Today, Garrett turbo has a wider selection of turbochargers available than they ever have before! In the catalog, Garrett product are grouped by their frame size. The turbine frame size of a turbocharger center section or “CHRA” is dictated by its inducer diameter. The bigger the turbine inducer, the larger the frame size, so any garret gt or gtx turbocharger in the GT42 or GTX42 family has a bigger turbine inducer size than those in the GT35 or GTX35 family, and so on. The model name of each turbo or Center section (CHRA), you’ll notice two digits directly after the frame size. These two digits designate the compressor exducer size in diameter, as measured in millimeters. Let’s look at the GTX4294 as an example. The unit has a GTX42 frame size turbine (82 mm) coupled to a 94 mm (exducer dia) comp wheel. If there is an “R” on the end of it, then that means the unit is a ball bearing turbo. So, a GT4294 is not a ball bearing turbo; whereas a GT4294R is a Garrett ball bearing turbocharger. If an “X” appears between the “GT” and the first number, it signifies that this turbo features a billet compressor wheel with “next generation aerodynamics”. The Garret GTX line is visually different in that the wheels typically are forged (billet), fully machined wheels rather than cast.     Courtesy of MAPerformance

Check out the next generation of turbocharging technology from Honeywell (Garrett), these videos explain how the new generation of Variable-Vane turbos and the new, innovative DualBoost turbos work. Check them out in the links below! Garrett GT35 VNT  Honeywell DualBoost Turbo

Check out this video of our new Manual Bead Roller in action! Simply remove from the box, set in any table vise, and start rolling! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHRrz5dOjc&feature=youtu.be

Turbosmart is proud to announce the release of the new HP (high pressure) wastegate series – available for the UltraGate 38, CompGate 40, and HyperGate 45 models. The new Turbosmart HP wastegates are the highest pressure external wastegates on the market. Turbosmart has designed and manufactured these new HP wastegates with 35 PSI springs as standard, and an optional 40PSI spring pack is available by request. Turbosmart’s new HP wastegates retain the compact size and unparalleled light weight that Turbosmart is known for around the world, while also addressing the need for higher pressure operation. These new wastegates are only 28mm taller than the standard Turbosmart wastegates. “Today’s Diesel customer and serious gas turbo race cars are pushing more boost than ever before.  Turbosmart is proud to be the first to offer this much boost capability on wastegate springs alone.  We’re always happy to be pushing the limits,” says Turbosmart Vice President and General Manager, Marty Staggs. The HP wastegate line is perfect for any high-boost application wanting maximum boost capability.  Turbosmart HP wastegates are ideal for turbo diesel applications, and high boost drag cars.  

An internal wastegate has the wastegate valve is built into the turbine housing. The wastegate valve is controlled by an actuator which consists of a spring and a sealed chamber. The sealed chamber of the actuator is connected to a pressure only source normally on the compressor cover of the turbocharger. How does an Internal Wastegate work? The actuator of the internal wastegate is connected to a pressure only source which means that whatever the pressure is within the pressure side of the turbocharger compressor, the sealed chamber is also at the same pressure. As the pressure of the air being compressed by the turbocharger increases, the pressure within the sealed chamber of the actuator increases which applies a force on the spring. When the pressure is high enough to overcome the spring force, the wastegate valve begins to open, diverting exhaust gas around the turbine, allowing it to maintain its speed. If the pressure drops, then the spring pushes the valve shut and allows the turbine to build up speed. If the pressure increases, then the valve will open further, bypassing more exhaust gas to try to maintain the desired pressure.

What makes a good internal wastegate? Heat handling capabilities – The internal wastegate is mounted in close proximity of the turbocharger which in most cases would have poor air circulation. The actuator must be made of the correct materials to ensure that it functions under any conditions. Turbosmart internal wastegate actuators are made from high quality materials which can withstand high stresses and temperatures for prolonged periods of time. Diaphragm strength – The diaphragm is what seals the top chamber of the actuator so that pressure can build up within that chamber to apply a force on the spring and open the wastegate valve. If the diaphragm cannot withstand the pressure applied or the heat from the environment, then it can rupture which would mean that pressure could not build up inside the chamber and that regardless of the compressor pressure, there would be no force generated to push on the spring and open the wastegate valve resulting in an uncontrollable increase in boost pressure. Turbosmart internal wastegate actuators feature fluoro silicone diaphragms with nomex reinforcement to withstand high working pressures and high temperature. Adjustability – An internal wastegate must be tuned for the specific boost pressure that is needed. Based on target boost pressures and exhaust back pressure, the correct spring needs to be chosen to achieve the desired boost pressure. Having a spring combination that is close to the desired boost pressure will result in a reduction in turbocharger spool up time and better control of pressure at higher engine speeds. Turbosmart internal wastegate actuators feature a wide variety of springs between 3 – 26 PSI and also feature a collar locking system which allows for fast and reliable spring changes.     Choosing the right spring The springs that are installed in either an internal or external wastegate should be rated to the lowest boost pressure desired. The lowest boost level achieved cannot be lower than the spring rating as the spring only begins to allow the valve to open at the pressure rating of the spring. With a boost controller installed, a general rule of thumb is that the maximum boost level that can be achieved safely is double what the spring is rated to. If your target boost pressure is 20 PSI, a minimum spring rating of 10 PSI is recommended. This gives the wastegate more control over the exhaust gas. If the spring rating is too low, as boost levels climb and exhaust flow rates increase, the flow of exhaust can influence the valve more as the only force trying to close it is the spring force. If the spring is too soft, even with no pressure signal to the actuator, the valve will open if there is enough exhaust back pressure, which will limit the amount of boost produced by the turbocharger.   From http://www.turbosmartusa.com/technical-articles/internal-wastegate-faq/

New from Treadstone Performance, this manual bead roller is perfect for rolling a bead onto your aluminum or steel piping and works on piping as small as 3/4" diameter! Rolling a bead onto your pipes helps prevent silicone couplers from blowing off your intercooler piping under high pressure, keeping them secure and keeping you in the race! Comes with everything you need right out of the box, just put it in any vise and start rolling! View Manual Bead Roller Product Page

Check out this excellent article from MotoIQ regarding troubleshooting a turbo, should help everyone that's looking to build their new turbo project!   FACT: most of the time, the turbo is not the source of the problem.  One caveat to this statement, this only applies to turbos made by one of the major OEM turbo manufacturers (they are really the only ones capable of properly engineering turbos): Honeywell Turbo/Garrett, Borg Warner, MHI, IHI, and Cummins.  Out of all of the turbos that get swapped by dealers and shops (think diesel big rigs, work trucks, construction equipment, etc), an average of 90% of them have absolutely nothing wrong with them.  Of the remaining 10%, about 5% or so of the failures were due to user error.  Basically, the dealers see a performance issue and jump to the conclusion of a faulty turbo, and they would be wrong.  Also, let me say this up front, turbos don’t have seals!  I’ll explain this more in-depth in a bit. Remember that turbos are pretty simple devices with the main components on a basic turbo being: compressor wheel, turbine wheel, a shaft that connects the two, and the bearing system.  They get a little more complicated with the addition of variable nozzle turbine parts, but still pretty basic stuff overall.  Exhaust goes in to turn the turbine wheel and flows out.  The turbine spins the compressor which sucks air in and pushes it out.  Oil goes in to support and cool the bearings and flows out.  Water goes in for cooling and flows out.  As they say, the devil is in the details which separates the well-engineered turbos from the bad turbos (and probably not engineered at all), but if a turbo checks out fine on the end-of-line quality check, it's probably fine. The Aftermarket world is a bit different from the OEM world though, in that you have a bunch of hacks that supposedly know what they're doing working on customer cars.  There are many many (many) sources of performance problems as you can see in the Garrett Troubleshooting Guide, but let me go over a couple real world examples I've dealt with. A so-called tuner somehow got a hold of my work number and was completely flipping out.  He had swapped out the stock turbo on a vehicle for a bigger one and wasn't seeing any performance gains.  So of course, he assumed something was wrong with the turbo.  The situation was that he was running more boost than he was on the stock turbo, yet only making the same power and even less.  So I asked about some basic things like checking for boost leaks, etc.  He said everything checked out.  After not really getting anywhere with him, I asked for datalogs.  So I go through the datalogs and compare MAF readings.  The bigger turbo was flowing 30%-40% more than the stock turbo which was clearly in the datalogs.  I dug a little deeper and checked the timing and found that the values were extremely low.  This was super simple data analysis and troubleshooting that the tuner should have done instead of freaking out.  Higher MAF readings equaled proof the bigger turbo was indeed flowing more air.  Low ignition timing explained the low power.  So I made some pretty little charts in Excel to show the issues and emailed the info to him.  I never did hear back from the guy.  Funny thing though, a few days later on a forum, a customer talks about how good of a job the tuner did on their car... Probably the most common issue we hear about in the Aftermarket world is oil smoke.  This is where we get into the issues of 'seals'.  Turbos don't have a seal in the way you might commonly think of seals; it's not like Tupperware where you close the lid and you get an air-tight seal.  Turbos use a combination of piston rings and other tricks to try to keep oil in the center housing and out of the compressor and turbine housings.  Piston rings in turbos are a type of dynamic seal which sits between the rotating shaft and the stationary center housing.  They help prevent oil from leaking past but they are not a 100% seal, so oil does get by them.  The cause of oil leaking past the piston rings is pressure.

The piston rings, or 'seals' don’t really go bad.  There is the very slight chance they can be damaged during installation, but that's very uncommon.  If you think the 'seals' are bad, then you most likely have a much bigger problem which is bearing system failure.  If the bearing system is on the way out, it allows the shaft to wobble a lot, leading to piston ring damage and wheel rubs.   Turbos employ a couple other techniques to create oil slingers.  The goal of the oil slinger is to fling/sling the oil away from the ends of the shaft.  In the case of the turbo in the picture, two grooves are machined that act as the slingers.  The reduced volume of oil at the ends means less oil can leak out.

  There are basically three areas of pressure in a turbo: compressor side, turbine side, and within the center housing.  If the pressures in the compressor and turbine housings are greater than the center housing, then oil will not leak out.  If the pressure in the center housing is greater than the compressor and turbine housings, then oil may leak past the piston rings.

Precision Turbo and Engine's newest release, a K26 flange turbine housing, is designed to give Euro enthusiasts more options when selecting a turbocharger..   The new K26 flange turbine housing from Precision is available for any turbocharger in the current CEA® line that is equipped with a 58mm, 62mm, or 66mm turbine wheel. Additionally, to ensure optimum performance, the CEA® wheels are specifically designed for higher efficiency and faster transient response.   With a turbine A/R of .82, this new housing is a great fit for those who were not able to previously find an appropriately flanged turbocharger and are looking to get the most power out of their vehicle.   Precision's K26 turbine housing is available on the following turbochargers:   Precision Turbo & Engine is committed to offering a robust product line consisting of replacement and upgrade turbochargers for all types of applications, including those from other manufacturers. For more information regarding PTE's K26 turbine housing-equipped turbochargers, specifications, sizing or for purchasing information, please contact Precision Turbo and Engine directly.

Treadstone now offers high quality performance oil, water, and fuel fittings that are cut from strong T6061 aircraft-grade aluminum on CNC turning machines. These fittings provide superior strength in addition to fast and easy assembly. Viton O-rings keep fluids from leaking out, even with the harshest of race fuels. Finally, the black anodizing the final touch of quality that our customers expect from Treadstone Performance, as well as a stealthy look. View AN Fittings