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Turbo Saratoga Engine Operation

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Joined
May 29, 2021
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Hello,

I am very, very sorry to beat what must be a very dead horse. I’m buying a 1980 Pa 32R-301T. I’ve been out of general aviation for a couple of decades. I used to fly a Malibu, T-206, etc., but have no recollection of the pertinent power settings….which is probably a good thing! I ran across the following from a post on another forum back in 2013, which fits my situation perfectly. (Credit to Mike Shafer). Here, he is talking about the TIO 540-S1AD. And yes, between Turboplus, Gami, Lycoming, and Piper, it is all a bit confusing:

“I am having trouble getting information on how to run this engine. The previous owner always ran it 100 degrees rich of TIT peak and cruised at 30 inches and 2400 RPM. At that setting, it burns 23.5 or so GPH and I get yellow arc speeds. At 50 degrees rich of peak, I get about 22 GPH burn rate. EGT's are very consistent cylinder to cylinder and my hottest cylinder is 385 in cruise. GAMI tells me I need to run the engine 50 lean of peak TIT as do the Cowling -Intercooler people. My Mechanics says I am an idiot with a death wish to run ANY turbo charged engine any more than 100 degrees RICH of peak... warns of catastrophic detonation. The Intercooler people say the intercooler eliminates that possibility. Lycoming says detonation may be an issue but nothing about intercooling..

I ALWAYS ran my normally aspirated Saratoga at lean of peak with ZERO issues and want to run this engine the same. I know this is an old issue but any advice - thoughts - thinking would be appreciated.”

So how are you running this engine? Any suggestions, comments, lessons, and shared experiences are greatly appreciate.
 

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