Racing Turbochargers

An internal combustion engine is a giant air pump that sucks an air-fuel mixture by means of the vacuum created by cylinder movements. The amount of air that can be forced into the engine is limited by atmospheric pressure, so the only way to raise the power is to increase its size, which is not the best way to go. Fortunately, there is a much more efficient way to increase horsepower, which is installing a turbocharger. It uses exhaust gases to force more air inside cylinders, allowing the engine to burn more fuel, resulting in a huge power boost. A turbocharger has proved its efficiency for many years over, so it comes as no surprise that most modern racing engines are equipped with a turbocharger.

The design of a turbocharger has undergone plenty of improvements since its invention many decades ago. However, its principal of operation has remained the same and lies in the use of exhaust gases as the driving force for pushing air under high pressure into the air intake. A typical turbocharger consists of several fans mounted on a common shaft. The first one, called a turbine, is piped to the exhaust system and is spun by the flow of the gases. The spinning of the turbine causes another fan, called a compressor, to turn. Just like the turbine, it is piped to the air intake, so its spinning forces air into the manifold.

There are several types of turbochargers found in today’s vehicles, including single, twin, twin-scroll, VGT, variable twin-scroll, and electric turbochargers. A single turbocharger features the simplest setup that is less efficient than all other alternatives, so it’s rarely used for racing applications. The other setups stand for more effective ways of turbocharging, whereas, each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. The most advanced turbocharger designs are provided by twin-scroll devices and revolutionary electric devices. The latter ones are the latest thing in the turbocharger design, providing the best of both worlds, even torque across the whole RPM range and low emissions.