Turbocharged

Turbochargers, they are amazing little devices that assist in generating large increases to engine performance. Here at West Coast Auto Enthusiasts, we happen to admire German cars and Turbochargers. Lucky for us, German car manufactures also have a thing for turbochargers. Audi, BMW, Mercedes, MINI, Porsche and Volkswagen all have a long history of manufacturing turbocharged engines.
How does a turbocharger work? Well, it is a fairly simple concept but modern turbochargers themselves can be complex. Turbochargers work by capturing the energy of the hot gasses that are exhausted from the combustion process. The hot gasses spin a turbine, usually in the range of up to 80,000-150,000 RPM, that in turn spins a compressor through a direct shaft connection. The shaft is supported by oil and/or ball bearings. The compressor compresses the fresh air and sends it through tubing into an intercooler, to reduce the air temperature, then into the intake cycle of the engine.
In recent years, advances in turbocharging designs have created systems that have low or very low levels of turbo-lag. Twin scroll turbines combined with divided exhaust manifolds generate boost at low RPM’s. Smaller turbos in a twin turbo setup also create boost at low RPM’s but they also supply the engine with large amounts of boost at mid-high RPM’s.
Currently we have two twin turbocharged BMW 335i’s, many newer turbocharged MINI’s, a Volvo S60 2.5T, a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo, a Porsche 911 turbo, and a turbocharged 1982 BMW 745i. Feel free to stop in to see one of our many turbocharged cars.

~ by WestCoastAutoEnthusiasts on July 25, 2012.