badhombre

iTrader: (4)

so, it has become an increasing trend for turbo and centrifugal cars to have a big nasty compressor wheel exposed to the elements via an opening int he bumper, grille, etc. we all know what I'm talking about. it looks badass, yes. BUT, are there any measurable gains by doing this? it is worth it on a street car? would a screen be adequate protection from road debris for a car that will see street time? what damage would bugs, rain, dust/dirt do?

does anyone have a street driven car with an inlet setup like this? what is your experience?

I have my turbo mounted up high, about 3" behind a solid flat section of core support (truck). I am debating on whether or not it is worth it to cut an opening in my core support for it to draw in air, or if it would be safer behind the solid support. either way it will be screened.

SPRAYED 01

iTrader: (22)

on the street run a filter, are you really going to miss maybe 5-10hp? I don't the gain if any warrant the risk

itsslow98

iTrader: (18)

If you dont have a good filter you can see some really impressive gains by removing it altogether. When I pulled mine on the dyno just out of curiousity I only gained 12rwhp. It wasnt worth the risk IMO. One run in with a pebble could ruin your entire motor. If you have the room for a good sized filter then go with it.

BTW I mainly see screens run on street cars where the turbo leaves hardly any room at all for a filter so they are forced to run tiny, restrictive filters.

badhombre

iTrader: (4)

this is why I am asking. whether I should go through the trouble of fitting a filter, or just screening it. my friends twin turbo v8 rx7 had zero room for filters so he has put stainless screens on his. my truck will not see as much street time as his will, but I have already learned my lesson about driving with an open inlet even with it "protected" behind the firewall. what about a core support opening so that the filter could be removed for track time or serious runs? I only have about 4" between the compressor inlet and the firewall

buick_lsx

A screen is the worst thing you could do, run a filter atleast, even if you take it off at the track

Nitroused383

iTrader: (10)

You're seeing forward facing inlets on mostly drag cars. There are some significant benefits of a forward facing inlet on a turbo application, hence why some classes add weight to forward inlets in the bumper or grille. Adding a positive pressure in front of the inlet of a turbo has proven to make the turbo run more efficient with less back pressure as the turbo is having to do less work to make a given amount of boost. On a street car run the biggest air filter you can fit, and make sure it's a filter designed for turbo cars like AFE or others.