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Has anyone attempted rear mounted turbos?

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Old 12-05-2016, 03:34 PM
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jsera
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Default Has anyone attempted rear mounted turbos?

Though not planning on doing this anytime soon as I have too much on my plate right now, the idea of a rear mounted turbo on my 78 sounds awesome. Has anyone on here attempted such a thing?

Some questions come to mind:
  1. would you go single exhaust to one turbo or twins?
  2. oil cooled or water cooled?
  3. how to figure out what size turbo(s)?
  4. how many pounds of boost can be run safely?
  5. would my holley be sufficient as a blow thru carb? (after removing the choke and changing the floats)
  6. could my two bolt main handle the added power? (currently run aftermarket cast heads, long tubes, performer intake and a mild cam)
  7. could this work with a tbi system as a blow thru?

Last edited by jsera; 12-05-2016 at 03:39 PM.
Old 12-05-2016, 03:50 PM
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mikem350
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A little early for April Fools? First time I heard about this idea, thought it was a joke!

But I would post your questions on a 4th gen Camaro site, there are kits that work! Lots of back and forth plumbing

Last edited by mikem350; 12-05-2016 at 03:51 PM.
Old 12-05-2016, 06:37 PM
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Pop Chevy
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I would think there would be some serious turbo lag and I don't know how or where you would run the pressure tubes.
Old 12-05-2016, 06:56 PM
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Richard454
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STS had been doing it for a while- IIRC went OOB- a year or so ago...


Here's a C5



And here's another idea....just put the blower on a trailer....


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Old 12-05-2016, 10:02 PM
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keithinspace
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Originally Posted by Pop Chevy
I would think there would be some serious turbo lag and I don't know how or where you would run the pressure tubes.
I'd have to pray on it a while to get the system to fit on a C3, but it most certainly is a legitimate system on a C5 and C6.

No question that if I had gotten my C5 Z06, it would have had an STS Turbo system installed immediately.

Zero lag and awesome bolt-on power.

Sounds awesome, too.
Old 12-05-2016, 10:29 PM
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7t9l82
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Anyone know if that system ran an intercooler too. it seems to me it would cool the charge air a little traveling all that way. on a c3 I think it's better under the hood as there is limited room under the car.
Old 12-05-2016, 11:27 PM
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Gale Banks 80'
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I would think that the biggest disadvantage of a C3 for a rear mounted Turbo ( or any Turbo mounted anywhere) compared to a newer car is that its not Fuel Injected and there isn't a ECM to run the show.
Old 12-06-2016, 08:05 AM
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jsera
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Originally Posted by 7t9l82
Anyone know if that system ran an intercooler too. it seems to me it would cool the charge air a little traveling all that way. on a c3 I think it's better under the hood as there is limited room under the car.
I don't believe it did, I read that the air was cooled enough in the travel from the rear of the car forward on sts kits, plus its already drawing cooler air outside of the engine bay

Also, who needs spare tires haha

Last edited by jsera; 12-06-2016 at 08:06 AM.
Old 12-06-2016, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Gale Banks 80'
I would think that the biggest disadvantage of a C3 for a rear mounted Turbo ( or any Turbo mounted anywhere) compared to a newer car is that its not Fuel Injected and there isn't a ECM to run the show.
I'd have to agree but if vortech can do a supercharger with a carb hat then why not?
Old 12-06-2016, 02:46 PM
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7T1vette
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The power recovered by turbo-charging is from the HEAT of the exhaust system. By moving the turbos to the rear, you run the risk of losing a lot of efficiency from heat losses from tubing getting the exhaust to the rear of the car. If you can insulate that tubing well enough, you might be able to salvage most of the exhaust heat; if not, you should just save your money.
Old 12-06-2016, 03:02 PM
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I'm gonna have to have another look underneath, maybe a turbo could be mounted right at the collectors from the long tubes
Old 12-06-2016, 10:48 PM
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I saw that system on a custom mustang at a local show. The guy said it was super expensive and the shop said it was kind of a hassle. I believe the turbo actually works with the gas flow which is why there is a turbo lag as the turbine spools up and the idea for the distance is that the cooler gases will prolong life of the turbo bearings. The cooler air will keep the power boost up with better air\fuel ratio as the forced air isnt exchanging heat through the turbine housing, assisting the intercooler with cooling the compressed in coming gases. The engine wants cold outside air.
Old 12-06-2016, 11:53 PM
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BUNK! Hotter gases means higher pressure. As heat is lost, pressure goes down. As pressure goes down, potential energy is lost to the environment...rather than to the turbo. Simple as that.
Old 12-07-2016, 12:50 AM
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I've ridden in a couple of these STS cars over the years and I'll say for a fun street car...they run very well. They run small turbos that spool quickly. The size of the pipe is critical....but seems to work well overall. Is it the ultimate power adder? No.....but it is very effective. One thing you have to be aware of is scavenging the oil with a pump usually and pumping it back to the engine or to a tank/cooler etc.


I was able to mount twins in the "gill" area of my '67 without too much drama...certainly a C-3 could be done the same way.

JIM
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Old 12-09-2016, 09:36 PM
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That's where I would put em ! You can pull cool air there also.
Old 12-09-2016, 10:34 PM
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The key to reducing turbo lag is to use one small one and one large one - as can be seen in the pictures.

The exhaust flow is used to power the turbos - so pipe size and placement is critical. Many C5 -C6's have the rear mounted setup. IT works well.

Yes they run intercoolers. One manufacturer has "fluted" / fined pipes for the charge pipes which "helps" drop the temperature of the compressed air.

Removing the spare tire carrier would provide room, the fuel tank would have to be insulated from heat...

Anything is possible with enough time and skill.
Old 12-09-2016, 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 7T1vette
BUNK! Hotter gases means higher pressure. As heat is lost, pressure goes down. As pressure goes down, potential energy is lost to the environment...rather than to the turbo. Simple as that.
It's not as simple as that. Hot gas by itself doesn't do much. The turbine also needs one of two things: a pressure differential across it to get the gas flowing into the turbine housing, or high speed gas hitting the blades (momentum transfer). The drop in pressure and temperature across the turbine shows that some work has been done (driving the compressor wheel).

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Old 12-10-2016, 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted by 7T1vette
The power recovered by turbo-charging is from the HEAT of the exhaust system.
Originally Posted by 7T1vette
BUNK! Hotter gases means higher pressure. As heat is lost, pressure goes down. As pressure goes down, potential energy is lost to the environment...rather than to the turbo. Simple as that.
I really, really (really) (I mean...REALLY...) don't want to go down the rabbit hole of a 'toobroke' type discussion, but I have to question the above statements.

I offer an agreement that higher heat equals higher pressure. But I don't believe that any increase in the pressure INSIDE THE EXHAUST PIPE due to the temperature of the gasses INSIDE THE EXHAUST PIPE is the chief/paramount mechanism that is rotating the turbo.

A turbocharger is not a heat exchanger and its performance is not driven or measured by the temperature of the incoming gasses. I DON'T DISAGREE that there may be an increase/decrease in overall performance of the turbocharger related to the temperature of the incoming gas charge, but that is not the 'thing' that creates the power.

The "turbine" side of the turbo responds to the velocity/volume of exhaust gases passing over the vanes. They are generally "cupped" to accept the gasses that flow over them to capture as much of the gas as possible. The "turbine" side is then connected via a hard shaft to the "compressor" side which "accelerates" the air within the intake air charge, hopefully feeding more air to the engine than it is taking in, creating a buildup of pressure within the engine intake...positive manifold pressure...which is the 'thing' that gives you all the power. You're shoving air into the engine instead of it having to suck against a vacuum.

The AMOUNT OF FLOW that is turned into actual work that spins the compressor side of the turbocharger is what defines the efficiency of the turbo. The easiest way to evaluate this efficiency would be to measure the "Delta P"...the change in pressure...across the turbine. The difference between the high pressure on the upstream side compared to the low pressure on the exhaust tip side would tell you how much of the exhaust is being turned into work.

I would speculate that the turbo system would respond well to a more stable/laminar flow into the turbine side of the turbocharger...an opinion that would speak to a positive of having a longer, straighter pipe feeding the turbine side. This would decrease the pulsations of individual cylinders firing and give a more stable "blow" across the turbine vanes.

Again...perhaps there is a positive to having heat in the exhaust charge that passes over the turbines. Simply because hot air takes up more room than cooler air and that would allow there to be a (slightly) greater pressure within the exhaust tube before the turbine. This would allow a greater possible "Delta P" on the upstream side.

HOWEVER, I would counter the argument that a hotter exhaust charge would have lower density and that the lower density of the charge passing over the vanes could/would impact the efficiency of the vanes capturing the exhaust charge.

I will call those two speculations...yours about heat/pressure and mine about density/efficiency...competing notions that are negligible to the overall function of the turbo.

Therefore, I would politely offer the argument that a turbocharger will be very happy creating positive pressure to an intake charge even if the exhaust flow passing over the turbine side of the turbocharger is as cool as a raw clam.

Last edited by keithinspace; 12-12-2016 at 09:23 AM.
Old 12-10-2016, 02:54 PM
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Alan 71
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Hi ks,
How will Santa FIND "too broke's" chimney since he seemed to move everyday, if not several times a day?
Regards,
Alan
Old 12-10-2016, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi ks,
How will Santa FIND "too broke's" chimney since he seemed to move everyday, if not several times a day?
Regards,
Alan
You noticed that too, huh?


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