A supercharger—such as a turbo—compresses air. Compressing air heats it. Heating air makes it expand. This is a Catch 22 inherent in supercharging. So rather than thinking of quantities of air in ...

Back in the 1660s, chemist and physicist Robert Boyle discovered the connection between pressure (p), volume (V), and energy (K). He based his theories, which became known as Boyle’s Law, on his own ...

I was told by the workshop that my car has an intercooler and it is busted. What does this mean? Intercoolers are fitted to cars with superchargers or turbochargers. On these types of engines, the ...

Twin-turbo setups split exhaust flow between two turbochargers to deliver smoother power, quicker response, and higher potential output than a single large turbo. Different configurations—parallel, ...

Excess heat is the enemy when it comes to internal combustion engines. Operating temperature is ideal, but any degree above that starts to slowly sap power, put fluids to the test, increase friction, ...

Turbocharging is old headlines for those in the Honda community. Been there, done that. These guys have been bolting boost onto Civics and Integras for nearly two decades. It began with crude turbo ...

Our government exempts imported vehicles older than 25 years from having to meet emissions, safety, and other regulations. A recent drive of a first-generation Volkswagen GTI got us thinking about ...

No matter how many times we test them, it still amazes us how easy it is to make power with GM's LS series of engines. Even something as ordinary as a high-mileage 5.3L will respond to boost, and do ...

From the December 1984 issue of Car and Driver. Who would have thought ten years ago that 1985 would reveal a production-car engine with a turbocharger, an intercooler, double overhead camshafts, four ...