As stated in the title, we have invested heavily into moving away from Inconel 713 in our N54/S55 GC turbochargers.
After some turbine issues about 2 years ago, we went to the drawing board, and had our own turbine wheels cast in GTX28 profile to not only solve the issue but improve the performance of the units as well. We found they not only spooled better, but they also flowed better up top with this new turbine design.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, we took that efficient wheel profile and now have them cast in superalloy Mar-M246. This is the same material Garrett is using for its new "G-series" lineup.
http://www.atpturbo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=GRTGSERIES
"Garrett G Series Turbine Wheel: By incorporating the latest and advanced ULTA HIGH FLOW aerodynamic designs within the Garrett G Series Turbine Wheel, G Series models offer previously unimaginable power levels by frame size and improvements in spool! Made from Mar-M superalloy, the G Series Turbine Wheel withstands up-to 1050 degrees Celsius; +200 degrees Celsius over Inconel turbine wheels."
The composition of Mar-M246 not only allows it to withstand higher temps than Inconel 713, but it also has much better fatigue characteristics. This builds upon the already very reliable V2 GC units.
We will start rolling out the Mar-M246 equipped units starting with our next batch which will be shipping in the next couple of weeks.
Lead, follow or get out of the way... We do our best to stay ahead of the curve here at VTT
A few questions have come up elsewhere that I'll just answer right off the bat:
Q: Any weight difference?
A: Not really, they're very close to the same weight. 718 is about .293 lb/cu in and M-M246 is about 0.305 lb/cu in.
Q: Did you guys continue to have the same failures as V1.0 GC's?
A: No, this is just a good opportunity for continuous improvement, and a direction we wanted to go for a while. MAR-M246 is a better material, particularly for high power environments.
Q: Is 713 a bad material?
A: No, it's pretty good, just not as good as MAR-M246. In fact, many of the competitors (BMW platform or otherwise) don't even use 713LC, they use K418 or 713C. 713 isn't bad stuff by any means but we found some issues when used in high boost/high EGT for extended periods of time.
Q: I'm one of those guys who wants best of the best... can I send in my V2.0 GC's and get them upgraded to the new wheels?
A: Yes, shoot me an email and let's talk about your particular situation first, but standard rebuild cost is $499 each, upgrading the wheels is an extra $100 each unit.
Chris
After some turbine issues about 2 years ago, we went to the drawing board, and had our own turbine wheels cast in GTX28 profile to not only solve the issue but improve the performance of the units as well. We found they not only spooled better, but they also flowed better up top with this new turbine design.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, we took that efficient wheel profile and now have them cast in superalloy Mar-M246. This is the same material Garrett is using for its new "G-series" lineup.
http://www.atpturbo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=GRTGSERIES
"Garrett G Series Turbine Wheel: By incorporating the latest and advanced ULTA HIGH FLOW aerodynamic designs within the Garrett G Series Turbine Wheel, G Series models offer previously unimaginable power levels by frame size and improvements in spool! Made from Mar-M superalloy, the G Series Turbine Wheel withstands up-to 1050 degrees Celsius; +200 degrees Celsius over Inconel turbine wheels."
The composition of Mar-M246 not only allows it to withstand higher temps than Inconel 713, but it also has much better fatigue characteristics. This builds upon the already very reliable V2 GC units.
We will start rolling out the Mar-M246 equipped units starting with our next batch which will be shipping in the next couple of weeks.
Lead, follow or get out of the way... We do our best to stay ahead of the curve here at VTT
A few questions have come up elsewhere that I'll just answer right off the bat:
Q: Any weight difference?
A: Not really, they're very close to the same weight. 718 is about .293 lb/cu in and M-M246 is about 0.305 lb/cu in.
Q: Did you guys continue to have the same failures as V1.0 GC's?
A: No, this is just a good opportunity for continuous improvement, and a direction we wanted to go for a while. MAR-M246 is a better material, particularly for high power environments.
Q: Is 713 a bad material?
A: No, it's pretty good, just not as good as MAR-M246. In fact, many of the competitors (BMW platform or otherwise) don't even use 713LC, they use K418 or 713C. 713 isn't bad stuff by any means but we found some issues when used in high boost/high EGT for extended periods of time.
Q: I'm one of those guys who wants best of the best... can I send in my V2.0 GC's and get them upgraded to the new wheels?
A: Yes, shoot me an email and let's talk about your particular situation first, but standard rebuild cost is $499 each, upgrading the wheels is an extra $100 each unit.
Chris
Last edited: