What does a billet wheel do for a turbo?
The real reason that billet wheels have become so popular though is that it provides turbo manufacturers much more flexibility in bringing new compressor wheel designs to market quickly. The casting process in comparison is expensive for a low volume production and time consuming.
What is compressor wheel on turbo?
To recap turbocharger operation, its compressor wheel draws air in through an air filter. Air pressure is increased as it passes through the compressor wheel and housing, then through the intercooler to remove heat and increase the air density, and then into the intake manifold and engine cylinders.
What are turbo compressor wheels made of?
The most common material for turbocharger compressor wheels has been aluminum alloys. Other materials, introduced since the 1990s, include titanium alloys, as well as magnesium and stainless steel alloys. Turbocharger turbine wheels must withstand high temperatures, especially in gasoline applications.
What is a billet wheel upgrade?
The fact that the billet option is stronger, means you can make the wheel thinner on the blades and on the base, as well as on the nose and the hub. Instantly, you reduce the weight considerably and also improve the air flow because, with a smaller nose and hub, the blade surface area increases.
What is a billet wheel?
Billet simply means to take away from a solid chunk (or carve). So, if you make a little wooden sculpture, it is technically billet. Billet wheels are machined from a solid chunk of material. First, a piece of aluminum alloy is produced (or bought from a vendor).
What is the function of compressor wheel?
The compressor wheel compresses the air-fuel charge in the intake manifold. This compressed charge is denser in comparison to a normally aspirated engine. Aspirated engines rely on the downward stroke of the pistons to create low pressure or vacuum in the intake manifold.
How are turbo compressor wheels made?
Here’s how it works: The compressor wheels start out with a round piece of aluminum and then cut into desired lengths. This is either extruded or roll-formed into shape, refining the metal’s grain. During the forging process, the metal grain gets finer, adding strength and fatigue resistance to the material.
What is a billet compressor?
Billet compressor wheels are made from a single block of forged billet aluminum and machined on 5 axis impeller CNC machines to an extremely high level of precision.
Is billet stronger than cast?
Billet aluminum is generally considered a stronger material than cast. Billet parts are made from a single block of material that is machined down on a CNC mill. The result is a gorgeous part that can be made to match an engineer’s design with perfect precision.
Is billet aluminum stronger than steel?
Some people have some misconceptions when we say a part is made from billet aluminum or billet steel. Let’s clear those up. Just in case you don’t want to read the rest, here’s the short version: billet is stronger and worth the money, but the reason why might surprise you.
How much RPM does a turbocharger have?
While your car’s engine revs, at cruise, at around 2,000 rpm, a turbo’s turbine can reach rotational speeds of more than 280,000 rpm.
What are billet wheels?
Why is billet so expensive?
Speaking of cost, why are billet parts more expensive than cast? Primarily it has to do with scale. Machining one part from billet isn’t too expensive. The problem is that it doesn’t get cheaper per part to machine one hundred parts, or one thousand parts, because you can still only make one at a time.
Which is better forged or billet?
Metallurgists agree that a forged piece of aluminum is stronger than cast or billet. The reason being, when the material is shaped under pressure, its ‘grain’ follows the same shape as the part. As a result, the product manufactured is stronger due to the continuous grain characteristics allowed by the forging process.
Is forged stronger than billet?
While the differences aren’t huge, a forged piston is still stronger than a billet. Typically, a forging will have a better grain structure and thus more consistent material properties.