Turbocharging: Everything You Need to Know

Is your car lacking power? Are you looking to harness the power within your engine to make it perform better? And do you hope to do all of this with a simple and inexpensive modification? Then turbocharging might be the thing for you.

Turbocharging is uniquely fitting a device to your vehicle’s engine to improve its efficiency and performance. It works better than stock engines from a decade ago that now newer and newer cars come with a turbocharged engine. But even if your car doesn’t come with a turbocharged engine, you can still get it modified with the professionals at Loper’s Performance Center.

How Turbocharging Works

A turbocharger uses a pair of fans to use wasted exhaust power that is in the back of an engine. It brings the air from the engine’s back to the front that provides more power in its performance. Turbocharging can be compared to a jet engine, which sucks in cold air that is burned with fuel to blast out hot air. This system lets the jet engine burn fuel properly and efficiently, and it can be installed in your car.

As an alternative to turbocharging, you could add more cylinders to the engine, but obviously, this would be a bulky, expensive, and strenuous effort. Turbocharging is simple in that it focuses more air in the cylinders to burn faster. Nevertheless, as a result, a turbocharged engine makes a car faster while using less fuel.

Advantages

Turbocharging is able to provide faster speed and better performance without comprising the engine’s driving power. Turbocharging is often referred to as “free power” since it can naturally improve how the engine operates rather than draining an engine’s power. Because turbocharging can enhance your vehicle’s performance, it can even prolong the life of your vehicle.

Turbocharging is a popular modification for drivers that want to add speed to their vehicle, and it can do all of this in a relatively quick and affordable refinement. Additionally, with improved fuel efficiency, a turbocharged engine will use less fuel and save drivers’ costs at the pump.

Disadvantages

With a great engine comes great responsibility. Drivers need to be sure not to push the limits of their car with a turbocharged engine, or else there can be some bad consequences.

Because a turbocharged engine relies on hot exhaust gases, it can get very hot if it’s pushed beyond its limits for a constant driving time. If it gets too hot, the turbocharge can glow red, but this hardly occurs. Other than driving responsibly, a quick fix to this problem is to have vents in the hood or down the side that will increase airflow to keep the engine cool.

Another disadvantage to turbocharging is “turbo lag.” Turbo lag is an occasional delay between pressing your foot on the gas and the throttle response from the engine. There’s no need to panic or try to press the gas harder because this happens in certain situations when the turbocharger needs time to spin at a good speed.

How is Turbocharging Different from Supercharging?

Turbocharging often can be confused with supercharging. The key difference is that supercharging will generate more power but at a much louder volume than a turbocharged engine. What’s best for your vehicle will also depend on the car and engine type. Don’t hesitate to contact Lopers Performance to determine what would make your car run the best.

About Loper’s Performance Center

Loper’s is the largest speed shop in Arizona. Since 1969 we have been proud to provide exceptional customer and automotive service in the Phoenix area. We can help you dramatically improve your car’s performance and repair it as needed.

If you’re looking for other modifications, such as a cat-back exhaust system or muffler delete, we can help you there as well. Contact us today to discover how we can enhance or repair your vehicle.