Are there 4cylinder cars with Aerochargers?

[jere]

I am interested in using an Aerocharger on my car in the future. I really don't want my car to be a test mule. Are there new Aerochargers currently in use on 4 cylinder cars? I would really like to see some real world experiences that others are having with these cool turbos (preferable on sport compacts of some sort). Links to other sites or anything would be great.

[jere]

I guess that is a no then eh?

[Andrew]

Jere,

At the moment we do not have any kits for four cylinder cars but our turbo has been used on hundreds of
them, including the Ford Focus, Mazda Miata, Mercedes-Benz 240D along with many others.

If you have a question about a specific car let us know.

[jere]

I knew there was bound to be someone out there

Andrew,
Thanks for the reply! The car I own is a 91 Nissan NX2000, it is basically the same motor (FWD 2L SR20DE) as a Sentra, or 200sx, G20. If you know any of these cars that have Aerochargers it would be great to see more about them.Otherwise I have been behind an iron curtain of conventional turbos really anything in depth would be great. Dynos, testimonials, what broke or issues needed addressed, anything that was out of the ordinary issues of the conventional turbo.

Also before I found out that Aerochargers were not just a company of the past, I was planning to use the Holset VGT from a Cummins for my motor. How does the Aerocharger's design stack up against the Holset VGT in the real world? EGTs, spool up, longevity of the turbos? Anything you have to add at all would be appreciated .

[jere]

I am sorry am I asking hard to answer questions or something here. I can ask other questions instead. I really like the bearing designs on aerochargers, as well as the oiling system. It is very impressive, I think it is a massive improvement over conventional turbos oiling systems. The options with exhaust design placement/routing increase exponentially. I really don't care about turbo kits for my car I am just trying to plan what I need to upgrade on my car before I invest in my aerocharger. Like my transmission (as the stock noodlebox is made of glass) or my cooling system if not internal engine upgrades pistons, that can deal with high heat better maybe? Savy? I am seriously sold on the aerocharger, I am trying to learn more, as the history is more myth than anything else.

Which trim in the 66 series would you recommend for a FWD street car, traction limited to around 350 WHP? How different are the new aerochargers compared to the old aerochargers from the old company? What RPM should I set my aerocharger to spool up at to keep from destroying my gear/noodle box?

Seriously I am trying to find out more here about anything I can

[Andrew]

To my knowledge our turbo has not been installed on any of the models listed. While it is definitely possible that over the last 15-20 years someone has done it, I am just not aware of it. Because I don't know of any previous installs I am not able to give you a heads up on how they ran, what breaks, etc.

In general diesel turbos do not hold up as well on gas engines as they do on diesels. This is due to the difference in EGTs. Since diesels normally have cooler EGTs, the manufacturers usually use cheaper materials. On a gas engine these materials may not stand up the EGTs and result in the housing flaking and cracking. This debris can end up damaging the turbine wheel. Also if the turbo is designed for a Cummins engine it is likely designed for much higher airflow than your engine would require. This will just cause turbo lag. Even if it is a VGT turbo you are likely to experience considerable lag due to the compressor size.

To correctly size the turbo I would need to know exactly what you set out to accomplish. How much power you want to make, what boost levels, is going to be intercooled and or methanol injected? Do you plan on making internal engine changes?

[jere]

Ok cool so you only post once a week I was starting to think I asked a really stupid question or something

Right now my car is just an everyday street fairing vehicle. I am interested in autocross/road racing at least for open track days. My engine is due for replacement or motor swap (again) pretty soon. My motor in stock form will hold over 450whp, with stock internals. I have been considering E85 over methanol injection, or maybe just coated pistons (stock sodium filled valves, dished pistons, and oil squirters) with air to air intercooler. (Right now I just have a T25 that I have seen exhaust temps over 1200* at 7-9psi of boost. It spools quick but stops making power in the upper revs. What kind of temps should I prepare for?).I am pretty open to upgrading engine internals right now in general. I would like to keep peak boost around/under 20psi but whatever. My general power goals are around 350whp more or less but with as broad of a powerband as I can reasonably get. From what I have been told more power becomes unusable from wheelspin, tires wear and such. In short, I guess the overall less modifications are required the better.

[Andrew]

I ran the numbers for your car. I would suggest a 66 series with 178/250 trim. If you want to stop at 20 psi, I would recommend this turbo but if you think you might want to run higher boost I would probably suggest a different compressor size.

I can't tell you what the EGTs will be as I do not know anything about the engine. Some engines run cooler than others and you can really change the EGTs by changing the fueling and timing.

[jere]

Thanks for the recommendation in housings.

Can you tell me anything more about how the Focus or Miata (or both) were prepared or setup? What they were built for? I would be very interested to find out more about either.

[Andrew]

Both the Focus and Miata kits were built for completely stock vehicles. They were built by a dealer so I don't know any specific details besides the turbo size. They were fairly low boost applications and were very reliable if left unchanged.