LOOK SMART
Much has been written about the performance benefits of forced induction and turbocharger technology, but what of the supporting equipment that keeps boost pressure under control? The world of tweaked and tuned motors all too often gets hung up on the size and quoted power capabilities of a snail-shaped bhp booster, but even the world’s greatest turbocharger won’t deliver the performance it promises without accurate boost management.
Granted, a gigantic Garrett or a cool KKK is an exciting engine component to tell your mates about, but the wastegate and actuator you invest in (and the way these parts are set to operate) are just as important as the specification of turbocharger your car makes use of.
Flick through the following pages and read about the design, development and application of these important parts. By the end of the article, we hope you’ll have a better understanding of the components that help to produce a turbocharged Porsche’s boost.
WHAT IS A WASTEGATE?
A wastegate is essentially a valve which ‘wastes’ the gas pressure we don’t want sent into a turbocharger. When a wastegate is shut, all exhaust gases exiting the engine are forced through the turbo. This creates boost, which encourages more exhaust gases to be produced.
The turbo then spools even faster, creating yet more boost. By allowing some of the gases to bypass the turbo through a wastegate, we have control over how fast the turbo spools, which gives us the ability to control the amount of boost being generated. Without a
