Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Hi,
I was about to buy a turbo blanket from Driftmotion. They sell one but on the add, they clearly state that the increased heat may decrease the life of the turbo. I would tend to listen to them however many people have success with them.

Any thoughts on this?

SG

DRIFTMOTION TURBO BLANKET AD

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I've never seen it done, but there's got to be some way you could vent the blanket to an area less sensitive to heat, i.e. away from the intake piping. Let the turbo breathe a bit but pull that hot air out under the engine or something.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I dont buy it, the hotside of a turbo is designed to get hot. as long as its not too hot then the hotter the better for spool and performance. a turbo blanket does not make the turbo that much crazy hotter as you would think, but the turbo blanket does keep the cold side cooler and stock intake na-t intercooler piping cooler. its not like all that heat just stays inside of the hotside due to the blanket, the turbo is still being cooled by the oil system and turbo blankets aren't exactly super tight, heat can escape from the sides and bottom and the manifold itself and the downpipe, they all radiate heat.

sure you will heat up the hotside more with a blanket, but factor in that once the system has stabilized at that new temperature, it wont be out of range of what the turbo is designed to do, it will just be a little hotter on average. you will also make the turbo more efficient at the same time (hotter turbo spools faster), and the cold side will stay cooler cause the air around it in the engine bay isn't so hot.

even if you accept that there is a small life reduction on the turbo, which isnt really proven by anyone, the benefits of having a more efficient turbo and a cooler intake charge make it worth it at least with the stock intake and not melting that throttle body coupler. that whole are gets ridiculously hot with no blanket.

once you go FFIM you can get away without running a blanket, but I still run one to me it runs better with it on.

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Good enough for me.....

I'll get it!

EDIT: I dug a bit deeper and called Comp who made the turbo to see if it affects warranty. They said 90% of the time they sell their turbo with a blanket. They said properly built Turbos can handle it easily. He also said Chinese turbos sometimes cannot. I thought to myself, Driftmotion sells Chinese turbos so it makes since that they will have this disclaimer on the site.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I think its just safer for a seller to have a disclaimer like that, not that it happens all the time.
I am running an xs power turbo (going to guess super chinese) with a blanket for years, and according to what everyone says it should have leaked at first startup, blow smoke clouds, at some point explode, and taken out my engine as well as any engine within a 15 foot radius (I mean why not there must be some remote chance that can happen right?), but in the real world it turns out it runs great.

I attribute 85% of turbo seal failures I read about on the internet to an improper installation (too large a feed line sorry but a -4 line is not meant to be run on every turbocharger out there, or too small a drain line, improperly clocked turbos, etc..) or a bad motor (worn rings causing massive blow-by will not allow turbo to drain, improper crank case ventilation, etc..). The other 15% of the time it might have actually been a defect or bad seal. take it with a grain of salt some people manage to keep blowing turbo's for seemingly no reason other than it must be chineese stuff and some people get a full life out of them, Its safe to say the difference isn't 100% chineese seals and turbo blankets, it happens on good name brand turbo's too that don't run any blankets at all. alot of the time the problem can be alleviated by running a -3 feed line instead of a -4. unless you have a very large turbo a -3 supplies more than enough oil, the -4 just adds pressure to the seals. People say most BW turbo's can take that, but some can't, cause its too much pressure/flow on some motors which have a healthy oil pressure (comes back to condition of motor again). This is why the installers say oh good turbo's can take it but others can't, its all a bunch of guessing they are doing really cause each motor is different and the pressure flow should be measured but instead we all just sort of copy off each other what works. if the turbo can't drain the extra oil coming in fast enough, it will come out the seals, which raises the question on why its common practice for installers to install a line that pumps in more oil than It actually needs. that unnecessary oil can make the difference sometimes, but they will argue with you that everyone does it and maybe the better turbo's can hold up to more pressure building up inside the housing, but its not supposed to be pressurized in the first place. sorry sort of turned into an oil feed line rant, but the things people say makes turbo seals leak is amazing, all while overlooking the simple stuff of amount of oil in vs oil out.

Don't take my word for it though, ask around and hopefully others will share their experience, I just know that I run one and don't get oil anywhere near it, once its soaked it will get nice and crispy then you will need a new one. basically startup and make sure there are no leaks at the feed or drain line before installing the blanket. thats how I lost my first one, small leek at the feed fitting =(

This is where a gte swap starts to sound nice cause you don't have to learn any of this stuff, well until you blow the twins and have to go single, then yeah its about the same thing then.
I would personally always install one when using the stock intake manfiold. if you have a gte style manifold or FFIM then you have the luxury of choice as its not heating up your intake air or melting your couplers anymore, although it often saves me from burning my arm/hand. another good option could be thermal coating the hotside, but not sure its as effective as a blanket.

If you have to skip anything in the name of not keeping in too much heat, I would skip wrapping the manifold and downpipe. they will be fine unwrapped and allow heat to get out the bottom.

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Thanks Ali!
The oil rant was helpful! Rant about anything you want in my threads!
Good to know about your XS success. if mine blows early, I will try a cheaper one next. If it lasts wonderfully, all is good as is.
I'm not going to worry about hear until I identify a heat problem.
Good to know oil line size, clocking etc. is crucial to longevity. It all makes sense.

Thanks,
SG