Road racing and water cooled turbos
06-23-2006, 03:58 PM
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Road racing and water cooled turbos
The turbos on my TTiX kit are not water cooled... I am wondering to what extent this will be problematic for constant, hard use. I want to set my Z06 up for more twisties and auto-x than for straight line acceleration.
I think the old TTi kits were water cooled. Any reason this was eliminated? If I recall, they tapped into the heater hoses to feed the turbos. It seems like it would be relatively easy work to do.
It seems Turbonetics makes the same turbos in the X kit with water cooled housings so the excercise would just be one of tapping into the heater hoses and routing hose down to the turbos, right?
On the other hand, if the only danger is oil coking... and not excessive heat or damage to the turbos... I can always just be sure to give the car a cooldown lap and change the oil when I'm done for the day. Thoughts?
I think the old TTi kits were water cooled. Any reason this was eliminated? If I recall, they tapped into the heater hoses to feed the turbos. It seems like it would be relatively easy work to do.
It seems Turbonetics makes the same turbos in the X kit with water cooled housings so the excercise would just be one of tapping into the heater hoses and routing hose down to the turbos, right?
On the other hand, if the only danger is oil coking... and not excessive heat or damage to the turbos... I can always just be sure to give the car a cooldown lap and change the oil when I'm done for the day. Thoughts?
06-23-2006, 04:15 PM
#2
Here's a graph right from APS website regarding oil temps water cooled vs non-water cooled.
"Water Cooling
Whilst turbochargers began to be applied to passenger cars in the late 1970's in response to the energy crisis, the first generation passenger car turbochargers were derived directly from commercial diesel engines. Engine oil was used to provide both lubrication and cooling and whilst this was an effective compromise between cost, durability and performance, in high engine performance applications durability suffered through fouling of the turbocharger bearings through high turbine and bearing temperatures.
By encasing the turbocharger bearings in intricate water passages, engine coolant is used to significantly reduce turbocharger bearing temperatures in order to eliminate the coking and lacquering issues that fouled old fashioned turbocharger bearings. Non water cooled turbochargers have no place in a high performance gasoline engine application and should be avoided at all costs.
The graph above shows the turbocharger bearing temperature leading up to engine shutdown and for 20 minutes following shutdown. The temperature is displayed relative to the coking threshold of high quality mineral based oil.
As is clearly evident, the old fashioned non water cooled turbocharger operates above the coking threshold when under high load and experiences a very high temperature increase through heat soak immediately after engine shutdown. The APS water cooled turbocharger on the other hand remains cooler than the coking threshold at all times and the bearing temperature increase through heat soak immediately after shutdown is reduced drastically."
"Water Cooling
Whilst turbochargers began to be applied to passenger cars in the late 1970's in response to the energy crisis, the first generation passenger car turbochargers were derived directly from commercial diesel engines. Engine oil was used to provide both lubrication and cooling and whilst this was an effective compromise between cost, durability and performance, in high engine performance applications durability suffered through fouling of the turbocharger bearings through high turbine and bearing temperatures.
By encasing the turbocharger bearings in intricate water passages, engine coolant is used to significantly reduce turbocharger bearing temperatures in order to eliminate the coking and lacquering issues that fouled old fashioned turbocharger bearings. Non water cooled turbochargers have no place in a high performance gasoline engine application and should be avoided at all costs.
The graph above shows the turbocharger bearing temperature leading up to engine shutdown and for 20 minutes following shutdown. The temperature is displayed relative to the coking threshold of high quality mineral based oil.
As is clearly evident, the old fashioned non water cooled turbocharger operates above the coking threshold when under high load and experiences a very high temperature increase through heat soak immediately after engine shutdown. The APS water cooled turbocharger on the other hand remains cooler than the coking threshold at all times and the bearing temperature increase through heat soak immediately after shutdown is reduced drastically."