Turbocharged petrol engines
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Turbochargers In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
have been used on various
petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...
s since 1962, in order to obtain greater power or torque output for a given
engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as a loose indicator of the ...
. Most turbocharged petrol engines use a single turbocharger; however, twin-turbo configurations are also often used. In motor racing, turbochargers were used in various forms of motorsport in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the mid-2010s, turbocharging has returned to several motor racing categories, such as Formula One and the World Rally Championship. Several motorcycles in the late 1970s and early 1980s were produced with turbocharged engines.


History

*1962: The first turbocharged production car engine was the Oldsmobile Turbo Jetfire used in the Oldsmobile Jetfire. A
Garrett AiResearch Garrett AiResearch was a manufacturer of turboprop engines and turbochargers, and a pioneer in numerous aerospace technologies. It was previously known as Aircraft Tool and Supply Company, Garrett Supply Company, AiResearch Manufacturing Compa ...
turbocharger with integral wastegate was used. Power was significantly increased over the naturally aspirated (non-turbo) engine, however reliability of these engines was poor and the production of the engine ceased in 1963. One month after the release of the turbocharged Oldsmobile, a turbocharged version of the
Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine The Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 is a flat-six air-cooled automobile engine developed by General Motors (GM) in the late 1950s for use in the rear-engined Chevrolet Corvair of the 1960s. It was used in the entire Corvair line, as well as a wide variety ...
was introduced in the Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder. This engine did not use a wastegate. Production of the turbocharged Corvair engine ran until 1966. * 1965: Beginning this year a turbocharged version of the "Comanche" 154 cubic inch inline slant four cylinder engine was an option in the
International Harvester Scout The International Harvester Scout is an off-road vehicle produced by International Harvester from 1961 to 1980. A precursor of more sophisticated SUVs to come, it was created as a competitor to the Jeep, and it initially featured a fold-down win ...
. This engine developed at 4,000 rpm and at 3,200 rpm and was available until 1967. *1973: The next mass-produced turbocharged car was the BMW 2002 Turbo, introduced at the 1973 Frankfurt motor show and featuring a four-cylinder engine. Due to excessive turbo lag, safety concerns and the 1973/1974 oil crisis, the 2002 Turbo was discontinued in 1974. *1974: At the height of the oil crisis, the
Porsche 911 Turbo The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...
was introduced, becoming the fastest mass-produced car at the time. The Porsche 911 has been available with a turbocharged engine for the majority of the years since 1974. *1977: The
Saab 99 The Saab 99 is a car which was produced by Saab from 1968 to 1984; their first foray into a larger class than the 96. While considered a large family car in Scandinavia, it was marketed as a niche compact executive car in most other markets. It w ...
model begins Saab's long run of turbocharged passenger cars. *1978: The "LD5" version of the
Buick V6 engine The Buick V6, popularly referred to as the 3800 in its later incarnations, originally and initially marketed as ''Fireball'' at its introduction in 1962, was a large V6 engine used by General Motors. The block is made of cast iron and all use two ...
marks the return of turbocharging to cars produced in the United States. *1978-present: Many manufacturers have produced turbocharged cars. Since the early-2010s, many European cars have switched to smaller, turbocharged engines. This trend has since spread to manufacturers from other regions.


Multiple turbochargers


Parallel configuration

A common arrangement for twin-turbo engines, especially on
V engine A V engine, sometimes called a Vee engine, is a common configuration for internal combustion engines. It consists of two cylinder banks—usually with the same number of cylinders in each bank—connected to a common crankshaft. These cylinder b ...
s is a
parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of IBM ...
configuration. This arrangement uses two identically sized turbos, each fed by a separate set of exhaust streams from the engine. Having two smaller turbos produce the same aggregate amount of boost as a larger single turbo allows them to reach their optimal rpm, more quickly, thus improving boost delivery.


Sequential configuration

Another twin-turbo arrangement commonly used on car engines is a
sequential In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called th ...
configuration, where one turbo is active across the entire rev range of the engine and the other activates at higher rpm. Below this rpm, both exhaust and air inlet of the secondary turbo are closed. Being individually smaller they have reduced lag and having the second turbo operating at a higher rpm range allows it to get to full rotational speed before it is required. Such combinations are referred to as a sequential twin-turbo. Sequential twin-turbo systems are usually more complicated than parallel twin-turbo systems because they require additional wastegate pipes and valves to control the direction of the exhaust gases.


Other configurations

Automobile manufacturers rarely use more than two turbochargers. Some exceptions are the triple-turbocharger system used by the 2012-2017 BMW N57S straight-six diesel engine, the quad-turbocharger system used by the V12 engine in the 1991-1995
Bugatti EB110 The Bugatti EB 110 is a mid-engine sports car produced by Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. from 1991 until 2002, when the company was liquidated. It was the only production model made by Romano Artioli's Italian incarnation of Bugatti. History Deve ...
and the quad-turbocharger system used by the W16 engine in the 2005-2015
Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pie ...
and 2016-present
Bugatti Chiron The Bugatti Chiron is a mid-engine two-seater sports car designed and developed in Germany by Bugatti Engineering GmbH and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. The successor to the B ...
.


Motorsport


Indy car racing

The first turbocharged engine in motorsport was the
Kurtis Kraft Kurtis Kraft was an American designer and builder of race cars. The company built midget cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Bonneville cars, and USAC Championship cars. It was founded by Frank Kurtis when he built his own midge ...
-Cummins Diesel driven by
Fred Agabashian Levon "Fred" Agabashian (August 21, 1913 – October 13, 1989) was an American racer of midget cars and Indy cars. Career Midget car racing Agabashian competed in his first midget car race in his teens. His first championship was the 1937 N ...
. He competed in the
1952 Indianapolis 500 The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Champions ...
, qualifying on pole. However the turbo failed on lap 71 out of 200. Another one of the first uses of turbocharging in motorsport was a turbocharged version of the
Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarly ...
engine, which first competed at the
1966 Indianapolis 500 The 50th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 30, 1966. The official program cover for the race celebrated both the 50th running of the race, and 150th anniversary of In ...
and used a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger. This engine won the
1968 Indianapolis 500 The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. For the second year in a row, one of Andy Granatelli's STP Turbine-powered machines was leading late in the race ...
and power outputs of over were achieved in 1973.


Sports car racing

In 1972, the Porsche 917/10K became the first turbocharged car to win the
Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...
series. The 917/10K was powered by a turbocharged flat-twelve engine producing up to .


Formula 1

In
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
, the original "Turbo Era" lasted from the 1977 season until the 1988 season. During this era,
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
,
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
, BMW, and
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
produced engines with a capacity of , and were capable of producing from over this period. The first turbocharged Formula One car was the
Renault RS01 The Renault RS01 was the first Formula One car to be powered by a turbocharged engine. It was also the first to use radial tyres, which were provided by Michelin. Designed by André de Cortanze and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, it first appeared at the ...
, however early engines often suffered from reliability problems. By the mid-1980s, turbocharged engines dominated Formula One, until they were banned after the 1988 season. Turbochargers returned to Formula One for the 2014 season, with turbocharged V6 engines replacing the naturally aspirated V8 engines that were previously used. The turbocharging combined with more powerful energy recovery systems kept the power level similar to the previous V8 engines, despite the smaller capacity and the lower rev limits.


Touring car racing

In the German
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...
(DTM) racing series, the "Turbo Era" of 1985 until 1989 saw Volvo, Alfa Romeo and Ford becoming the first manufacturers to use turbocharged engines. In 1985, the Volvo 240 Turbo won the
European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World T ...
, before turbochargers were banned at the start of 1990 season due to cost reasons. Since the 2019 season, turbocharging has returned to DTM, with turbocharged inline-four engines (shared with the Japanese
Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...
"Class One" regulations) replacing the previous naturally aspirated V8 engines.


Rally

During the
Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
era of 1982-1986, turbocharged engines producing up to dominated the
World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
. Turbocharging returned for the 2012 season and has been used since. WRC rally cars use a turbocharged inline-four engine with a 34 mm restrictor in the air intake system.


Motorcycles

Turbocharging is rarely used by manufacturers of motorcycles, with the following being the only examples of factory turbocharged motorcycles: * 1978 Kawasaki Z1R-TC * 1982 Honda CX 500 Turbo * 1982-1983 Yamaha XJ 650 Seca Turbo * 1983 Honda CX 650 Turbo * 1983 Suzuki XN85 Turbo * 1983-1985 Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo


References

{{reflist, 30em Gasoline engines Supercharging