Aug 11, 2021 Chris Kambouris, TurboDirect SA, Turbocharger
The turbocharger ruled the road before the racetrack.
From disc brakes to multi-valve engines to electronically shifted transmissions, the list of technologies that migrated from race cars to street-legal vehicles is long.
Rarely, however, does technology pioneered for regular production cars move from the road to the track. The turbocharger is an exception. The technology that made turbochargers an ultra-sophisticated, high- performance device for cars, SUVs and even pickups also has benefited vehicles that are raced, both on road and off. Although in the 80’s the turbocharger was key to winning F1 cars. This technology has become the norm in any vehicle with an internal combustion engine today.
This technology is one of the only automotive components with future growth. Compare an alternator for example – every engine has one, and always had one installed – no future growth. There are many engine manufacturers who still today do not have turbochargers installed on their engines – this relates to what we term future growth in the turbocharger business.
Suppliers such as BorgWarner, IHI and Mitsubishi and Garrett have spent billions of dollars on turbocharger research and development over the last 20 or so years. Those investments have yielded breakthroughs that have made turbochargers lighter, more responsive, and most importantly, more reliable. "Turbos now are kind of a fit-and-forget thing now," says Stephen Eriksen, COO of Honda Performance Development, American Honda's racing entity. "It does need attention, because it is a critical component of the powertrain infrastructure, but it's not a big worry bead. It's a piece that has become exceptionally reliable."
That is a notable achievement for the industry considering the superheated temperatures the turbo endures and the speed of the engine, the car and the turbo's inner components. Eriksen said a typical Indianapolis 500 car runs at 230 mph, the engine runs in a range of 11,500 to 12,000 rpm, and the turbine and compressor wheels spin at upward of 90,000 rpm for 500 miles.
And while many of the turbo's most recent innovations first saw action in motorsports, a few improvements made their debuts on more humble stages: dealership showrooms. Cross-pollination in turbo technology between street cars and race cars has been going on for years, says Turbo Direct SA CEO and Founder Chris Kambouris. “There is a lot of cross-sharing, it's not always from motorsport to road cars. The way the turbo suppliers use it is as another tool to help their engineering organization to act fast and understand the automotive landscape well, “said Kambouris.
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