TheTurboClub is
not influenced by any business or organisation in our advice to you.
Endorsements may be made by publishing comments from RTO's on service experienced by them
in the course of dealings with various companies.
This also may include benefits to RTO's from
businesses in the way of discounts on mods or service to their cars.
Considerations prior to
modifications on any Make or Model of Turbo.
DETONATION & PRE-IGNITION
PINGING, PINKING ( or DEATH RATTLES )
These are names for two conditions that can cause
loss of power or pistons. You have probably heard them under the bonnet your self.
Detonation and Pre-ignition are two separate
effects with different causes, but can occur at the same time. Detonation of the fuel air
mixture under boost conditions is the number one enemy of any turbo engine. Detonation is
defined as it says as a detonating effect in the combustion chamber on the compression
stroke as the piston progresses on to its downward power producing travel under normal
operation. The power caused by combustion is meant to be produced in a smooth (relatively)
expanding of various gases as a product of burning the fuel air mixture.
Detonation is similar to hitting the top of the
piston with a gelignite charge instead of a mighty push. I have not read any statistics on
this but I suspect that the flame front on normal combustion travels throughout the
chamber at up to three thousand feet per second similar to a rifle cartridge being fired.
This produces the fast push to the piston from the rapidly expanding gasses, while the
speed of the flame front on detonation could be up to ten thousand feet per second,
similar to an explosive initiating detonator.
From experience this is similar to the known fact
that under loading ( less powder than air at the right ratio) in a rifle cartridge can
cause the effect of the whole breech block exploding instead of just pushing the
projectile down the barrel. My early career was RAAF Armourer with extensive weapons and
advanced explosives training and experience, so I have drawn my own conclusions above.
Irrespective of cause,
Detonation is to be
avoided at any cost.
