Turbo update FAQ

General Chat
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Answers to some common questions about the latest update.

If you’re having install issues, almost everything is fixed by either reinstalling Automation, redownloading the installer or both. If not then post in the support forum or email us at Contact@camshaftsoftware.com and we’ll get you sorted out.

Turbo size is limited by the physical size of the engine (determined by bore) This is literally to stop the turbo clipping straight though the side of the engine if it gets too large, it can’t get any bigger because there just isn’t room there, this may change with other manifolds that let the turbo stand off further from the engine.

There is only one turbo manifold design right now due to time limitations, there will probably be more later on. Ditto for Twin Turbos on Inline engines, Singles on V engines, Sequential turbos etc.

Octane requirements do increase a lot when going Turbo, you should fully expect to have to pull out some compression and timing and add some fuel, this is normal. If you have a very ineffecient turbo setup and/or no intercooler, you probably will have a hard time running much boost without knocking to death.

The Turbo graph is missing some labeling right now, The top (blue) line is how much boost the turbo is making, the bottom (red) line is how much boost the engine actually sees after the efficiency losses to heat etc. The important one is the red one, as that is what the engine will actually perform like. If there is a big gap between the red and blue graphs you have a very inefficient turbo setup and will probably have knock issues due to heat. Intercooling and bigger turbos will help.

Note that there is more description of turbo parts under the graph, click the little arrow next to “Boost Preview” to show it.

The maximum power you can make from a 2.0L I4 is approx 550kw right now. If you think you can’t get much power out of small engines you probably need to work on your engine setup more.

Turbo tutorial videos are also missing, as you may have noticed. They’ll be along in a week or two.

If you have any other questions, please fire away and we’ll answer asap :slight_smile:

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When you set the compressor and turbine sizes, what exactly is this a measurement of? Typically when referring to a turbo by compressor/turbine diameters youre talking about the inducer/exducer diameters. These shouldnt actually change the physical size of the turbo, only the wheel. If you take a look at some examples, say Precision 7675, its no larger physically then a 6262. Typically size is governed by the size of the compressor housing (H, S, E housing, etc) with the same thing on the turbine side T3, T4, T6 etc. Some companies do use very large housings (BorgWarner mainly) but they are not necessarily more efficient or able to produce more power. IMHO, this would be an easy fix to the turbo clipping the block issue. (being able to separately select inducer/exducer diameter, and housing sizes)

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Our turbine and compressor diameter values are an arbitrary mash up of things. As our underlying calculations aren’t more in-depth anyway, we don’t want to pretend they are either. The calculations will be revamped once other forced induction methods are implemented, but the mash-up will probably stay in place… turbo setup is scary enough for most people already in this simplified version we have going. :slight_smile: