Forced Induction

Let's talk about horsepower!

Adding a turbocharger to your car will give you one of the biggest increases in horsepower over any other engine modification. Nitrous oxide systems can rival the power performace, but not the durability and constant gains associated with a turbo kit system. Turbochargers can be tuned to give you any amount of boost between 0 and 24+psi of boost, depending on the size of the turbine. When you have any type of forced induction system like a turbocharger, you want to make sure that the engine is tuned to it. As discussed in our post about "how a turbocharger works," we discussed the importance of the air fuel ratio. I will revisit this again, because premature detonation is a major cause of internal engine damage, and detonation can be caused by a very lean air fuel ratio. Turbo Kits should be coupled with an ecu that is tuned to deliver more fuel than the factory settings, and the fuel delivered to the engine should be increased porportionally to the boost pressure. You also should add an air charge intercooler, which will reduce the intake charge air temperature. The air coming from the exhaust has been heated tremendously, and should be given the opportunity to cool before being re-entered into the system.

Beware of bolt on turbo kits. They in themselves are not the all in all for horsepower. You will have to match these with an intercooler and ecu to build a system that will have durability and performance. These bolt on kits are great for the experienced installers who can tune an engine correctly. The true power behind a tubo kit will be unleased with some tuning to the heads, the timing and fuel ratios, and the intake manifold. We will be dicussing each of these in future post, begining with the heads. The heads are where the power is made because they are a direct path to the combustion chamber, which is where the magic happens.