RICCI’S GARAGE
“THERE’S NO ESCAPING THE EFFICIENCY OF TURBOCHARGERS IN 2024”
Whoever first said there’s no replacement for displacement is likely having quite a tough time these days Because there’s no escaping the efficiency of turbochargers in These miracle snails allow smaller downsized engines to deliver a punch equal to or greater than their larger predecessors And when utilised cleverly with PHEV powertrains like Ferrari’s GTB the results are pretty mind blowing
But turbocharging smaller engines for more power is far from a new phase Just about every performance Japanese car from the Eighties and Nineties went down this route and in the case of the Nissan Skyline its RB engine utilised two smaller turbos for better response and less lag Some cars like Mazda’s FDS RX even used sequential turbos one small one big to quite literally give the best of both worlds
Within the older Skyline tuning circles the debate for going down a twinturbo route or big single turbo has divided many for years Twin turbos are often looked upon as the goto choice for builds that favour throttle response and less lag over outright power But turbocharger tech is so much more advanced now getting a larger single turbo to be just as responsive and make even more power seems the preferred choice
When my R GTR first arrived from Japan it’d been converted to a single turbo setup producing bhp After a few years I then upgraded this turbo to a more modern Xona Rotor unit which bumped the power all the way up to bhp which even made more power earlier in the rev range despite being a larger unit So clearly for the final engine I’ll ever fit in this cursed car the obvious choice would be the big single
That would make the most sense But sense is not something that often accompanies GTR ownership And having grown up in the Nineties watching old Japanese tuning videos the urge to fit two giant turbos together is strong Back in the day this method seemed best for chasing horsepower builds because few single turbos could offer that kind of flow without using enginebending levels of boost But in ? Two big turbos give all the drawbacks with none of the positives
They’re beyond laggy even with different pistons crank or an RB block you’re unlikely to get a Skyline engine beyond around litres So don’t expect any ‘proper’ boost until at least rpm Two turbos require twice the pipework twice the space and twice as many parts to go wrong They even sound noticeably different a six into one big single turbo screams with all the rpm But two turbos splitting the manifold sound more like a traditional straight six
And yet despite all of this I’ve gone and bought a set of topmount turbos for my GTR Not just any kind either but a broken set which will need overhauling at great expense before they can go anywhere near an engine Each of the KKK turbos no not that kind should be good for around bhp apiece when actually working Not that I even have an engine to turbocharge currently that’s still in Australia being finished And if I’m being completely honest with you reader I didn’t even buy these to fit to my R GTR I really bought ’em to use in an R GTR project instead Something I haven’t actually started or even bought yet Because everyone knows the best way to finish one long term project car is by starting yet another
Internationally renowned photographer Mark has been working with TG for many, many years. When not taking photos he’s buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world