AIR FLOW
For any given engine, there are 3 ways to improve performance
1.Make it Bigger
2.Spin it Faster
3. Improve Efficiency
Your engine needs to breathe if you want to make horsepower. How well it breathes is directly related to the cylinder heads ability to supply the piston's demand for air and fuel. Supplying the piston's demand takes more than just making the port larger or smaller. It takes a scientific approach and an understanding of the dynamic events that occur during engine operation. It's a combination of volume, velocity, time elements, component lengths and the full architecture of the intake and exhaust tract design for the intended purpose of the engine's application. It can be a complicated affair to sort out how any particular engine will respond to a ported cylinder head. This section is dedicated to efficiency regarding airflow.
One of the easiest and most dramatic improvements that can be made on a turbocharged engine is the air going into and out of the head. Most plumbing seems to be an afterthought. All the focus is on engine work and head flow, then the turbo plumbing is chopped, diced, sliced and hammered into place with no regard to smoothness or directing the air in an efficient manner. Turbo plumbing is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, yet gets the least amount of attention. Lots of time is given to head porting, but the air going to the head and out to the turbos is largely ignored.
Rule # 1. Size matters. If you have a 3" hole coming out of the turbo, use 3" tubing all the way to the next transition. Always go from small to big. Never reduce or neck down.
Rule # 2. Smoothness matters. If you can feel a rough place with your finger, you can bet the air will be turbulent at that point. Transitions are critical. It is not good enough just to move air from point A to point B. The idea is to move the air as quickly and with minimal amount of turbulence as possible. Turbulence slows down the airflow and creates heat. Heat robs horsepower.
Here is a prime example of turbulent airflow.
this is the direction of flow
this section will be cut out and redone - a transition has to be made from 3 ½"round tubing to a 3" x 4" rectangular flange to fit the new housing.
this is not something you can buy, so it has to be handmade
the first step is to get the two to line up better
this can be fixed by cutting a V notch out of the round tubing
now it lines up
starting the flange transition - bending on a T-dolly
notice the knife edge on the middle web of the flange
small mismatch at the corner - easily stretched on the T-dolly
next step is to cut a couple of angles with a cut off wheel - rotate and tack weld
hammerform made in the cnc mill to form the transition cone
1/2 of the cone assy formed
inside is welded and blended
Looking for better performance? Look at your air flow first. Try to imagine a stream of high pressure water as it travels through the plumbing. Are there dead ends, mismatches, rough transitions, sharp 90's, or places that would cause turbulence? If so, it may be the cheapest horsepower boost you will find.
more examples of turbo plumbing here
we did something a little different here on the transition from the bottom charger to the top two.
It never made sense to me to spend all the time and effort porting a head, then deadhead the air into a pipe or tube when transitioning into multiple turbochargers.
To get all this under this hood, it had to be compact, but as efficient as possible also.
This block was designed to solve both of those problems
A transition from 5" round to two rectagular openings 90 degrees apart
v-band machined to accept bottom charger flange
simple, compact, and 100% efficient airflow
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