Boost up with Mr Turbo

Meet Sang. Turbo Sang. He makes cars go faster. To many hot rod enthusiasts, that’s the only name they know him by.

Woon Keam Sang, 56, likes it that way. It’s a catchy monicker that sells what he’s good at – installing turbochargers and tuning engines to extract maximum performance.
The man is quite handy with superchargers, too. He has been doing what he loves since the 1980s, and in the process, putting a grin on customers’ faces.

As forced induction devices, turbochargers and superchargers compress air flowing into the engine. Suffice to say more air – and fuel – stuffed into the cylinders produce a bigger bang for greater power.
A turbocharger, however, is run by exhaust gases driving a turbine, while a supercharger gets its power from the engine’s crankshaft via a belt or chain. The usual boost from either device is 0.5 bar, which boils down to a 30% to 40% power gain after innate inefficiencies are factored into the equation.

Woon, by his own admission, is a self-taught expert.

“I wanted to challenge myself . . . see how far I could go. What I know now, I learnt from books and a lot of hands-on sessions.

“When you put in a super/turbocharger in a naturally aspirated car, you can see a great deal of difference in the performance.

“With a super(charger),” he says, “you get a lot of low-end torque. The power comes very early.”

On the other hand, a turbocharger is known for delivering boost when the engine is running at higher rpms. But it’s not all clear cut.

It comes down to the settings.

And the type of turbo used,” adds Woon.

“If you use a smaller turbo, it behaves like a super in the sense that the extra power comes in early, say at 2,000rpm, and goes off early as well.”

People go for turbos for various reasons and it’s not just to race or go fast. It can be safer for the driver if he has a slightly more powerful car especially when overtaking.

Citing a close call, Woon recalls: “I used to work on a lot of cars from out of town at one time, so I was bringing back a customer’s Nissan Sentra, fitted with an SR20 turbo, from Terengganu late one night. There were no lights on the road. I was overtaking a trailer.

“Suddenly, I saw a black object up ahead. It was then I realised a lorry was coming at me without its headlights on.

“I panicked. I was passing the trailer and it was too late to pull back. The only option was to speed up and luckily the car had the power to haul me out of danger.”

After every turbo installation, Woon says he always advises the customer to handle his car carefully until he is familiar with the new settings before going fast.

It takes a week to 10 days for a typical installation. A new turbo/supercharger, at RM5,000-RM6,000, is simply too expensive for the crowd Drager Racing Motorsports caters to, so it relies on reconditioned ones to do the job just as well. Each costs only a few hundred ringgit and comes with a limited warranty.

With greater boost comes a need for more modifications to ensure the car can handle the power safely and effectively.

For those who desire 1.5-1.8 bar, a major upgrade to such parts as the pistons, conrods, crankshafts, clutch, brakes and suspension is necessary.

Woon has read of some extreme installations overseas where the boost was as much as 4.2 bar.
Various configurations are possible including twin turbos or even a superturbo setup that comprises a supercharger and a turbocharger.

Woon, in fact, is currently working on a superturbo installation for a Satria GTi customer that should offer strong torque across a wide power band.

These days, Woon has passed the baton to his son Andy who carries on the family trade. But as long as he is able, Woon figures he will remain on the turbo scene which has become such a pivotal part of his world. – GEORGE WONG

Drager Racing Motorsports is located at 536, Jalan 20, Taman Perindustrian Ehsan Jaya, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur. They can be contacted at tel: 03-6275 4508 or 019-2636 927.