com bust ion process.

The t urbocharger increases t he densit y of t he air result ing in a denser m ixt ure. The denser m ixt ure raises t he
peak cy linder pressure, t herefore increasing t he probabilit y of k nock. As t he AFR is leaned out , t he t em perat ure
of t he burning gases increases, which also increases t he probabilit y of knock. This is why it is im perat ive t o run
richer AFR on a boost ed engine at full load. Doing so will reduce t he likelihood of knock, and will also k eep
t em perat ures under cont rol.

There are act ually t hree way s t o reduce t he probabilit y of knock at full load on a t urbocharged engine: reduce
boost , adj ust t he AFR t o richer m ixt ure, and ret ard ignit ion t im ing. These t hree param et ers need t o be opt im ized
t oget her t o y ield t he highest reliable pow er.

For furt her in- dept h calculat ions of pressure rat io, m ass flow , and t urbocharger select ion, please read Turbo
Systems 103 Expert t ut orial.