Hot Turbo Engine!!!

SeaDweller · 04-16-2002, 02:57 AM

I don't think that's orange paint on the exhaust!!!

JohnC · 04-16-2002, 04:25 AM

Hey Mike,

Where did you find that picture?

sammyg2 · 04-16-2002, 11:23 AM

Turbo housings and piping normally get up to around 1400 degrees F. and sometimes hotter. That is right about orange color. I have heard of some getting up to 1700 degrees, but have never measured one that hot personally.

That's one of the reasons why it is not a real good idea to wrap steel turbo header piping.
The wrapping will hold the heat in longer allowing it to build up more. The mild steel gets "cooked" which causes the carbon to boil out of the poors of the metal. This makes it brittle and increases the tendency to crack.
I haven't made up my mind if ceramic coating is good or bad for turbos, probably good but I haven't tested it.
A high quality stainless is the best, but is very expensive, especially if you are talking about a custom installation.

BTW, it doesn't take very long to realize that the tubo header is really hot if you touch it with your arm. (Don't ask).

911pcars · 04-16-2002, 12:47 PM

I've seen pictures of turbo housings that were so hot you could actually see the sillouette of the turbine blade inside. That's hot, and that's why synthetic oil is almost a requirement for turbocharged engines.

Wonder how hot the surrounding engine parts get?

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars
www.seinesystems.com

Doug Zielke · 04-16-2002, 03:47 PM

Sure it's hot....the motor is on a dyno (or test bed), and is being deprived of cooling air around the exhaust pipes. It's unlikely things would get quite this hot with the motor in the car.
Great image none the less.

JohnC · 04-16-2002, 05:05 PM

No Doug......... they do give off light......to quote Stephen from Imagine Auto......

"As far as glowing, I have rolled up to many lights with the ground as bright as day after a run from the headers and turbo glowing. I usally am asked what the "H*LL is that" after a nice run against some poor shmuck that didn't know what hit him. The turbos under a pretty good burst will almost always glow if you make it through a couple of gears under full boost."

masraum · 04-16-2002, 05:14 PM

And if that doesn't give you a woody then you aren't a car guy!!

For you gals out there, that's actually true.

JohnC · 04-16-2002, 05:37 PM

.....Amen brother......

Tinker · 04-17-2002, 08:58 AM

John is absolutely correct. My 77 930 with thermo reactor replacements (made of extra thick tubing to avoid cracking) glows bright orange after a few runs at boost.

I have the Euro exhaust, but I am not motivated enough to change it out for the 20 horsepower gain.

Tinker

911nut · 911nut's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by sammyg2

The mild steel gets "cooked" which causes the carbon to boil out of the poors of the metal. This makes it brittle and increases the tendency to crack.

Sammy,
When mild steel gets that hot, it forms iron oxide on it's surface (otherwise known as rust but in this case, due to the high temperature that it's formed at, it isn't red rust). The big issue, though, is that mild steel doesn't have any structural integrity at that temperature so the engine vibrations cause it to fatigue crack rather easily.
Stainless steel is preferred in elevated temperature service due to it's resistance to form oxides and it's somewhat better strength. From a strength standpoint titanium is even better if you can afford it.