Turbo and Supercharger conversions.

Turbo and supercharger conversions are a good way to add extra power and torque to your project, whether it be low boost on factory engines or full on compound charged setups.

Turbo Conversions

When completing a custom turbo conversion you will require custom fabricated manifolds and down-pipes to connect your turbo up, along with all required brackets, oil feed & return pipes, along with water cooling pipe work (where suitable).

If you are running low boost pressure it can be possible to mount the setup on otherwise factory engines with modified mapping however for moderate to high boost applications compression ratios suitable for boost pressures / power outputs will need to be considered. There are a number of ways to solve this whether it be to fit lower compression pistons or cylinder head spacer plates etc to your engine. Lower compression pistons are the preferred way to achieve this and a number of manufacturers who create forged pistons for specific vehicles.

Station MotorSport Ltd have a good knowledge of these companies and can help source parts for you. If these parts are not available for your specific application then custom pistons can be manufactured to suit. It is even possible to use off the shelf oem pistons from another engine (provided the relevant data is known) to achieve this.

If the engine requires work to lower the compression ratio now is a good time to consider a rebuild and the addition of a few extra upgrades, such as forged con-rods, motorsport fasteners (rods, head studs etc), it is even possible to fit more durable head gaskets.

The final step in completing a quality turbo conversion is the addition of an intercooler setup (air to air or water to air) to keep the temperatures of the charged air cool to prevent issues (pinking on petrols and high EGT’s on a diesel), which in most cases a factory ecu’s will reduce power due to high charge temperatures. It is a good idea to use stainless steel tubing for intercooler pipes with as few silicone joiners as possible to reduce turbo lag.

As a further way of reducing charge temperatures a water methanol injection system can be fitted. In the extreme case of high charge temperature it is also possible to install a CO2 charge cooler setup, this can be as simple as CO2 spray bars on the intercooler right up to an inline CO2 cooling bulb.

Supercharger Conversions

Supercharger conversions are in a way much similar to turbo charger conversions. You will need fabricated adapters to suit your chosen supercharger and enable it to be bolted to the engine in a suitable location along with drive belt pulleys, tensioners etc to enable a complete solution.

Some superchargers can be adapted from other engines using adapter plates whilst it is also possible to purchase non-specific superchargers.

There are a number of different types of superchargers, but the most common types are roots, screw and rotary. Roots and screw are the most readily available after market and are fitted to a number of oem vehicles. Rotary superchargers are generally more compact but more expensive – a good solution for really tight installations.

Again it is recommended that suitable compression ratios and engine upgrades are considered when completing a conversion.

Station MotorSport Ltd have carried out a number of such conversions over the years and can advise you on any necessary parts and modifications to complete the build. Any fabrication of manifolds, brackets, pipework etc can be completed in house. Please look through the blog posts to see previous work completed.

As said above it is strongly recommended that if you are considerably increasing the power output of your engine, that a minimum of an engine rebuild is carried out to ensure it is in tip top condition. It is also recommended that you consider suspension, braking and cooling upgrades to cope with the extra power you will be putting through the existing vehicles components.