Purpose of a turbo blanket?

[jonnymooshoo]

What are the benefits of a turbo blanket and is it worth the money. Currently running naked...

[nabs]

My uneducated guess would be to keep it warm so it will be less of a cold start, and keep it warm for longer after the engine shuts off so it can take its time to cool down.

[jonnymooshoo]

Originally Posted by nabs

My uneducated guess would be to keep it warm so it will be less of a cold start, and keep it warm for longer after the engine shuts off so it can take its time to cool down.

Most info I've seen is to keep the ambient temps in the engine bay low to protect paint, electronics, etc. but I wonder if there are any adverse effects 'cause I'm sure the running temps in the turbo will be much higher.

Anyone have experience running one?

[Neva]

Get a good blanket and I think you'll be fine. I'd run one if I had some important stuff beside mine like your BMC thurrr or if you want some protection against hood/paint warping.

It'll keep it warmer for longer like nabs said between trips but it's really saving you on a min or idling before driving. As for turning your car off, since oil feeds won't recirc when it's not running, I don't see it giving any advantage to cooling. Might as well just let it idle a bit before getting out.

[jonnymooshoo]

Originally Posted by Neva

Get a good blanket and I think you'll be fine. I'd run one if I had some important stuff beside mine like your BMC thurrr or if you want some protection against hood/paint warping.

It'll keep it warmer for longer like nabs said between trips but it's really saving you on a min or idling before driving. As for turning your car off, since oil feeds won't recirc when it's not running, I don't see it giving any advantage to cooling. Might as well just let it idle a bit before getting out.

BMC?

[Neva]

brake master cylinder. when you keep it from getting hot you're going to keep a nice responsive brake system aka no squishy-fading pedal from heating brake fluid

[godwin]

It varies on what model your car is, what are the components the car has in the hood etc. Whether to fit one or not never has a one size fit all solution.

I suggest you take some baseline measurements on your current setup with an IR thermometer or better a FLIR, before you contemplate your options.

[Phil@rise]

Keeps the heat in the turbo where its supposes to be. There are no adverse effects to running one. Only posatives.

[Berzerker]

Turbo's are hot motherfuckers. Having a blanket on prevents a lot of heat exchange under the hood. If you've ever seen a turbo at full spool you'll know it glows red hot. Having that layer of protection in your bay is never a bad thing. It's the same as wrapping your headers or manifold.

Berz out.

[brine04]

Most think that turbos are spooled by pressure but heat plays a big part as well so the more you can keep in the manifold/turbine the quicker you will spool.

[blakgtp]

from what ive heard, it's really just to protect other components in your engine bay from the extreme heat of the turbo

[sdubfid]

I ran a turbo blanket and manifold blanket on my old cummins diesel and saw a noticeable egt reduction. Keeps engine bay temps much lower. Also ran one on my turbo civic and water temps were cooler. Will be doing manifold and turbo blanket on the sidekick too.

I work at a turbo manufacturer and there is also a reduction in oil drain temps from the bearing housing on the test stand. Even a piece of ghetto sheetmetal between the turbine housing and bearing housing reduces oil temps in the bearing housing. Try to get a blanket that wraps around the turbine housing sides well.



I used crdpower.com and he will custom make any size you need. The material won't crack or disintegrate either and his prices were very reasonable.

[Zupra]

It insulates the turbo to maintain thermal energy. When the hot exhaust gases are transformed into mechanical energy, it will have greater potential. Theoretically, this should provide better turbo response.

[slowboi]

Most think that turbos are spooled by pressure but heat plays a big part as well so the more you can keep in the manifold/turbine the quicker you will spool.

This is the performance reason. It also keeps temps down in the bay. In my opinion there is no down side to running one. I had one on my wrx and a wrapped downpipe. it did infact increase boost response.

[ts14]

keeps the heat away from other parts in the engine bay, insulates the turbo and "theoretically" the extra turbo temp should let it spool up faster because the exhaust gases are expanding even more.

[pbula23]

I was on the fence about picking one up but now after reading this i think i might just get one! Keeping the bay cooler can never be a bad thing.

[JordanLee]

This is something I just learned recently too! I thought it was just to save the bay from excessive temps but it didn't make sense that youre causing so much more heat retention instead of shedding it off. But the reason I found was that its to keep the gases hot on purpose on the hotside of the turbo to keep the gases more expansive. More expansive = more power. But not on the cold end of course. Its why headers and uppipes are also ceramic coated.

[FN-2199]

Taken from http://www.ptpturboblankets.com/faqs.php

There are several substantial benefits of using a turbo blanket. Here are just a few:

First, a turbo blanket protects components within your engine bay. The turbo blanket isolates the heat produced by your turbocharger, and prevents that heat from damaging, or even igniting, components surrounding the turbocharger within your engine compartment, such as plastic and rubber hoses and electrical wiring, as well as painted surfaces, such as the engine bay and the surface of the hood. Also, it prevents areas of localized high temperature from damaging the engine itself. For example, a common cause of head gasket failure in turbocharged vehicles is localized heating of a portion of the engine. The heat differential between the portion of the engine near the turbocharger and the rest of the engine can cause warping of the head, and thus, head gasket failure. This has been a known cause of head gasket failure in both OEM and aftermarket turbocharged vehicles.

Second, a turbo blanket improves the performance of your turbocharger by keeping "the hot side hot." In keeping the exhaust gases within the turbocharger hot, turbocharger efficiency is improved. As you may know, the hotter a gas is, the more expansive it is. Within a contained system of a specified size, the more expansive a gas is, the greater the pressure derived and thus, the greater the flow of gas to escape the containment. With this increased pressure and flow rate for a given engine RPM, the acceleration of the turbocharger's impeller is increased as compared to the same turbocharger with the engine at the same RPM but with cooler exhaust gases. This equates to faster spool up of the turbocharger, as well as greater attainable levels of boost. What a driver will experience with a turbo blanket is greater turbocharger responsiveness. The faster spool up of the turbocharger means less turbo lag and a more linear power curve.

Third, a turbo blanket improves the performance of your turbocharger by keeping "the cool side cool." As you may know, it is very important to keep engine intake air cool. This is why intercoolers are often utilized with turbochargers. Similar to above, the cooler a gas is (such as intake air), the more dense it is. The more dense the intake air, the more oxygen it contains per unit volume. The more oxygen reaches the engine, the more power can be obtained. In keeping the heat of the exhaust gases contained within the hot side of the turbocharger and away from the cool side of the turbocharger and the intake path, more oxygen per unit volume reaches the engine, and thus, more power.

tl;dr
-Keeps engine bay cool and protects other components from heat damage
-Less intercooler heat soak
-Quicker turbo spool; higher boost potential
-The more dense the air, the more oxygen into the engine = moar powaaaa