Noob question on turbos

[Underworld]

I dont have my supra yet, just wondering what the turbo gague is all about. I assume it shows you the amount of air pressure in the system. If so why would you want to monitor this, if its allways going to be the same?

Ive also read about people controlling the amount of boost from the car? I assume that this must add more air + more hp. Is this right? Does it put more wear and tear on the car if it does this?

Sorry for the noob question but im trying to learn :D

[RobSheffield]

erm, right ok

firstly, the guage monitors Boost, which is different to the amount of air in the system, the boost is the pressure of the air in there, its a good idea to have a guage for 2 reasons, firstly, to onitor that it doesnt go too hig, and secondly, so you can to some degree tll when the power is about to come in, for example on slippery wet roads!

boost controllers can increase the boost, but do not go above 1.2 bar, as this is bad for the turbos and will lead to premature wear!

have a look around for the FAQ section, and do a quick search for additional info!

i dont usually get this technical!

[Jake]

You mean boost gauge? Only the facelift Supras have a boost gauge fitted as standard. It's completely useless because it doesn't give you any idea what boost pressure is currently in the system.
More boost pressure = denser air into the engine which equals more power put reduced turbo lifespan. Like they say: the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

[mikeyb10supra]

a gauge is important to see if your overboosting.....ie if you have got a limit of 1.2 BAR setup for the car and your pushing 1.5+ bar on stock turbos because something is wrong, that spells bad news and without the relevant gauge's you aint gonna be able to see this therefore will not no something is wrong until your faced with a blown turbo or worse

raising the boost will put much more strain on the stock turbos

[RobSheffield]

Sorry for the noob question but im trying to learn :D

by the way, dont apologise for asking questions...thats what we are here for!

[chilli]

Ive also read about people controlling the amount of boost from the car? I assume that this must add more air + more hp. Is this right? Does it put more wear and tear on the car if it does this?

Boost controllers (manual or electronic) can allow you to raise the boost by an adjustable amout over the standard boost levels.

Yes in general more boost = more bhp but for a given turbo capacity it will only boost efficiently up to a given limit - beyond this you risk damaging the turbo or even the engine, if the turbos start to pump mostly hot air instead of cold.

Turbos are usually sized as the smallest you need for a given application, this minimises turbo lag. This means however that when you start increasing boost on a standard car you soon reach the standard turbo's limits. This is why then people start to do turbo upgrades, a big single being the most popular choice mainly due to it's simplicity.

[Underworld]

Cheers, very informative + logical :D

I hope i get a nice car with a big single. Ideally i want a uk spec but doesnt seem to be too many out there :( Ive got a 10 month look before i get one. 9k should be enough to get a nice one :D

[chilli]

welcome to the supra "fan base" lol. No doubt you will be able to find a nice car, don't write off (no pun intended) a stock car with its twin turbo setup too soon, even with standard performance these are still very quick cars (depends on your reference point though I guess). At BPU levels or higher these cars see off the majority of the "also rans" on the road...

[Aerotop Dave]

9k for a big single?

[Homer]

I hope i get a nice car with a big single. Ideally i want a uk spec but doesnt seem to be too many out there :( Ive got a 10 month look before i get one. 9k should be enough to get a nice one :D

No chance mate! A decent standard (or near standard) UK car will cost you £9k.

When you get to single turbo territory it doesn't really matter if its UK or Jspec as most parts will be replaced. A decent small/medium single will cost £15 minimum, a really sorted big single £25k+

Don't take this the wrong way but do you know the difference between stock/BPU/small Single/big single?

[Kopite]

A decent small/medium single will cost £15 minimum

i wish!!! :D