BorgWarner eBooster

[Wez]

Hey All,

 

Just seen this, looks like a proper version of the old electric turbos from years ago from fleebay

 

Nice torque addition

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWAPNOAuv0

[Style]

Impressive!

 

Looks like they're catching on to F1 technology

[Swampy442]

So its basically compound charging?

[Wez]

So its basically compound charging?

 

In some form by looks of it, maybe its the image but the ebooster appears to have smaller pipework but while running the bypass valve seems to direct air from the turbo down to the ebooster.

[j_jza80]

So its basically compound charging?

 

If I understand it right, no. It isn't using one turbo to boost the other, it's a different, its running a conventional turbo and an electric one, partially in parallel.

[Wez]

Compound is one turbo feeding another which in this case is happening, the ebooster does not have its own air supply.

[j_jza80]

Quite right it's compressing already compressed air, so definitely compound charging.

[MattP]

This will probably require the 12 volt systems cars have to be upgraded to provide for the charger adding complexity and weight at a guess.

 

I'm sure Chris Wilson posted a link like this a few years ago that we were all interested in seeing developed but this is the first I have seen come of it.

 

Would you lot be interested in this or would benefits be minimal in reality and only any good for track cars?

[Digsy]

Quite right it's compressing already compressed air, so definitely compound charging.

 

Not really, although they are set up in series. During the throttle tip-in the larger turbo isn't really generating much boost pressure, and the compressor wheel is large enough that at low airflows it doesn't create a restriction so it is almost like it isn't there at all. As soon as the main turbo comes on song the eBooster will switch off and bypass.

 

Its not clear if this is a 12V unit or higher. There were some 12V units kicking around about 10 years ago but Valeo are first to market with a 48V unit in the Audi Q7. The 12V units didn't have the puff to be applied to anything other than very small cars unless you ran silly currents.

 

Also, these things overheat - and fast, So they are only good for a few seconds at a time, so they are only good for improving transient response. I think the Valeo production unit is air cooled, but they have a water cooled version too which might be good for longer duty cycles.

[j_jza80]

Surely boosting mid range torque is more of a benefit to road cars?

[Digsy]

Surely boosting mid range torque is more of a benefit to road cars?

 

Low to mid range. Nearly all road car engines nowadays are what you would call "downsized". i.e. its more common to see a turbocharged 1.5 litre doing the job that a 2.0 NA would have done 5 years ago. Advances in technology means that most of the throttle response of the older 2.0 NA has been retained.

 

We are now entering the realms of "extreme downsizing", where engines will be expected to perform like units twice their size and more, but this comes with the added penalty of unacceptable lag as the turbos get bigger in relation to the engine. The eBooster is really just one of many extreme downsizing enablers (like twin-charging or R2S / R3S), but most of the tech targets the low end.