These days, the name Turbosmart has become synonymous with innovation. For over 20 years, Turbosmart has been bringing some of the most advance turbocharging technology to the market and they aren’t showing any signs of slowing down any time soon. Part of what has allowed them to stay on top is, apparently, the fact that they don’t believe in “good enough.” And that is the exact reason they have just released their Gen V external wastegates.
Turbosmart’s Hypergate wastegates are already some of the best-flowing, most durable gates on the market, but that hasn’t stopped them from taking things one step further. Right off the bat, you’ll recognize the same compact shape, but you can tell right away that they’ve been optimized even further for flow characteristics, moving as much as 25 percent more air than the previous generation, according to Marty Staggs of Turbosmart.
“Our Gen V wastegates are a clean-sheet-of-paper design,” Staggs said. “In our industry, everyone is looking to go faster. And going faster typically means more power, which puts greater stress on ancillary components. And while our current components were more than capable of supporting today’s builds, we’re looking down the road to what’s coming, which is why we revised our wastegates.”
Not only has Turbosmart improved on the flow of their wastegates, they’ve also incorporated many design features requested by customers and racers alike. For example, all of the gates have been improved to handle higher temperatures which, according to Staggs, was a process of isolating the gate diaphragm even further. Staggs added that the out going generation is more than capable of handling high-heat situations but emphasized that these take that one step further.
Another innovation new for the fifth-generation model is a one hand removable V-band clamp, making them easier to work with in compact areas. Turbosmart also listened to customers that were asking them to go from 1/16-inch NPT ports to 1/8-inch, allowing for push lock fittings and hoses to be used with the gates in the process.
In addition to the other changes, the actuator’s positioning is infinitely variable, and can even allow the actuators upper and lower to be positioned independently of one another. And if the standard Hypergate is not enough for your needs, Turbosmart has also introduced a new line of motorsport specific wastegates, specifically designed for high heat and endurance applications such as Rally or endurance racing. Staggs says Turbosmart has tried their best to kill one of their new motorsport gates and thus far have been incapable of doing so.
“Not only do we believe that we help people achieve their goals, we want to continue to do that and continue to push the technology and the performance further,” Staggs said. “We’re loyal to our customers and our racers. We listen to the market and incorporate those suggestions. Racers will tell you where you need to improve and we just want to continue to progress, and we feel like we’ve done that here.”