Looking to install a heat blanket on the turbo

HondaFan2017

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I guarantee that a turbo blanket will void your warranty for any turbo - related failures. The reason why the OEM uses a heat shield and not a blanket is to make sure cooling air gets to the turbine housing to reduce the metal temp, and still protect other components from heat radiation. You risk cracking the housing and not having it covered under warranty
It'd be interesting:
- was the OEM turbine sized to take this extra heat?
- why there's no blanket fitted from factory if it improves performance and does not decrease lifespan?
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sysjl

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I just finished installing the USR turbo blanket. It's a total pain in the ass. I thought I could get away with just removing the heat shield and nothing else. It didn't work out so well when I realized you can't get the blanket under the turbo without removing the downpipe. So you have to remove the turbo inlet pipe (metal pipe with the Earth dreams logo on it). There are 2 brackets for coolant lines you have to remove. Both are 10mm bolts. There are an additional 2 10mm bolts on the left side of the pipe that attach some plastic housings for vacuum lines. After that you need to unhook the harness for the waste gate. Only thing left is to remove the hose from the air intake and then remove the 2 12mm bolts that hold the inlet pipe in place on the left side. The bolt closest to the engine isn't too bad to remove but the one closest to the front of the car is a pain. They don't require much force to break them loose. After you remove the inlet pipe you have to disconnect both O2 sensor harnesses. They are both clipped on to a metal bracket that's attached with a 10mm bolt. There is a small area you can press on the back of the harness to detach it from the bracket. After that you can remove the O2 sensors. Now you can remove the 3 12mm bolts holding the heat shield in place. There is a bolt on the top near the engine, one on the right side near the O2 sensor and the final one is facing the radiator. That last one is a bitch. You need to remove the plastic shroud at the front of the engine bay. It's not too hard. Just lots of plastic clips and pulling up the rubber trim on the duct for the air intake. Once the shroud is removed you can properly visualise the last 12mm bolt holding the heat shield in place. I had to use a few extensions and a flex socket to initially loosen the bolt. To get the bolt the rest of the way out I had to use a flexible ratcheting 12mm wrench and gravity to get it done. Basically I had to attach the ratcheting part of the wrench to the bolt and let the wrench fall counter clockwise to unscrew the bolt a half turn at a time. After doing that about 5 or 6 times the bolt will have backed out enough for you to go under the car and let the wrench get a much better grip on the head of the bolt. Apply a tiny bit of downward pressure and you'll be able to ratchet the bolt out. It sounds really stupid but it was the only way I was able to get the damn thing out since there was no space to work with. Once the heat shield is off you can soak the shit out of the 2 nuts and 2 bolts on the down pipe with pb blaster or the penetrating oil of your choice. Wait for a few hours and use a breaker bar along with a 16mm socket to remove the nuts and bolts attaching the down pipe. Take your time and use consistent pressure. Don't want to shear the bolts. Luckily for me everything came off easily after soaking with the pb blaster. Now all that's left is to remove the 3 studs where the downpipe connects to the front pipe. Also need to remove the bolts holding the bracket for the down pipe under the car. Once you move the down pipe off to the side you can put the turbo blanket on.
 
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I just finished installing the USR turbo blanket. It's a total pain in the ass. I thought I could get away with just removing the heat shield and nothing else. It didn't work out so well when I realized you can't get the blanket under the turbo without removing the downpipe. So you have to remove the turbo inlet pipe (metal pipe with the Earth dreams logo on it). There are 2 brackets for coolant lines you have to remove. Both are 10mm bolts. There are an additional 2 10mm bolts on the left side of the pipe that attach some plastic housings for vacuum lines. After that you need to unhook the harness for the waste gate. Only thing left is to remove the hose from the air intake and then remove the 2 12mm bolts that hold the inlet pipe in place on the left side. The bolt closest to the engine isn't too bad to remove but the one closest to the front of the car is a pain. They don't require much force to break them loose. After you remove the inlet pipe you have to disconnect both O2 sensor harnesses. They are both clipped on to a metal bracket that's attached with a 10mm bolt. There is a small area you can press on the back of the harness to detach it from the bracket. After that you can remove the O2 sensors. Now you can remove the 3 12mm bolts holding the heat shield in place. There is a bolt on the top near the engine, one on the right side near the O2 sensor and the final one is facing the radiator. That last one is a bitch. You need to remove the plastic shroud at the front of the engine bay. It's not too hard. Just lots of plastic clips and pulling up the rubber trim on the duct for the air intake. Once the shroud is removed you can properly visualise the last 12mm bolt holding the heat shield in place. I had to use a few extensions and a flex socket to initially loosen the bolt. To get the bolt the rest of the way out I had to use a flexible ratcheting 12mm wrench and gravity to get it done. Basically I had to attach the ratcheting part of the wrench to the bolt and let the wrench fall counter clockwise to unscrew the bolt a half turn at a time. After doing that about 5 or 6 times the bolt will have backed out enough for you to go under the car and let the wrench get a much better grip on the head of the bolt. Apply a tiny bit of downward pressure and you'll be able to ratchet the bolt out. It sounds really stupid but it was the only way I was able to get the damn thing out since there was no space to work with. Once the heat shield is off you can soak the shit out of the 2 nuts and 2 bolts on the down pipe with pb blaster or the penetrating oil of your choice. Wait for a few hours and use a breaker bar along with a 16mm socket to remove the nuts and bolts attaching the down pipe. Take your time and use consistent pressure. Don't want to shear the bolts. Luckily for me everything came off easily after soaking with the pb blaster. Now all that's left is to remove the 3 studs where the downpipe connects to the front pipe. Also need to remove the bolts holding the bracket for the down pipe under the car. Once you move the down pipe off to the side you can put the turbo blanket on.
That is the type of explanation that I’ve been looking for. Now the question is do I really want to do this. Was it worth it.
 

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It'd be interesting:
- was the OEM turbine sized to take this extra heat?
- why there's no blanket fitted from factory if it improves performance and does not decrease lifespan?
turbo sizing has little to do with turbine housing temperature. Engines are be calibrated (fuel/air and boost level) to keep the maximum turbine inlet temperature below the maximum allowable (by the turbocharger manufacturer) . This is usually in the range of 900 to 980 degrees C.
 

HondaFan2017

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turbo sizing has little to do with turbine housing temperature. Engines are be calibrated (fuel/air and boost level) to keep the maximum turbine inlet temperature below the maximum allowable (by the turbocharger manufacturer) . This is usually in the range of 900 to 980 degrees C.
Thanks for the explanation. Ok you avoid peaks above certain threshold.
- how about subjecting the turbine to a higher average temperature / different heat cycle characteristic?
- why there are no such turbo blankets fitted from the factory?
 


sysjl

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That is the type of explanation that I’ve been looking for. Now the question is do I really want to do this. Was it worth it.
I would say it's really only worth it if you plan on either taking the car to the track or you are going to replace the downpipe at the same time.
 

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i have personally witnessed very thorough testing of turbo blankets at full load without more that large fans in front of the area as would be seen in real life.....both gas and diesel engines and the difference in turbine housing temps with and without as well as with oem type shields were very very minimal, as were other changes in temperature but the surrounding components dropped in temperature drastically with the blanket.
Does the turbo inlet gasket need to be replaced when the turbo blanket gets installed? My installer said it was a one use gasket that needed to swapped when doing the USR blanket installation. TIA
Found this video on turbo blanket testing & theory.

 
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I had the heat shield put back on. Although you can only attach 2 of the three screws. I figured more heat shielding can’t hurt.

I’m not mechanically inclined so I had a tech do it. He had to removed a bunch of hoses, down pipe, the earth dreams intake piping, and the front plastic support.

Going to to track Monday, will see how the car does. Although I’m in the northeast. Temps will be 50 max. But it’s an open track day so it will be more than the usual 4x25 min sessions you get with PCA or BMWCCA.

AFE1D577-5877-4C31-BE48-4FD3588730FA.jpeg

So how did your track session go with the turbo blanket on?
 

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Thanks for the explanation. Ok you avoid peaks above certain threshold.
- how about subjecting the turbine to a higher average temperature / different heat cycle characteristic?
- why there are no such turbo blankets fitted from the factory?
Why would they? It's just extra cost and yet another part that would need to be exhaustively tested to ensure repeatedly durability at a massive scale. I'm sure there are some NHTSA, Euro, etc., regulatory hoops to jump through too that would cost millions to get certified as well. Adding turbo blankets doesn't have any real upside for an OEM.
 

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So how did your track session go with the turbo blanket on?
I’ve done a couple of days where it was 75F+ and you will need to keep the heat on full blast to keep the temps at the 2/3 mark. Also putting water wetter helps a tiny bit. I notice that the car does experience heat soak after the 3rd or 4th lap. The turbo blanket is only a part of the solution. Next mod is intercooler and the eBay grill.
 


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I’ve done a couple of days where it was 75F+ and you will need to keep the heat on full blast to keep the temps at the 2/3 mark. Also putting water wetter helps a tiny bit. I notice that the car does experience heat soak after the 3rd or 4th lap. The turbo blanket is only a part of the solution. Next mod is intercooler and the eBay grill.
Holy shit. I've read that cooling components themselves are adequate, it's airflow to the components that is the issue. Not sure how much you can improve that though... Do you know if the Sis have these heat issues as well?
 

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Holy shit. I've read that cooling components themselves are adequate, it's airflow to the components that is the issue. Not sure how much you can improve that though... Do you know if the Sis have these heat issues as well?
If you're driving in the beginner / intermediate groups, you'll be fine. If you are advanced / instructor pace then you will likely experience cooling issues. But if you back off for a few seconds it catches up pretty quick. Never had an SI so I can't help you there.
 

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I have come to the conclusion that turbo blanket is not worth it for heat management simply because of the amount of trouble you have to go through to install, and that the Car still needs oil cooler/intercooler no matter what for those that track
 
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if you notice, the USR Turbo blanket is made by PTP for USR. There plate on it has PTP logo in the corner. Also USR is the sole seller of it for the first year. They sent an extra turbo to PTP for development.
Hey JLOracing did you ever get around to doing a tutorial on turbo blanket installation?
 

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I just finished installing the USR turbo blanket. It's a total pain in the ass. I thought I could get away with just removing the heat shield and nothing else. It didn't work out so well when I realized you can't get the blanket under the turbo without removing the downpipe. So you have to remove the turbo inlet pipe (metal pipe with the Earth dreams logo on it). There are 2 brackets for coolant lines you have to remove. Both are 10mm bolts. There are an additional 2 10mm bolts on the left side of the pipe that attach some plastic housings for vacuum lines. After that you need to unhook the harness for the waste gate. Only thing left is to remove the hose from the air intake and then remove the 2 12mm bolts that hold the inlet pipe in place on the left side. The bolt closest to the engine isn't too bad to remove but the one closest to the front of the car is a pain. They don't require much force to break them loose. After you remove the inlet pipe you have to disconnect both O2 sensor harnesses. They are both clipped on to a metal bracket that's attached with a 10mm bolt. There is a small area you can press on the back of the harness to detach it from the bracket. After that you can remove the O2 sensors. Now you can remove the 3 12mm bolts holding the heat shield in place. There is a bolt on the top near the engine, one on the right side near the O2 sensor and the final one is facing the radiator. That last one is a bitch. You need to remove the plastic shroud at the front of the engine bay. It's not too hard. Just lots of plastic clips and pulling up the rubber trim on the duct for the air intake. Once the shroud is removed you can properly visualise the last 12mm bolt holding the heat shield in place. I had to use a few extensions and a flex socket to initially loosen the bolt. To get the bolt the rest of the way out I had to use a flexible ratcheting 12mm wrench and gravity to get it done. Basically I had to attach the ratcheting part of the wrench to the bolt and let the wrench fall counter clockwise to unscrew the bolt a half turn at a time. After doing that about 5 or 6 times the bolt will have backed out enough for you to go under the car and let the wrench get a much better grip on the head of the bolt. Apply a tiny bit of downward pressure and you'll be able to ratchet the bolt out. It sounds really stupid but it was the only way I was able to get the damn thing out since there was no space to work with. Once the heat shield is off you can soak the shit out of the 2 nuts and 2 bolts on the down pipe with pb blaster or the penetrating oil of your choice. Wait for a few hours and use a breaker bar along with a 16mm socket to remove the nuts and bolts attaching the down pipe. Take your time and use consistent pressure. Don't want to shear the bolts. Luckily for me everything came off easily after soaking with the pb blaster. Now all that's left is to remove the 3 studs where the downpipe connects to the front pipe. Also need to remove the bolts holding the bracket for the down pipe under the car. Once you move the down pipe off to the side you can put the turbo blanket on.
WOAH! That's a mad amount of work to be done. Anybody who believes in this had better believe it whole-heartedly. I think I'll just take my car to SPOON or J's Racing to get this kind of work done.
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