Turbo blankets?

I have been thinking about buying and running a turbo blanket. Not anything special, just a amazon titanium lava rock blanket. As with everything there is pros and cons. I would love to help keep engine bay temps down. My worry in doing so is that I might keep too much heat in the turbine housing and possibly warp the housing? I almost always give my truck a cool down period after i get done driving, so i would think this would help, but sometimes life happens. By this i mean i dont give it a full 5 minutes to cool it may be slow driving leading up to the stop and 30 sec of idling. I also plan on wrapping the down pipe, but I am not worried about that. I am curious what your guys thought are on turbo blankets and possibly warping the housing or causing harm in any other way. I have also been doing my research elsewhere on the internet and theses are some of the problems I have seen other people discuss. Figured I would seek your inputs!

On FORDF250HDXLT's recommendation, I used one from ebay. Other than it being a pita to fit, it sure holds the turbo heat in which in my understanding is a good thing. No matter what the vehicle is rode hard and put away hot is never a good idea. I'm sure that others with much more experience than me will chime in...

They will decrease underhood temps and might make the turbo a bit more efficient.
But like mentioned, I think the most important thing that can be done for turbo longevity is letting engine idle for a couple minutes after it has been run hard. That’ll ensure that the turbo cools down & will also prevent coking inside turbo oil galleys.

I’d think if you got it hot long enough to warp it to the point of distortion, you have bigger problems than a warped turbo.... I may be wrong.....

I wonder what @typ4 would say

Not going to warp the housing. On the flip side, I doubt it makes enough difference to be worth the cost.

I'm going to install one just for the lower under hood temps. To me, that's worth quite a bit right there.

I have the amazon lava rock special, I didn’t put it on because I was fighting the wastegate lever and gave up.

SWI Parts T3 LAVA Titanium and high silica cloth turbo heat shield https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NTJB580/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4Lv6zbGQBHMV4


I did however have my exhaust elbow and downpipe ceramic coated, does it make a difference? I personally don’t know, but science I’ve read on the internet says it should lol






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That will make a difference. I don't know how much, but every bit helps.

Turbocharger Heat Shielding - Fact Or Fiction
Debunking tuning myths.
Luke Munnell –
Jan 26, 2011
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Testing By Protech Performance and Import Tuner Staff

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In the world of aftermarket vehicle modification, products seem to be able to be divided into three camps: those that are added for clear-cut, obvious reasons (turbochargers, performance suspensions, stickier tires, etc.), those that have no performance purpose (engine bay dress-up, vinyl/paint, certain interior accessories, etc.), and some-the same product-we see added for different reasons, depending on who you ask. This month we put one of the latter to the test.





The Claim: Turbocharger heat shielding can increase power and decrease turbo lag.

Turbocharger and manifold heat shielding, usually in the form of coatings, wraps, or blankets, have been promoted for years for their benefits such, of decreasing underhood temperatures-that much is fact. They work. But some will claim adding them significantly increases power and torque output, and decreases spool time compared to using nothing at all.

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Photo 4/9 | Turbocharger Heat Shielding - Fact Or Fiction
The theory is simple: Heat is energy, and gas expands more the hotter it becomes. More heat kept in a turbo manifold or inside a turbine housing equates to more pressure (energy) that can be directed through a turbine wheel, improving turbine performance, and subsequently compressor performance, for an increase in overall boost pressure and a decrease in the time it takes to build that pressure.

To test the claim, we collaborated with engine insulation specialists Protech Performance (PTP), and commenced back-to-back testing with a turbocharged Miata and the Dynojet dynamometer and infrared pyrometer of the crew's facility in Austin, TX. The first series of runs was performed with nothing insulating the car's GT35R turbocharger. The second group was done with a PTP blanket (PN FPR03S-003) surrounding the turbine. Both groups of testing involved multiple back-to-back runs, at operating temperature, with the hood closed.

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Photo 5/9 | Turbocharger Heat Shielding - Fact Or Fiction
Recording temperatures at the turbo compressor inlet and valve cover upon the completion of each run verified that the blanket staved off temperatures, as we knew it would. And as we suspected, power and torque increases-as well as a spool time decreases-were present as well.

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The Verdict:
Although the gains weren't humongous, neither was our 1.8L BP Miata engine or its turbocharger. The benefits this simple modification could bring to something like a time-attack RX-7 would likely make it one of the most cost-effective power increasing mods one could make, and as always, the decreased underhood temperatures mean better radiator performance, cooler intake charges, and longer life for vacuum lines and wiring harnesses.

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Photo 9/9 | Turbocharger Heat Shielding - Fact Or Fiction

Turbocharger Heat Shielding - Fact Or Fiction

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this is a quote from the link below that got me wondering about warpage on the turbo. "I run a turbo blanket on my race car (is300 + 2jzgte) and have been asked to remove it by my turbo technician. They hold in a **** load of heat which is a plus but after an extended period of time they can warp the exhaust housing/flange. I have been through 2 exhaust housings because of this.

I know this is on a race car and it would happen at a quicker rate than a road car but still, something to think about in the long run."

Now i have no idea how he conducts himself as far as cool down periods or anything, but it did raise a question.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-x-engine-turbo-drivetrain/478715-turbo-blanket.html

I do not plan on paying $180+ for a dei one or anything. If i am going to pay for one I will cheap out on it and go ebay special. So it wont be a huge expense, $30 or so. I just want to keep engine bay temps down, and I hope that is the case. From my research so far that looks like it will do great at. Also thanks for the input guys I appreciate it.

I run an eBay blanket on my semi to keep heat in the exhaust and from under the hood. I can run the truck loaded all day, get out and put my hand on the blanket, and it's not hot enough to burn. I didn't notice a huge power gain, or mpg, but I did notice it comes on boost much quicker between shifts, with less throttle input. Makes it a little more enjoyable to drive at 80k lbs, which is entirely worth it to me. Been on the truck for a year and a half now, and other than being a little dirty, is no different than when it was brand new.

Aluminum starts to melt at 1200* which most people stop at 1100* in their idi. Even with a turbo blanket that is nowhere near hot enough to warp anything in your turbo

Fair point. I do hit 1200 and thats about it. I wouldnt have thought it was so much the high heat just the fatiguing from heating up and cooling down, but then again i guess it is subject to that everyday. Im not looking for a miracle out of the blanket, hp, mpg, pixie dust, etc. just looking to keep things cooler under the hood. and i figure exhaust wrapping does a good job of that on exhaust piping, why not corral that all in where it swirls around? Thanks for the input!

I'm... undecided. It's good for protecting other things from heat, though I doubt it'll really make much difference otherwise. IDIs generally run cool; the only time you'll actually get things hot enough for the heat in the turbo to be an option is pulling a big trailer on a long grade, then stopping. It really makes sense to let the turbo cool down before shutting down, and it's probably good for the engine as well(preventing localized boiling of coolant due to lack of flow).

I've heard that lava wrap on exhaust piping can trap salt/ moisture against the piping and cause it to rust out quicker than it should, which is a definite concern. It might pay to wrap/cover things in such a manner that you protect the cab and other areas from heat while allowing open air to certain areas such that moisture can escape.

Of course, I'm also thinking that the salt/moisture issue depends on where you wrap - the up-pipes should get plenty hot, the downpipe might not. Especially if you aren't doing any loaded driving over winter.

I wrapped the all the hot pipes, housing and down pipe with fiberglass header wrap. it worked great but when the truck sat in the yard for 5 yrs the cross over rotted from all the moisture the wrap held.