ricerEP3

Hey guys, I know this isn't directly drag related, but found this to be very interesting. The idea behind this is genius and makes perfect sense. Surprised we haven't seen this before now. Here's a link to Nelson Racing's page on their new "Symmetrical Turbochargers" :

http://www.nelsonracingengines.com/p...ochargers.html

Copied from the site:

"Symmetrical Turbochargers

Have you ever wondered... Why do all twin turbo applications use the same turbo on both sides? Why doesn’t the car builder just buy a left and right turbocharger and make it look symmetrical? Well at Nelson Racing Engines we’ve made a turbocharger breakthrough. We have just released our new patented NRE Symmetrical Mirror Image Turbochargers . For the last fifteen years we have been fighting packaging and installation problems associated with conventional twin turbo set ups. Up until now every twin turbo engine in exisistence has run a non-symmetrical turbocharger arrangement. This not only makes exhaust plumbing and intake plumbing unequal and the engine run unbalanced, but it translates into less reliability and power. while presenting an onslaught of packaging and installation problems. We have solved this with our new Mirror Image Turbochargers. Nelson Racing has been been flogging every turbo known to man for almost two decades, and of those, none were exactly what we wanted from a turbo. NRE started from a clean slate and designed the ultimate turbocharger. Every inch of this turbocharger is machined within .001 thousandths of an inch. There are no variations in castings or wheel design because we start from a billet part. We manufacture the turbine wheel from solid inconel. The compressor section is from a Solid 6061 blank, and we have virtually eliminated balance issues due to our proprietary manufacturing process of true concentric wheels. Aside from the performance you will gain running the industry's best Turbo, you will admire and appreciate the symmetrical balance of the Mirror Image Twin Turbos. Once you see how balanced and equal the engine looks, you will never go back to a conventional twin turbo set-up. Nelson Racing Engines Mirror Image Twin Turbos is the future - and the future is here."

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV0KgvWX_iU

Seems like this could be a breakthough in turbo development. Maybe not so much in the honda world, but badass nonetheless. Discuss.

turbo-2nr

seems like a lot of work, for something that i dont personalty think would make differences in power

theidealone

Im really ****, or OCD, or whatever you want to call it. And it always bothered me that they werent symmetrical. I think its a rad idea. And I think it would be cool if you companies would all do this. It may also help being able to run your single turbo, in the opposite configuration. Maybe it would fit some cars better, if the compressor faced the other way?

SwappedTURBOegg

super bitchin

AllShowNoGo727

iTrader: (1)

I want to see NRE do a honda build!

MR.johnson

Slaz

Sorry but apart from turbos that spin in opposite directions, whats the exact hype here when 2 identical turbos with equal manifolds and inlet lengths will produce the exact same result?

I can understand that possibly their turbos perform better than the last ones fitted to those engines they claim the figures for, but im just not getting what the breakthrough is or am I missing something?

Within the waterski racing world, equal manifold and balanced twin turbos motors have been the norm for the last 20 years with most improvements coming from better designed and made components along with management and tuning as like any other performance engine out there, but to say that with counter rotating turbos they have reinvented the "balance" in twin set-ups, isnt the case.

itspools

Lol at this guys video commentary.

The Original Whitey

Nothing breakthrough, just good marketing. It has been common knowledge that balancing air in/out of a motor makes more power. Its been going on forever in equal length headers, intake manifold design to balance flow in each runner ect.

95exdsmkilla

this is good marketing though, it's like saying
grocery store selling 1 apple but they made a new idea of lets sell 2 apples for price of xxxxxx.
i like it from business perspective but in racing scene?? nah.... i think boost logic or sp did sorta same on their 300zx tt... but fell off.
I'm no engineer by any means but I did learn "less moving parts the better'.

ricerEP3

I know that these aren't turbos that are going to be used on honda's, but the fact that somebody has actually stepped out and done it is awesome. I know this may never go any further than NRE, but with the way turbochargers are popping up on EVERYTHING these days, who knows, we may see this option on some turbo's from PTE, BW, or Garrett 5 years down the road.

And you know there have been plenty of guys who have had sick manifold designs in their heads (yes even on a honda) but the design of the turbo prevented it from happening and they ended up saying "if only the turbo was reversed." Of course if they were that serious, I'm sure they came up with a design that was just as efficient, but just imagine being able to have that flexibility.

You know you would think this is an ingenious idea if it was Precision Turbo posting this video and new product, (as long as there were more turbos with this option of course.)

buck02

yea bitch ***** Fuukaaa

itspools

I would only like it as much if PTE used the same vocabulary. Particularly "bitchin", I would like to see it in their next brochure to be honest.

MrParks

Nelson does some pretty trick work. Been around his shop for many years.

ricerEP3

LOL "yeah bitch *********aaa" that **** made me lmao

ScorpionT

The marketing for these is great (especially with technical phrases such as "totally symmetrical and bitchin) but NRE is suggesting that before their Mirror Image turbos, turbo manifolds were not built symmetrically. I have yet to see a reputable tuner that does not build symmetrical manifolds.

When it comes to the cool air side, being equal length is not quite as important. We all know air is simply a fluid, and once the fluid starts moving from the compressor outlets into the intercooler, the two streams merge into one and from the intercooler move into the intake manifold. Once they have mixed in the intercooler they are balanced. This leads to a balanced setup, and the Mirror Image turbos will show no tangible gains over traditional turbos.

One thing to note is their claim of horsepower gains compared with other turbos. NRE previously use Turbonetics (same company that builds their Mirror Image turbos) cast compressor turbos. The switch to billet compressor wheels is clearly the reason for the horsepower gains, rather than the reverse design of the turbos.

Edit: One more thing to note. NRE says the turbine wheel is machined from a billet of Inconel. Nobody in their right mind would machine the turbine wheel when casting works just fine. Inconel work hardens very quickly, so the cost would be extremely high due to the cost of tooling and time.

Overall, a cool idea for those who want a more aesthetically pleasing setup, but the marketing is a bit of a ploy.