- Image Source: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/turbocharger-mark-sykes.html

A Brief History of Turbochargers

You probably know how they work (Sorry Jezza, it's not witchcraft.), so let's talk instead about how they squish air for your car.

2y ago
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What is a turbocharger?

I know, I know, in the summary I said I'll focus on the history behind the pinwheel of speed, but some of you may not be entirely familiar with the system so I'll quickly explain what it is.

Image Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/main-engine/what-is-turbocharger-surging/

Image Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/main-engine/what-is-turbocharger-surging/

A turbocharger, also called a turbo, works in a very straightforward manner. As the name implies, internal combustion engines are powered by combustion reactions inside the engine. Those of you who are familiar with chemistry will remember that in order for a textbook combustion reaction to occur, two things must be present: fuel and air.

It's not hard to understand that burning more fuel per combustion stroke means more power from the engine. Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple because the reaction can only burn more fuel if you have more air. How do you get that "more air"? Multiple ways, but seeing as how this article is about turbos, that's what I'll be talking about. I may cover the other forced induction systems in the future, however, so stay tuned.

A turbo is commonly described as having two sides: the "hot" side and the "cool" side. Don't be mistaken, however, because even the "cool" side can burn your hand, so never touch a running or recently running turbo! Exhaust gases from the engine travel through the hot side and are forced to spin a turbine. The turbine is directly connected via an axle to the cool side, where the axle spins an impeller (called the "compressor wheel" in the picture above). The impeller drags air into the turbo with force, therefore compressing it, and sends it into the engine. That is the most basic description of a turbocharger, so keep in mind things like oil usage and intercoolers were skipped over.

The Part You Actually Came For

Image Source: http://www.turbos.bwauto.com/en/company/history.aspx

Image Source: http://www.turbos.bwauto.com/en/company/history.aspx

The first patent for a turbocharger was in 1905, by a Swiss engineer named Alfred Büchi. Alfred's father was a well respected engineer himself, and Alfred followed a similar path and earned a degree in engineering in 1903. Alfred is definitely most known for his very powerful contribution in the forced induction field because of his turbocharger.

Alfred's research was mostly focused on marine engines, where he was discovering their usefulness when applied to large diesel engines inside heavy ships. It wasn't long, however, before the turbo began being tested inside of aircraft. At high altitude, the engines inside airplanes were struggling to breathe. The higher the pilots flew, the more the planes choked on the thin air. Turbos could compensate by compressing the air which allowed the engines to perform at high altitudes with much more ease.

Turbocharging in Cars

Image Source: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/02/09/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1963-chevrolet-corvair-monza-spyder-2/

Image Source: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/02/09/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1963-chevrolet-corvair-monza-spyder-2/

According to a quick Google search, the first passenger car to receive a turbo was the Chevrolet Corvair Monza in 1962. However, race cars have been known to use turbos as early as the 1950's. What made the turbo popular was the ability to make an engine substantially more powerful without adding too much extra weight as the engines could remain small with fewer cylinders but still yield unspeakable output.

Like almost every new invention, the turbo had a time where it was developed rapidly and changed the game it was in. For turbos, that game was speed, and that time was the 1980's. The 1980's saw the turbo become a champion in its own right, by propelling Formula One cars to previously unimaginable specifications and making rally cars fly higher than ever before.

Image Source: https://www.web2carz.com/autos/everything-else/6694/25-of-the-best-rally-photos-and-videos-we-could-find

Image Source: https://www.web2carz.com/autos/everything-else/6694/25-of-the-best-rally-photos-and-videos-we-could-find

There are some things that can always be counted on. You can count on rain the day after you remove an umbrella from your car. You can count on getting phone calls at the worst possible times. When it comes to advances in racing technology, you can always count on development so rapid it becomes dangerous and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) getting involved to prevent more people from dying. The FIA saw the Formula One cars as missiles with drivers inside, and Group B rally was starting to have a death toll.

The resulting restrictions from the FIA occurred in the late 1980's. Rally cars were given restrictions on how powerful the turbos could be and Group B was ended, while Formula One was outright banned from using turbos altogether. The FIA did not affect how popular turbos were becoming on the cars of the people, and turbos continued to spool their way into the engines of some of the most notable cars ever made throughout the 1980's and into the 1990's.

Hot hatches, sports cars, and trucks alike were benefiting from the boost, and many of the most popular cars to talk about use turbos. The 1980's did a lot of the grunt work in making the turbo not just effective but more affordable as well, but the 1990's saw the turbo begin to become more refined and less barbarically ruthless.

Turbos Today

Image: My FK7 that I like to talk about.

Image: My FK7 that I like to talk about.

Since then, turbo development has shifted from maximum power to greater efficiency. Turbos in the past were used to create peaky and gut-punching power, where the driver would experience lag before getting a sudden rush of speed as the turbo spooled. While some turbos still feel like that, now most economy cars are being given turbos.

The turbochargers found in today's economy cars still work the same way, but have smoother power bands that hide their presence. Turbos are very advantageous for "econoboxes" because they can allow engines to be downsized dramatically but not lose too much output. Small engines use a lot less fuel at low revolutions per minute, and the turbo compensates for lost performance at higher revolutions per minute.

Turbochargers have come a very, very long way spanning over a hundred years. They aided ships sailing the vast oceans, they let planes explore new heights, and changed car performance forever. Next time you hear the iconic sounds from a well-built Volvo, or see a Subaru spitting flames on a rally stage, take a moment and remember all the people and events that let it be possible leading all the way back to that Swiss engineer, Alfred Büchi.

Sources Used

Small amounts of information for this article were sourced from the Wikipedia articles for turbochargers and Alfred Büchi. The rest of the information is common knowledge.

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Comments (1)

  • Interesting, but I still think it's witchcraft

      2 years ago
1