How does a BB turbo work?

rs4rush

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Jan 25, 2007
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I was talking today about BB turbos with Justin and we both dont know how they work from a standard turbo? So how do they work?

I searched and could not find info...
 

MDCmotorsports

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In a standard journal bearing turbo, you have a thrust stack, a thrust bearing, and journal bearings.

The axial thrust is controlled by oil pressure and the thrust stack wrapping around the thrust bearing.

The thrust bearing is kept in place by the front oil seal carrier / backing plate.

The radial thrust is controlled by oil pressure and large journal bearings.

In a ball bearing turbo, both axial play and radial play is controlled by the ball bearings themselves inside the bearing cartridge.
 

Clip

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bb is the pro way to go, also more expensive. i believe that if you have two turbos of equal size, the bb will spool faster than the thrust bearing.
 

Doward

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It spins :)

No, seriously. Ball bearings are simply an evolution from the journal bearings. While the ball bearings are much more susceptible to debris, and much more finicky about oil flow - they are superior in practically every possible way, in terms of friction, ease of spool, etc.
 

MDCmotorsports

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Also note that ball bearing turbos have yet to prove them selves in terms of life span VS journal bearing turbos.

The filter technology and oil technology IMO have not caught up yet to the extreme precision and RPMS that a ball bearing turbo sees.
 

Frankenstien

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Thanks very much for the info. Is there any way to increase the life of a BB turbo aside from change the oil every 3000km, like upgrade the filter system somehow? I was thinking have two types of oil filter in a row with a relocation/cooling setup :dunno:
 

adampecush

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May 11, 2006
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adding a bypass filter along with a conventional filter should help to keep down the size of the particulate matter in the oil.
 

sneakypete

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Jul 18, 2007
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i went with a dual filter relocation and use a wix conventional filter and a trasko filter to keep everything clean. with this system, you dont have to change the oil as often... all you have to do is change the filter material. before i went with this system, i would change my oil every 6000 miles. but now, every 6000 miles i change the wix filter and the trasko filter element. and then change the oil along with the filters at 12000 miles.
also go with a full flow system and upgrade the oil cooler.
-pete
 

bmoss85

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i was wondering what is the differences between dbb and tbb, and what if any are the advantages of the tbb over the dbb?
 

MDCmotorsports

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bmoss85;1141625 said:
i was wondering what is the differences between dbb and tbb, and what if any are the advantages of the tbb over the dbb?


Frankly I feel this is a gimmick. A tripple or even quadruple ball bearing is simply sharing the axial load through a set or two sets of duplex pair bearings.

Instead of one bearing controlling inboard thrust and the other controlling outboard thrust you now have two controlling one way, and one controlling the other or vise versa.

Make sense?
 

bmoss85

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thanks i was trying think of how it would work. i wasnt sure if it was really needed, or if there was really any performance gain from it.
 

Flateric

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Mar 26, 2008
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Doward;1131103 said:
It spins :)

No, seriously. Ball bearings are simply an evolution from the journal bearings. While the ball bearings are much more susceptible to debris, and much more finicky about oil flow - they are superior in practically every possible way, in terms of friction, ease of spool, etc.

I was under the impression the BB turbos are much MORE forgiving about oilflow conditions. Or perhaps I am misunderstanding this links information. Don't get me wrong I am no expert and very likely have only 10% of the technical knowledge of most so I simply am trying to get down to the actual bottom line differences.

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/images/Multimedia/Leaflets3_2.jpg

Or as I said I may have misunderstood something more than likely.
 

MDCmotorsports

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Flateric;1141791 said:
I was under the impression the BB turbos are much MORE forgiving about oilflow conditions. Or perhaps I am misunderstanding this links information. Don't get me wrong I am no expert and very likely have only 10% of the technical knowledge of most so I simply am trying to get down to the actual bottom line differences.

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/images/Multimedia/Leaflets3_2.jpg

Or as I said I may have misunderstood something more than likely.

What paper says and what real world conditions report back are two different things.
 

Nick M

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MDCmotorsports;1142013 said:
What paper says and what real world conditions report back are two different things.

Ain't that the truth. Beause it doesn't seem like a steel ball has lower friction than oil. But they sure do respond faster.
 

Toy-Rific

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Jun 8, 2005
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Flateric;1141791 said:
I was under the impression the BB turbos are much MORE forgiving about oilflow conditions. Or perhaps I am misunderstanding this links information. Don't get me wrong I am no expert and very likely have only 10% of the technical knowledge of most so I simply am trying to get down to the actual bottom line differences.

http://www.turbobygarrett.com/turbobygarrett/images/Multimedia/Leaflets3_2.jpg

Or as I said I may have misunderstood something more than likely.

I am on the side that a Ceramic Ball Bearing, being dual or triple is the better way to go.
Greg\Lipp
 

EVOlutionary

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Apr 30, 2008
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One thing I've thought about is that on start up and shut down a journal bearing turbo loses all oil pressure and for a moment spins directly on the bushing. A BB turbo, however, still has the shaft supported by the bearings. On my friends DSM with a BB FP 3052, the wheel keeps spinning for about 2 minutes after you shut the car off. This, to me, shows the great decrease in friction you get with a BB setup. . .

No expert here. Just my observations. . .