Turbo Tech: Turbo Bearings

Turbo Bearings

We like turbos at MotoIQ.  Why?  In the phrase made famous by Tim Allen, "more power!"  In order for a turbo to cram air into an engine, it has a pair of wheels and a shaft spinning at incredible speeds.  Depending on the size of the turbo, they can spin anywhere from 100,000 rpm (big turbos) to 300,000 rpm (small turbos).  300,000 rpm equals 5000 revs a second.  Put another way, if you rolled a compressor wheel on the ground, it would go about six football fields a second.  That's about 1.7 times the speed of sound.  Wrap your head around that!  The rotating assembly consisting of the shaft, turbine wheel, and compressor wheel encounter axial and radial loads that want to push the wheels into the housings and rub parts together.  To keep the rotating assembly supported and freely spinning, turbos currently either use a journal or ball bearing system.  There are variations on each theme, but we're going to go over the most common designs.  First, we need to discuss the loads they encounter.

berrings1 berrings2

Check out the rest of the article at Moto IQ

Related Articles

What Is Fuel Stabilizer Doing? STA-BIL Products Unboxed What Is Fuel Stabilizer Doing? STA-BIL Products Unboxed
Graphene is a scientific development that's been at the forefront of innovation across multiple industries and technologies. Recently, it's been...
LiquiMoly Sponsors the Largest Porsche 356 Meeting in the World LiquiMoly Sponsors the Largest Porsche 356 Meeting in the World
Get ready to rewind to the roots of Porsche’s lineage as Portugal plays host to the International Porsche 356 Meeting this year. With LIQUI MOLY...
Forgeline Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary Forgeline Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary
Celebrating three decades of craftsmanship and innovation, Forgeline Wheels marks its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in 1994 by the Schardt...
Yokohama Tire Introduces New All-Terrain GEOLANDAR A/T4 G018 Yokohama Tire Introduces New All-Terrain GEOLANDAR A/T4 G018
Yokohama Tire is rolling out the GEOLANDAR A/T4 G018, set to redefine the adventure and utility blend for trucks, SUVs, and CUVs. Hitting U.S. markets...
Dress Up Bolts Launches New Trunk Interior Kits for Subaru Models + Toyota 86 Dress Up Bolts Launches New Trunk Interior Kits for Subaru Models + Toyota 86
Introducing Dress Up Bolts' Plastic Clip Delete Trunk Kit: a stylish upgrade for BRZ/GT86/FR-S owners seeking a refined and resilient alternative to...
Ranking R34 Skylines For Sale in Canada Ranking R34 Skylines For Sale in Canada
Nissan's R34 Skylines (1998-2002) are finally eligible for import into the United States after their 25-year import law cooldown. Just to the north of...