Turbo Blankets

[MutinyMK7]

Im looking to buy a turbo blanket for my is20, but not looking to spend a lot. What good that you guys have found?

 

[XM_Rocks]

Why?

Seems like a risk that a cheap turbo blanket could catch fire and burn your car to the ground.

If Insurance finds it as the source of the fire, you might be SOL.

Seems like a lame way to lose $24,000.

I would prefer mods to put power down and maybe an intercooler.

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Im looking to buy a turbo blanket for my is20, but not looking to spend a lot. What good that you guys have found?

Nothing. There's no point in getting one and the Search function on the forums is your friend.

 

[danvilla413]

Im looking to buy a turbo blanket for my is20, but not looking to spend a lot. What good that you guys have found?

I really doubt the blanket is worth it. Frankly, wrapping the turbo, no matter how quality the material, scares the crap outta me. Having said that, I wouldn't cheap out and buy an Ebay special.

 

[Corprin]

I use a special cellulose based product called gun cotton to wrap my turbo.

 

[MyGolfMk7]

Im looking to buy a turbo blanket for my is20, but not looking to spend a lot. What good that you guys have found?

I suggest passing on the blanket and put the money towards a good intercooler, it will make much more of a difference.

 

[Parabola]

Waste of money.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Are you worried about it getting cold? ?

 

[Strange Mud]

so rather than the stupid questions thread I'll bump this.

I just looked at ECS's ad for one. It mentioned more power because it contained the heat....isn't heat the enemy of performance? They went as far as saying more heat = more pressure. idk but not convinced. anyone want to try and teach me?

 

[Jimdog]

Here's the theory
The turbo is really hot. (obviously) When you have a hot turbo in a cramped engine bay you end up with a hot engine bay. When the engine bay gets hot your IATs rise and you lose power. Also since the engine bay is now hot it is harder to get rid of the extra heat from the engine. When you use a turbo blanket it will keep the heat inside the exhaust system instead of releasing it into the engine bay. This improves turbo response since hot gasses have more volume, and the gas volume going through the turbo is what spins it. In our cars it probably isn't that significant since our turbo is bolted to the head. The lower engine bay temps will help though when you are sitting in staging at the drag strip or at autox.

I have half my downpipe wrapped and it made a noticeable difference. This winter I would like to finish wrapping it and get a turbo blanket. For those concerned about fire hazards, exhaust wraps and turbo blankets are not knitted from yarn by factories of grandmas trying to keep those turbos toasty warm. They are made from fiberglass. Glass melts at around 2600 degrees. If your EGTs are that high then you need to contact your tuner immediately.

 

[Sparky589]

Got the ECS turbo blanket as a birthday present and decided to wrap my downpipe to finish off the job. Jim's post really lays out all there is when it comes to the benefits of a blanket, but one thing I have noticed (more to do with the downpipe wrap to be fair) is a slightly firmer brake pedal. Was running the APR downpipe that passes near the ABS module, and while I haven't logged before and after temps of the module itself it stands to reason that in wrapping the downpipe less ambient heat is hitting it, keeping the brake fluid at a lower temp.

That or I'm crazy and it's all placebo.

Either way I wanted one to keep under-hood temps low. Planning on hitting the dragstrip hard once next season starts up, and I've had horrible experiences with heatsoak up at Sonoma before.

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Here's the theory
The turbo is really hot. (obviously) When you have a hot turbo in a cramped engine bay you end up with a hot engine bay. When the engine bay gets hot your IATs rise and you lose power. Also since the engine bay is now hot it is harder to get rid of the extra heat from the engine. When you use a turbo blanket it will keep the heat inside the exhaust system instead of releasing it into the engine bay. This improves turbo response since hot gasses have more volume, and the gas volume going through the turbo is what spins it. In our cars it probably isn't that significant since our turbo is bolted to the head. The lower engine bay temps will help though when you are sitting in staging at the drag strip or at autox.

I have half my downpipe wrapped and it made a noticeable difference. This winter I would like to finish wrapping it and get a turbo blanket. For those concerned about fire hazards, exhaust wraps and turbo blankets are not knitted from yarn by factories of grandmas trying to keep those turbos toasty warm. They are made from fiberglass. Glass melts at around 2600 degrees. If your EGTs are that high then you need to contact your tuner immediately.

Is there any real data that shows a blanket actual works? People can speculate all day long on this and without any real data, then that's all there is, theories.

Also, how did you notice a difference with your DP and in what way?

 

[golfdave]

Is there any real data that shows a blanket actual works? People can speculate all day long on this and without any real data, then that's all there is, theories.

Turbo blankets have been used in motorsport for decades.....& of course the designers & mechanics even at brand name factory motorsports know nothing.....

I'm not a motorsports mechanic, but I know thermal dynamics & heat transfer between materials & air flow..

a quick google finds these

https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu...MASTERSREPORT-2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cu...videos/a29999/how-much-a-turbo-blanket-helps/

 

[Sparky589]

Is there any real data that shows a blanket actual works? People can speculate all day long on this and without any real data, then that's all there is, theories.

Also, how did you notice a difference with your DP and in what way?

It's also worth noting that various OEM's are starting to equip their cars with turbo blankets from the factory

Here's the Veloster N's engine bay (turbo is in the back like on the Mk7)

You can see that the hot-side of the turbo is completely wrapped in a heat shield.

Here's the Lexus Is200T (Turbo is on the right side of the engine bay)

Again, we see a turbo completely insulated from the factory. I'm not saying that a blanket is an absolute must-have on a turbo, but the benefits must be there for Hyundai and Lexus to justify providing one from the factory.

 

[JerseyDrew77]

Thanks for the info. Still, I'll never get one.