Compressor is an integral part of a car, and an auto will not function properly without it. This component provides inlet of air and other gases under pressure and lets significantly increase the power of automotive engine. High-quality powerful compressors are installed on racing cars only. Such equipment is able to increase engine’s power from 50% and up to 100%.
Turbine or compressor?
As you probably know, turbine can perform the same functions as compressor. So what is the difference between these two machines and which is better to install on the automobile?
Let us begin from describing a compressor. This device is excellent to use when you have to deliver much air under low rpm’s. The only drawback is that the entire compressor does not produce excessive pressure and has quite low degree of efficiency.
One more nuance is in the fact that automotive compressors take power directly from engine crank shaft through special drive. For that reason, the frequency of compressor’s rotation directly depends on engine’s rotation frequency.
Turbine, or turbocharging device, works on the principle of producing energy from exhaust gas. Turbo compressor is actually a combination of centrifugal compressor and turbine,
Exhaust gas in a turbine rotate fan blades on the shaft with huge speed, and the opposite end of the construction has centrifugal pumpset which is responsible for jetting large volume of air to cylinders.
As for the drawbacks, the turbocharger has several of them:
- Turbocharger is a complicated non removable device which requires total integration in automobile’s engine.
- Turbine is not capable of delivering full power under low rpm’s, it works efficiently only at high rotation frequencies.
- So-called ‘turbo-lag’ effect. It appears when the engine is switched from low slow speed to high, and the higher turbocharger’s power is, the greater is ‘turbo-lag’ effect.
Surely, nowadays there exist turbines which work well under both slow and high speeds, but the price of such equipment is really, really high.
Such criterion as installation and exploitation simplicity is also important when choosing between a compressor and a turbine. In this scope compressor looks much more attractive. It does not require much expenses for repair as far as it is an independent device, while you will need a highly experienced specialist with professional equipment to install, adjust or repair a turbine. You can adjust a compressor by yourself.
Compressor types according to the ways of air inlet
Let us have a closer look on machines in scope of delivering air to inlet collector of car’s engine.
They distinguish three types of compressors according to this criterion:
- Twin-propeller
Twin-propeller air pump consists of two rotors which push air or gas. Such construction has such well-noticed drawback as strong noise and whistle while working. They apply special methods of engine noise isolation to solve the issue.
- Rotor
In most cases rotor compressor is located in the upper part of automobile’s engine. In consists of wobbler shafts which push compressed air to inlet collector while rotating. This type of compressor is rather heavy and substantially increases car’s weight. In addition, the machine provides air in pulsation mode which makes the machine less effective in comparison to other compressor types.
- Centrifugal
Centrifugal compressor is an optimum variant to inject compressed air to the engine of a car. This machine looks like a fan which rotates at high speed and blows air into compressor case. The air is pushed out by centripetal force with great speed.
The fan is surrounded by small blades which convert high-speed air stream under low pressure to low-speed stream with high pressure.
Symptoms which evidence that a compressor requires repairing
Many car enthusiasts pay much attention to changing oil, antifreeze substances, pressure level in tyres, engine performance but totally forget about timely diagnostics and maintenance of a compressor.
Here are some symptoms for you to visit the nearest car service station and check that automotive compressor works properly:
- Specific noise, scratching or whistle can be heard while engine working.
- Oil consumption speed has increased rapidly, it often leaks away.
- Oil and air pressure often drop down.
- Blue, black or white smoke going out of exhaust pipe when you accelerate the car.
- You feel that the engine has lost much of its power.
Unusual color of smoke out of exhaust pipe can display several problems:
- blue smoke color – oil gets burnt in cylinders of an engine or a compressor;
- black smoke – air leak takes place;
- white smoke – confluent oil drain has got choked.
As for specific whistle when engine works, the reason can be in air escape. In this case you have to check the juncture on the output of compressor and engine.
Remember that almost 90% of all problems with compressor or turbine are connected with oil, here are classic cases:
- Lack or low pressure. The reason is the leakage or narrowing of grease hoses. In this case rotating dies and shaft stubs quickly wear off because the volume of grease is too low for turbine.
- Dirt. The reason is untimely oil changing or using low-quality grease products. It is dangerous with quick bearings wear-off, choking grease inlet channels and damaging the axis.
- Sand and minor foreign objects in the system. It is rather widely spread problem which leads to damaging fan blades of compressor or rotor.
If you have noticed at least one of symptoms listed above while driving an automobile, we recommend you visit a service station as soon as possible. However, if you have sufficient experience in repairing automobiles, you might solve the issue on your own.
Where to buy a high-quality compressor?
To repair or replace a defective compressor in a car, you have to:
- know the model of the device, engine code number and manufacturer;
- have necessary auto parts or a factory repair kit.
While the first list item is not complicated to satisfy, you may have trouble to find necessary components. We recommend you buy everything from online shop boodmo to save your money and time for search.
The catalogue https://boodmo.com/catalog/3555-compressor/ represents a vast variety of spares for automobiles of different manufacturers and years of production. You will easily find necessary items there.
In case you have some questions or need help – get in touch with us by any contacts displayed on the website.
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