TR182 Engine upgrades: Keeping the turbo

[Leyrah]

Hello!

I'm wondering if there is any STC that can upgrade the engine of the TR182 to a fuel injected model and maybe even improve the performance up from the 235HP.

What I want to get out of it:
1) Carb ice is a scary subject for me. I would love to eliminate it without losing power via carb heat.
2) Flying LOP is a desired trait of a fuel injected engine
3) By changing the engine I could get rid of the dreaded dual mags of the O-540-L3C5D

AirPlanes have the 300HP conversion and it looked great until I realized that it will be losing the turbo normalization, which I would like to keep.

What are my options?

 

[Clip4]

An O-540, turbo normalized, engine running a single drive mag. One has to wonder what Cessna was thinking.

Unfortunately the answer is no one has an STC to do what you want, but a 260hp turbo normalized IO540 in a 182RG would be an awesome STC.

There were ~2000 R182s produced and with maybe 400 being the T model so the market for an STC was small.

For what it’s worth, Carb ice is almost non existent with the stock engine. The risk is unfiltered crap entering the turbo when the carb heat is pulled.

Does your plane have the heated prop?

 

[Leyrah]

The risk is unfiltered crap entering the turbo when the carb heat is pulled.

That's a really good point that I completely forgotten about!

Does your plane have the heated prop?

No, would that help in any way?

 

[Clip4]

No, but it’s a nice option a few of the TRs had.

What model year do you have, if its 1980 and later are oil temps an issue?

 

[Randomskylane]

Do you have a carb temperature gauge? It’ll give you peace between now and your upgrade solution.

 

[Leyrah]

What model year do you have

1979

Do you have a carb temperature gauge?

No but I'm planning to install a Garmin GI 275 which has the option for that. I still want a fuel injected engine if I can get it somehow, LOP operation is pretty important for longevity's sake.

Maybe I should start looking at a 210N instead

 

[donjohnston]

I flew an O540 for over 15 years. Never once got carb ice. Thought about getting the gauge but my A&P said that engine was very unlikely to get carb ice in the first place. And it has carb heat just in case.

As for pulling in unfiltered air, the non-turbo IO-550 on a Velocity rarely has any intake air filter. The only result that I and everyone else I talked to experiences is higher than normal silicon. So I wouldn't sweat the unfiltered air on those times you have the carb heat pulled.

As for the upgrade, how much HP can you expect from the Airplanes upgrade at altitude vs. the stock engine?

 

[Clip4]

1979


No but I'm planning to install a Garmin GI 275 which has the option for that. I still want a fuel injected engine if I can get it somehow, LOP operation is pretty important for longevity's sake.

Maybe I should start looking at a 210N instead

The 79 TR182 is a low maintenance airplane.

The engine you have will make TBO and beyond if you properly maintain it and fly it often. The O-540 you have produces less than 40 hp per cylinder. You can run your engine in cruise flight at 75% power and it will make TBO with no problem, The oil cooler on the 79 model is mounted the left front of the engine and oil cooling is great. That engine also is not prone to carb ice and most R182s were never equipped with a carb temp gauge.

You will need mag service every 500 hours, the plugs ideally need cleaned an gapped every 75 hours, the oil cooler mounting can crack on the 78-79 models. If it does you will know because you will lose some prop control. The oil hoses run underneath the cylinders on the left side and you will want to replace those when they start getting stiff/hard. You need a mechanic that is well experienced with turbo chargers. If you are using a Gill non sealed battery, you will need to service it with water every 100 hours.

 

[wheaties]

There's hope for the dual mag going away, if electroair can get it right and pass an STC gauntlet by the FAA.

That said, I thought they wouldn't do the TR182 -> 300hp anymore. The A&P said it wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, it's like $125k. You can buy an O-500 FG and add supercharger to it for that price...