Slow Acceleration
The primary function of a turbo is to make your car more powerful. One of the first noticeable symptoms is a lack of power and slow acceleration. If you notice that it doesn’t accelerate as fast as it used to, the first thing you should consider checking is the turbo
 
Burning Oil
Burning excessive amounts of oil is typically a sign of a turbo failure. Locate the downpipe, at the front of the turbo, and disconnect it. You can look inside the turbine by using an endoscope; if there is oil inside, that’s a sign of gradual failure. You should resolve the problem as soon as possible; if left untreated, your turbo will eventually fail.
 
 Excessive Exhaust Smoke
If the turbo housing cracks and or if there are worn internal seals, this may lead to oil leaking into your exhaust. As the oil burns off you will see a distinct grey or blue smoke. This symptom is more apparent when the turbo is in use. So if you notice smoke when you rev your engine, it could be a sign of a faulty turbo.
Check Engine Light or CEL
On most modern cars, the computer diagnostics will detect a failing turbo resulting in the “check your engine.” With that said, the CEL is displayed for a number of problems, sometimes it warns us of a loose gas cap and sometimes about far more serious issues. One of those more serious issues could be the turbo. It’s best to have a mechanic look at your vehicle if the CEL is displayed.
 
Loud Whining Noise
When the boost is running, a failing turbo could make a loud whining noise. The noise usually sounds like a siren, and it tends to get louder as the problem aggravates. If you notice an unusual noise paired with some of the above symptoms, your turbo might be failing.
 
Cracks or Failing Seals
A turbocharger forces air back into the cylinders. If there are any cracks or broken seals, then some of that necessary air is lost. This often means the turbo will become overworked in order to maintain the applied boost. This is a fairly common problem that leads to a faulty turbocharger.
 
 
Carbon Deposits
At each servicing, you should have your oil changed. A lack of oil change results in a build-up of carbon deposits. Fresh oil benefits the entire motor, including the turbo. Remember, even the smallest amount of particles and contaminants can cause serious problems.

The word "turbo" immediately conjures up images of speed and sports cars. The belief is that a turbo charger is only useful if you want to go faster. While a turbo charge will do exactly that--make you go faster--there are also several other advantages for having one on your car. So if you are considering purchasing a car with a turbo charger, or having one installed, you may want to think about the other benefits to see if it works with what you are looking for.
Fuel Consumption
Comparing an engine with a turbo charger and one without which produces the same amount of power, the engine with the turbo will use less fuel. This is because the actual engine size will be smaller. For example, if both engines produce 200 horsepower, the turbocharged version may be able to do this with only four cylinders, while the one without would require six cylinders. A turbocharged engine can get up to 20 percent better fuel economy.
 
Noise Pollution
With a smaller overall engine size to produce the same amount of power, the turbocharged engine is less noisy than a naturally aspirated engine. Also, the turbocharger acts as an additional silencer, muffling any noise generated.
 
High-Altitude Performance
Engines require air pressure to burn fuel and generate power. At higher altitudes there is lower air pressure, so regular engines will produce much less power. On the other hand, the performance and power generation of a turbocharged engine actually improves. This is because there is a greater pressure difference between the air pressure ahead of the turbo and the lower pressure at the exhaust. The turbocharger increases the density of air entering the engine to generate more power.
 
Size and Weight
With fewer cylinders to produce the same amount of power, the overall engine size and weight will be less than a normal engine. A lighter car is more efficient. To generate the same amount of power with a regular engine, you need to make it bigger and heavier.
 
Reduced Emissions
Governments are requiring that car manufacturers improve the average gas mileage and reduce the emissions produced in cars they manufacture. A turbocharged engine is smaller than a regular engine, burns less fuel and generates less environmentally unfriendly carbon dioxide.

Last month, we discussed the technical topics of boost threshold and turbo lag. Here we look at the different turbos on offer, and how manufacturers are dealing with the issues mentioned above.
 
When it comes to building an engine, turbochargers can offer an excellent return on investment. A good turbo can provide extra oomph, without the need to increase engine capacity, which means less fuel and fewer emissions. But, as with anyt hing in life, there are compromises. Firstly, a turbocharger kicks in properly only once it reaches its boost threshold. As long as engine revs stay below this point, engine delivery feels flat and uninspiring. Secondly, once you’ve crossed the threshold, there’s still the issue of turbo lag to contend with. You’ll often find that there’s a hesitation between when you put your foot down, and when the engine responds.
 
This happens because pressure is released from a turbo when not under full load so as to protect it and increase its longevity. So, when you put your foot down again, full pressure needs to first be introduced, which is where the lag comes from. Love or hate the turbocharger, it’s here to stay. The days of the naturally aspirated V8 are over. Not even a vehicle like the F-150 Raptor boasts a big V8 these days. So, manu-facturers are forced to come up with innovative ways to reduce lag and widen the effective rev range. Here are six common turbocharger configurations.
 
1. Single turbo
The simplest, and still most common, type of turbo is the single-turbocharger set-up. Because of its relative simplicity (compared to the other options on this list), it is the cheapest, but arguably not the best, turbo option available. A single turbocharger can’t be effective across the whole rev range. Generally speaking, you have to choose either a smaller turbo that kicks in lower down on the rev counter and offers good low-down torque, or a larger one that will provide more top-end power. In either case, the boost range will be fairly narrow, and lag will be an issue.
 
2. Sequential turbos
Having to choose between a small low-end turbo or a big high-end one presents a rather intuitive solution: fit two, one small and one large. That way you have a small turbo that kicks in early and provides good torque, and a bigger one that offers top-end grunt, resulting in a wide and flat torque curve. On the downside, quite obviously, you’re left with an engine set-up that is expensive, heavy and complex.
 
3. Twin-scroll turbo
A turbo is powered by exhaust gases that are redirected to spin turbine blades and force air into the engine. Now, an engine’s cylinders fire in sequence, meaning that exhaust gases enter the turbo in pulses. As you can probably imagine, these pulses can easily overlap and interfere with one another when powering the turbo, and a twin-scroll turbocharger solves this issue by using a divided-inlet turbine housing and a specific exhaust manifold that pairs the right cylinders to each scroll. In a four-cylinder vehicle, you can then have the first and fourth cylinders powering one scroll, and two and three powering another. This means that there’s less pulse overlap and less lag.
 
4. VGT turbo
A variable geometry turbo (VGT) is an expensive and complex power solution that’s especially prevalent in diesel engines. A VGT has a ring of aerodynamically-shaped vanes in the turbine housing that can alter their area-to-radius ratio to match the revolutions of the engine. At low revs, area-to-radius ratio creates more pressure and velocity to spool up the turbo more effectively. At higher revolutions, the ratio increases to let in more air. The result is a wider boost range and less lag.
5. Variable twin-scroll turbo
A variable twin-scroll turbo combines a VGT with a twin-scroll setup, so at low revolutions, one of the scrolls is closed completely, forcing all the air into the other. This results in good turbo response and low-end power. As you speed up, a valve opens to allow air into the other scroll (this is a completely variable process, meaning the valve opens in small increments), you get good high-end performance. You get the sort of performance from a single turbo that you’d normally only be able to get from a twin-turbo set-up.
 
6. Electric turbo
A very recent development is the introduction of turbos with electric compressors. The compressor provides instant boost to the engine, until the turbocharger has spooled up enough. A similar version of this can be found in Audi’s SQ7. With instant boost, lag becomes a thing of the past, but again, the system is expensive and complex. A compressor needs a motor, which in turn needs to be powered, so this is not a simple system to implement.

Oil problems, debris, overspeeding, wear and tear…there are a number of different things that can cause a turbocharger to fail, but catching a problem early can save you a lot of time, money and hassle in the long run.
 
At AET, we’ve been turbo reconditioning since 1974, and in this post, we explore some of the tell tale signs that your turbo might be on the way out, or in need of urgent repairs/maintenance by one of our turbocharging experts.
 
Sluggish performance
One of the key indicators that something isn’t quite right with your turbo is a reduction in your vehicle’s performance.
 
You may notice that it no longer accelerates as quickly as it once did, or fails to reach the top speed it should. In addition, you may notice that the turbo no longer kicks in and provides a power boost at around 1000-1500 rpm.
 
The check engine light
The check engine or engine warning lights appearing on your vehicle dashboard is never good news, and can denote a huge number of different engine faults, including turbocharger failure.
 
Never ignore your engine warning lights – have a competent mechanic examine your engine to diagnose the fault properly, as soon as you can, as leaving it will only cause further damage to your engine.
 
Whining noises
Sometimes, you can hear when a turbo is failing – listen out for a distinctive noise when your turbo kicks in at around 1000-1500 rpm. Typically this sounds like a dentists drill, or like a siren, and is a sign that your compressor wheel might be damaged.
 
Any changes in the sound your engine makes when in use are a cause for concern, and worthy of immediate further investigation.
 
Smoking exhaust
Blue/grey exhaust smoke is typically caused by engine oil leaking into the exhaust system, and this can indicate a number of different common turbocharger faults.
 
These include the wasting away/breaking of internal seals, or cracks in the turbine housing.
Usually, you’ll be able to notice the blue smoke becoming more apparent when your engine reaches higher rpm after being idle, and the engine becomes hot enough to burn off the oil.
 
The boost gauge
If your vehicle came fitted with a boost gauge (which lets you know how much boost your turbo is producing), or you’ve had an aftermarket one installed, then this will be a good indicator of how well your turbo is working.
 
If the boost number drops, then it’s evidence that the efficiency and output of your turbo is compromised, which could be caused by any number of different turbocharger faults.
 
Whatever the cause, it’s best to do some further investigation, and have it examined as a priority.

 
As we all know, wear and tear on anything is inevitable, so when your turbo needs to be repaired, you need to go to a reputable turbo repair center.

What is a turbo?

A turbo or turbocharger is a gas compressor that is used to force air into the internal combustion engine. It increases the amount of air entering the engine in order to create more power. The compressor in the turbo is powered by a turbine that is driven by the exhaust gas from the engine.

How does a turbo work?

The turbo uses the exhaust gas to drive the turbine. The turbine then spins the air compressor, which then pushed extra air (oxygen) into the cylinders. This allows them to burn more fuel each second and this is why a car with a turbo can produce more power.

Here is a step-by-step explanation:

Cool air enters the engine's air intake and heads toward the compressor or the turbo The compressor fan in the turbo helps to suck air in The compressor squeezes and heats up the incoming air and blows it out again Hot, compressed air from the compressor passes through the heat exchanger, which cools it down Cooled, compressed air enters the cylinder's air intake. The extra oxygen helps to burn fuel in the cylinder at a faster rate Since the cylinder burns more fuel, it produces energy more quickly and can send more power to the wheels via the piston, shafts, and gears Waste gas from the cylinder exits through the exhaust outlet The hot exhaust gases blowing past the turbine fan make it rotate at high speed The spinning turbine is mounted on the same shaft as the compressor. So, as the turbine spins, the compressor spins too The exhaust gas leaves the car, wasting less energy than it would otherwise

What Stallion Turbos can do for you:

At Stallion Turbos we sell turbos, do turbo repairs and the reconditioning of turbos. We have been in the industry for over 25 years and have the experienced, highly trained staff and the equipment to perform the servicing, repairs and reconditioning to turbos. With our state-of-the-art equipment we are able to run diagnostic checks on your turbo and determine where the problem is and the most effective way to repair it.
We offer trusted turbo repairs on a wide range of vehicles and still offer a 12 month warranty. We have studied all aspects of different turbo designs and their features extensively. We have managed to integrate an excellent turbo repair service specifically aimed at complex designs and to ensure that we do turbo repairs to a condition where it can be used again confidently and reliably.
It’s very important for us to identify the cause of failure, do turbo repairs to a reliable condition and also give advice on what caused the failure in the first place.
So if you are looking for reliable turbo repairs at competitive prices, contact the expert team at Stallion Turbos today!