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How do turbos work?

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Old May 30, 2007 | 06:29 PM
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Default How do turbos work?

This may be stupid post , but I dont care. Can someone give me a general rundown on how a turbo works?
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Old May 30, 2007 | 06:56 PM
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general rundown? exhaust gas turn a turnbine in the turbo, which turn a turbine in the intake, which pressurizes the air, (Hence the amount of boost), which makes you go faster. Hope this helps.
The higher the RPM's the faster the turbo turns, the more boost you make.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 06:57 PM
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Short and sweet is the exhaust spins a turbine blade, which is turn attached via a shaft to a turbine on the intake side. Motor runs, exhaust gases trun the turbine on exhaust side, which in turn runs the turbine blades (compressor) on the other end of the shaft. Thus compressing the intake air and forcing more air into the cylinders. A top line system also has a cooler to cool the compressed intake air. More air into the cylinders=more fuel supply=more hp and torque. There is a lot more involved, but that is a short description.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 07:01 PM
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Thanks guys.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 08:03 PM
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Nothing to add except this. A turbo is a supercharger but simply a different type. It's full name is a turbosupercharger. It's actually a bit more efficient overall than a belt or otherwise mechanically driven supercharger. In other words, it requires less HP to operate for a given HP gain. But that being said, both types have their pluses and minuses that need to be considered for a given application. I like the turbo better for a street application because there is less drag during normal driving, hence I believe you could achieve better overall economy with one. A standard supercharger is more responsive from a wider range of engine speeds. This is a very broad overview (and I'm far from an expert in the matter) but something that will hopefully encourage you to do more research on the subject, if you're considering either.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 09:01 PM
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http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm
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Old May 30, 2007 | 10:00 PM
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the turbo charger has been around for a long time... but the first mass useage was in WWII, the big bombers were turbo charged.

many of the fighters were supercharged.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 10:06 PM
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Originally Posted by bogus
the turbo charger has been around for a long time... but the first mass useage was in WWII, the big bombers were turbo charged.

many of the fighters were supercharged.
Thanks bogus. Got it.............Bombers turbocharged.......Fighters supercharged.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Tommy T-Bone
Thanks bogus. Got it.............Bombers turbocharged.......Fighters supercharged.
Don't forget many aircraft also used both
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Old May 30, 2007 | 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by VtVette
Don't forget many aircraft also used both
So were the DDE 6V92 & 8V92, but they both were better as boat anchors.

Ever been around when someone puts on a new turbo, doesn't prelube it and fires the engine up. It sure makes some screechy sounds right before it comes apart.
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Old May 30, 2007 | 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by aminnich
So were the DDE 6V92 & 8V92, but they both were better as boat anchors.

Ever been around when someone puts on a new turbo, doesn't prelube it and fires the engine up. It sure makes some screechy sounds right before it comes apart.
50,000 to 100,000RPM with no prelube will do that
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Old May 30, 2007 | 11:41 PM
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Originally Posted by VtVette
You beat me to it. I love that site.
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Old May 31, 2007 | 07:11 AM
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I thought this was intereting.
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Old May 31, 2007 | 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted by bogus
the turbo charger has been around for a long time... but the first mass useage was in WWII, the big bombers were turbo charged.

many of the fighters were supercharged.
The P-38 (my favorite) and the P-47 were turbocharged.
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Old May 31, 2007 | 10:35 PM
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Originally Posted by 69427
The P-38 (my favorite) and the P-47 were turbocharged.
A co worker of mine was involved from beginning to end in this expedition to recover a P-38 lost during WW2 below 300 feet of ice. If you have the time to read it it's a fascinating story. He was one of the guys that was lowered 300 feet below the ice, then dismantled the aircraft piece by piece, and hoisted it to the surface:

http://p38assn.org/glacier-girl-recovery.htm

The pictures and story's he tells of that expedition are nothing short of extraordinary.

I used to be involved in a lot of vintage war aircraft restoration work but nothing near that level. Most of the planes we worked on were recovered from the bottoms of bodies of fresh water.
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Old May 31, 2007 | 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by VtVette
A co worker of mine was involved from beginning to end in this expedition to recover a P-38 lost during WW2 below 300 feet of ice. If you have the time to read it it's a fascinating story. He was one of the guys that was lowered 300 feet below the ice, then dismantled the aircraft piece by piece, and hoisted it to the surface:

http://p38assn.org/glacier-girl-recovery.htm

The pictures and story's he tells of that expedition are nothing short of extraordinary.

I used to be involved in a lot of vintage war aircraft restoration work but nothing near that level. Most of the planes we worked on were recovered from the bottoms of bodies of fresh water.
I'm reasonably familiar with the Glacier Girl story (saw it on PBS or Discovery Channel, or something). It's fascinating. I recently moved from Indiana, but while I lived there I had plans to drive down to Kentucky (I believe) to watch it fly on the special occasions when it was brought out. I'm not terribly close anymore, but I hope to see it one of these years. Please feel free to PM me with some stories about what you've worked on. My father-in-law and I are big aviation enthusiasts.
thanks,
Mike
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Old Jun 1, 2007 | 11:49 AM
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corky bell wrote an awesome book if you really want to learn about this stuff.
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Old Jun 1, 2007 | 12:45 PM
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I use to be a Turbo Mustang guy..

But.. we had an article for those that were new to turbos, and it would likely prove useful to you:

http://www.theturboforums.com/turbotech/main.htm
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