Engineering Explained

You Can’t Fathom the G-Forces Inside a Turbo

27 February 2026 1:14 517K views 0 logs

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One. Million. G’s. You simply cannot fathom the g-forces that a turbocharger wheel experiences. Turbo maker BorgWarner tells me their smallest turbo can spin up to 324,000 RPM, with a compressor wheel diameter of 30mm. Some quick math tells us the outer edge of the compressor wheel is traveling at speed of over 500 m/s, or 1100 miles per hour. So, what about g-forces? Well, if you’re a little particle on the outer edge of this compressor wheel, traveling at 500 m/s at a distance of 15 mm from the center of the turbo, we know a = V^2/r, divide that by gravity, and you get 1.7 MILLION G’s!! T...