For many years, turbos for commercial vehicles were big, simple units. They relied on old technology that had proved extremely reliable, but lagged way behind the turbochargers launched in the passenger vehicle sector.

How times have changed!

In recent years, Garrett has launched a whole new range of turbochargers and turbocharging systems, to not only keep up with the latest emissions standards, but keep ahead of them. Customer expectations for reliability, performance, driveability, fuel consumption and noise have also driven constant developments in the range of Garrett CV turbos.

Look at any of the latest crop of Garrett Motion CV turbochargers and you will see combinations of features such as:

Dual stage serial turbocharging – with different combinations of free floating, wastegated and VNT turbos, serial turbocharging allows the charge air to be compressed twice, to much higher pressure for high output engines.

Electronic actuation – powerful electronic actuators offering rapid response to driver/vehicle inputs and feeding back accurate positional information to the vehicle ECU, to accurately control the movement of the variable vanes

Ball bearings – once the exclusive preserve of race and rally turbos, many CV turbos now use advanced ceramic ball bearings to maximise harnessing energy from the exhaust gas; ensuring as much as possible goes into driving the turbine and compressor. Ball bearing turbos are well proven to improve time to boost for great driveability improvements.

Double Axle VNT – our variable geometry turbos specifically designed for use on heavy duty diesel engines. With the movable vanes supported on two axles, they are able to cope easily with the high pressures and loads imposed during commercial vehicle operations and may be used for engine braking on some vehicles, in conjunction with high power pneumatic or electronic actuators.

Advanced sealing systems – a great deal of development now means that 2 or 3 pistons rings may be used as to comply with the sealing requirements ensuring compliance with emissions regulations and to keep the lubricating oil and gasses separated.

Speed Sensors – used to monitor the speed of the turbocharger, helping to ensure that it never exceeds its safe limits, even when the engine is working at full power.

Dual Passage Bypass– two wastegates in one turbine housing, to maximise performance.

So next time you see a combine harvester or tractor working day and night in the fields, a truck pulling 40 tones across a high mountain range, or a delivery truck hurrying to complete its drops for the day, just take a moment to think of Garrett Motion turbocharger technology which may be helping to keep it working efficiently!