Okay, so certain people have certain objectives when they set out to mod their cars. Some people are into looks, they go for the show car look and feel. Body kits, killer sound systems, and something you couldn’t even imagine in a car. However there are also those that are going for pure power. It’s to these people that this article is addressed.

So you want to have a performance car? Well the easiest and arguably cheapest way is to turbo your motor. Like superchargers, turbochargers work off the principle of forced induction. They take in as much air as they can, compress it and then spit it into your motor. This causes a tremendous increase in your HP. So now you know the easy definition of a turbocharger, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Turbo Size: Okay, there is a TON of detail that I am omitting from this section, due to the fact that this write up is intended to just skim over the top. More details will come in later write ups. So lot’s of people think that the bigger turbo they get the more power they will be making. In a sense this is true, bigger turbos will be capable of putting out more power. However there is a delicate tradeoff in turbo sizes. The bigger the turbo, the longer it will take to spool up, or take in enough air to operate. So when picking a turbo think of that, what will suit your needs best? Quick power in the beginning, or tons of power in the higher RPM bands? Well on the simplest level that’s about it for turbo sizes.

Boost: Boost is the amount of pressure measured in PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) that the turbo is taking in. So the method is simple, by adjusting your boost higher, you will gain more power. However if you are running a lot of boost on an engine that hasn’t been built for it you will more than likely end up with a blown engine on your hands. How do you avoid this? Well for one thing do not turn the boost up to ridiculous levels. For one this is just wearing down your engine, and secondly turbos are only efficient up to a certain boost level depending on the size. Let’s say you have boost set to 20 Pounds, but your turbo is only efficient up to 14 Pounds. When the turbo hit’s 14 Pounds, the power will start to die off because the turbo simply can’t go any farther. My advice, keep your boost low if you know your engine can’t handle a ton.

Turbo Setup Parts: What Makes It Work

Wastegate: There are two types of wastegates, internal and external. Internal gates are actually inside your turbocharger, while external are just that. Both types perform the same function. They use the exhaust gases that the car produces to spin the turbine in the turbo, thus sucking the air in and creating boost. However there’s more to wastegates than just that. Inside the gate there is a spring that is set to a certain weight. Lets say the spring is set to 7 pounds. Once the spring has been pushed down by 7 pounds of boost, the wastegate will be completely open and the air from the turbo will go into your motor. This is what causes your spool up time, your waiting for the pressure to build to the point where it will press the spring down and enter the engine. That’s pretty much it for wastegates, they aren’t too complicated.

Blow Off Valve (BOV): Ever heard a car make a whistling sound when it shifts up a gear? You are probably hearing a turbo’ed car’s BOV going off. The BOV takes all the excess pressure that builds up from your turbo and expell’s it when you shift. This rush of air creates that whistling tone you hear. I’ve had many people ask if you NEED a BOV, and the answer is YES! You can’t run a turbo setup without a BOV.

Intercooler: This is an optional yet very popular piece of a turbo setup. There are three types of Intercoolers, Front Mount Intercoolers (FMIC), Side Mount Intercoolers (SMIC), and the rarer Top Mounted Intercooler (TMIC). Front mounts are the most popular and so I will be dealing with them in this section, however they all perform the same purpose.
Okay, so where does the air from your turbo go when it is taken in? Well hopefully it goes through some piping and into your intercooler. The intercooler chills the air, making it denser. This is good because your engine likes denser air, as you can fit more air in at a time.

Okay, that is the very basics on turbochargers. There is a LOT more detail that has been left out, if anyone has questions shoot me a PM and I’ll be glad to help. There are also much more mandatory parts to run a turbo setup, however theses are the ones most people here about and wonder what they do.

Also I do not suggest turboing your car if you do not know what you are doing. There are too many things that can go wrong for a novice, one of the most common is blowing your engine. So I hope this helps some of you out, I enjoyed writing it, and there will be more from me in the future.

-Sleeper240