126: Too Big, Too Small, or Just Right? Finding Your Goldilocks Turbo.

Tuned In

Have you ever wondered how small aftermarket companies are able to drastically improve on parts from OEMs and huge players like Garrett or Borg Warner that have massive R&D departments and even bigger budgets behind them? If you ask this week’s guest, Robert Young of Forced Performance and Xona Rotor, he’ll tell you: “We try harder and we’re better at it”.
Of course, the reality isn’t quite that simple… Luckily we’ve got a full two hours to dig into this topic and many others surrounding the world of performance turbocharging.
Use FORCED25 to get $25 off HPA’s Boost Control Tuning Course: https://hpcdmy.co/boostb
On this episode of Tuned In, we start by looking at how Robert became the turbocharger guru he is today as the name behind Forced Performance and Xona Rotor — the latter formed in partnership with Greg Jones of Tial Sport.
This is a story that involves years spent studying physics and mechanical engineering, as well as hands-on experience at turbo shops and with his own projects that ranged from old Ford Fairlanes and fast air cooled VW drag cars, to the early DSM drag world of rapid Mitsubishi Eclipses.
Both Robert’s companies produce ultra high performance aftermarket turbochargers and turbocharger components for a range of vehicles, and as one of the main brains behind these sought-after products, Robert is an absolute goldmine of turbo knowledge.
This means that the conversation quickly dives very deep into the world of boost, discussing a huge range of topics — journal vs ball bearing, billet compressor wheels, compressor maps, turbo sizing, and so much more.
This episode is a true turbo tech info dump in the best way possible. If you have any interest in going fast, don’t sleep on this fascinating conversation with a big brain of the forced induction world.
Follow Robert here:
IG: @forcedperformance, @xonarotor
FB: Forced Performance Turbochargers, Xona Rotor
WWW: forcedperformance.shop, xonarotor.com
Don’t forget, you can use FORCED25 to get $25 off HPA’s Boost Control Tuning Course: https://hpcdmy.co/boostb
Time Stamps:
3:35 How did you get involved with cars?
8:52 Where did the passion for turbocharging come from?
20:15 Starting your own turbocharger business?
25:10 How hard was it to design a cast stainless steel exhaust housing?
29:06 Ball bearing vs journal bearing turbos
38:51 Forced Performance overview
43:35 Turbos for Subaru’s EJ engine
47:10 How did Xona Rotor start?
51:42 Why didn’t you copy Garrett’s bearing technology?
59:46 Why is Xona Rotor its own company?
1:01:51 How are Xona Rotor turbos so good, frustrations of copied turbos
1:11:40 Development process for the compressor wheels?
1:31:34 Evolution of turbine wheels
1:44:06 How do we find the right size turbo?
1:59:22 Final three questions