Carpokes Porsche Forum

I came across these turbo blankets, It seams they dramatically reduce heat in the engine bay and I was thinking of buying one for my turbo. Has anyone tried this and is it worth it?

I've seen folks use similar jackets, and wrap the headers, on a 951. I've just never been sure it's worth it. Even though the materials are presumably flame proof, they can soak up and/or trap fluid leaks and general grunge, which could result in fires. This probably isn't a popular opinion, but unless you have some need for extra heat shielding, it seems like a solution in search of a problem to me. Just my two cents.

And if you do need extra heat shielding for some reason, a metal shield would get my vote.

No doubt they work, but I’ve always wandered what that extra heat remaining under the blanket does to the turbo itself. Could be perfectly fine, but interested to hear any experience.

My understanding is the heat kept in the turbo housing over time can cause micro cracking due to the metallurgic characteristics of the housing. You might keep the total underhood heat down, but, long term, it negatively impacts the turbo itself.

I've seen header wrap cause exhaust headers to crack due to heat retention. I think Tom provided a great response (above).

Charlie at Evergreen told me to absolutely NOT use a turbo blanket on my RaptorX as it would damage the turbo.

I wonder if, as a general rule, it makes some sense to insulated some things that are affected by other sources of high heat, but to not try to insulate the source of the heat itself? High heat sources need good air circulation to cool. I do like the idea of strategically placed heat shields to move or deflect hot air out of the area where it is not wanted.

That’s my strategy, protect the sensitive stuff from heat. So many good materials now on the market, for example heat reflective gold tape to wrap around things that are near heat.

Turbos heat up because the process of compressing air quickly creates allot of heat. Hot compressed air is less dense ( I.e. less oxygen). The reason most high output turbos are accompanied with an intercooler is to cool down the compressed air and therefore yielding additional oxygen to mix with the fuel. More oxygen means that more fuel can be added yielding more power.
The blanket in question will retain additional heat in the turbo and hence the compressed air robbing some power because now all the heat has to dissipate through the hotter compressed air being fed into the motor intake whether or not an intercooler is present.
The more efficient way to deal with heat from the turbo is by deflecting heat with heat shields and/or directional aids near but not to close to the turbo to maximize air circulation.
Additionally, the blanket in question will create much unwanted heat inside the turbo that would yield a shorter lifespan to the turbo bearings (burnt oil) and perhaps even the impeller.
M2CW
Johan

Heres a great engineering review of turbo blankets which shows a performance improvement. Faster spool up and more power. Just with a blanket.