Garrett Competition Turbochargers

Owen Developments have been appointed as the only official Garrett Performance Centre in the UK. Having direct access to all technical data and drawings enables us to apply the GT range of dual ball bearing turbos with the ultimate in matching efficiency.

The current range of turbochargers, cater for power outputs of 150 bhp to well over 1,000 bhp with externally waste-gated turbine housings. Hybrid turbocharger combinations are a regular requirement of motorsport and fast road use vehicles; therefore with the full support of a sophisticated machine shop, many specials have been successfully produced.

Advantages of the Garrett GT turbocharger are its ability to withstand high levels of boost pressure without rapid axial wear: quick spool up giving instant throttle response is another of its major benefits.

We have been re-building and blue-printing turbochargers for both road and competition cars since the mid-eighties. This experience and competitive edge has meant that we have become the first port of call for both car manufacturers and race and rally teams worldwide.

When you are competing in motorsport, you need to have the most efficient and reliable turbocharger possible. When it comes to turbochargers, we have the proven track record and unrivalled experience to work with you or your team to deliver a turbocharger with the best reliability, quality and performance to ensure you don’t get let down on an event!

Improved Efficiency

New, efficient turbine stages deliver more power to your engine and allow Garrett turbochargers to spool up faster than ever. Our engineers have eliminated old efficiency killers, including on-center turbine housings, clipped turbine wheels, and antiquated aerodynamics with the new GT product line.

Increased Boost Capacity

Our performance turbochargers feature compressor wheels that can handle a higher boost presure.

So go ahead - increase the PSI. Your Garrett turbocharger can handle it.

True Ball-Bearing Turbochargers

Thanks to our single-cartridge, dual ball-bearing technology, Garrett turbochargers generate far less frictional drag and are 10 times more durable than traditional journal-bearing turbochargers. While first developed for racing, over 100,000 ball-bearing turbos have been produced for OE applications, and are now available in a range of sizes for the street.

Proven Durability

Our engineering team puts our turbochargers through more than 20 durability and performance tests befor they reach consumers.

We produce more than 7 million turbos each year. Rest assured that a Garrett turbo is a dependable one.

Turbine Maps

1. Turbine Expansion Ratio

The degree of exhaust expansion as it passes through the turbine.

2. Turbine Corrected Flow

The turbine flow is also corrected for temperature and pressure at the turbine inlet (exhaust manifold).

Compressor Maps

1. Pressure Ratio

Ratio of ABSOLUTE outlet pressure divided by ABSOLUTE inlet pressure.

2. Corrected Airflow

Represents the corrected mass flow rate of air, taking into account air density (ambient temperature and pressure).

3. Efficiency Contours

The efficiency contours depict the regional efficiency of the compressor set. This efficiency is simply the percentage of turbo shaft power that converts to actual air compression. When sizing a turbo, it is important to maintain the proposed lugline with a high efficiency range on the map.

4. Surge Line

The surge region, located on the left-hand side of the compressor map, is an area of flow instability typically caused by compressor inducer stall. The turbo should be sized so that the engine does not operate in the surge range. When turbochargers operate in surge for long periods of time, bearing failures may occur.

5. Choke Line

The choke line is on the right hand side of the compressor map and represents the flow limit. When a turbocharger is run deep into choke, turbo speeds will increase dramatically while compressor efficiency will plunge (very high compressor outlet temps), and turbo durability will be compromised.

It's All About Better Combustion

Before you can truly appreciate what a turbocharger does for an engine, you need to understand the basics of internal combustion.

Internal combustion engines are "breathing" engines. That is to say, they draw in air and fuel for energy. This energy is realized as power when the air-fuel mixture is ignited. Afterward, the waste created by the combustion is expelled. All of this is typically accomplished in four strokes of the pistons.

What a turbocharger does is to make the air-fuel mixture more combustible by fitting more air into the engine's chambers which, in turn, creates more power and torque when the piston is forced downward by the resulting explosion. It accomplishes this task by condensing, or compressing, the air molecules so that the air the engine draws in is denser. Now, how it does that is the real story here.

Not As Easy As It Looks

The basic principal behind turbocharging is fairly simple, but a turbocharger is a very complex piece of machinery. Not only must the components within the turbocharger itself be precisely coordinated, but the turbocharger and the engine it services must also be exactly matched. If they're not, engine inefficiency and even damage can be the results. That's why it's important to follow correct installation, operating and preventative maintenance procedures.