9 out of 10 dentists surveyed agree – boost is good for you, no matter how much your engine displaces. Nobody knows that better than Garrett Turbo, and this year at SEMA, they treated us to a cross section of their product line, from the very tiny to the indisputably epic.
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Garrett's diminutive GT06 turbo - note the pen tip for scale...
On the small side, Garrett was showing off their GT06, a new addition to their product line, and pretty much the smallest turbocharger we’ve ever seen. Designed for engines ranging from 100cc all the way up to a massive half-liter in displacement, the inducer diameter is a bare 22.63mm, but it packs a punch – Garrett rates it as being capable of supporting up to 80 horsepower! It also has big-turbo features like an internal wastegate and an Inconel turbine wheel for durability. For go karts, small-displacement motorcycles, or the world’s most badass Junior Dragster, this is just the ticket.
Garrett was also showcasing two mid-sized turbochargers this year – a descendant of the infamous “disco potato”, designed specifically for rally classes that mandate an inlet restrictor to police power output, and the GTX3067R that shows mid-frame performance can come in a very compact package.
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The 'Rally Potato' is optimized for performance with a 34mm inlet restrictor. Note the turbine speed sensor.
The GTX2860R “Rally Potato” uses a forged, fully machined 42mm billet compressor wheel and a ported shroud assembly designed specifically for superior performance with a 34mm inlet restrictor. Rated at 200-300 horsepower, we’re told that this particular turbo produces significantly more power than comparable units they’ve tested previously with restrictors.
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The GTX3067R packs a lot of punch into a small, lightweight package.
For engines displacing 1.8-3.0L, the GTX3067R is rated at 275 to 500 horsepower, and does its magic in a much smaller and lighter overall package than its T-series predecessors. It’s shown here with a “mohawk” style turbine housing that shaves considerable weight while retaining strength, and just as importantly burst containment thanks to its shape.
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The 88mm GTX5518R is already breaking drag race ET and MPH records.
Finally, we got a look deep inside the GTX5518R, an 88mm monster race turbo that can support as much as 1,500 horsepower in single turbo applications – this is the unit that recently propelled Mark Carlyle’s twin-turbo C6 Corvette to a new IRS drag radial record, so you know it’s got that “strip cred.”
Garrett knows the motorsports market, and we’re always happy to see their latest each year at SEMA. Of course, the only problem is that we start looking around for new projects to turbocharge… It may be time to start looking for a clean moped roller on Craigslist for our next drag vehicle!