When was the last time you saw a whole bunch of cars zooming past, leaving nothing but that a little smoke and that awesome roar. Even though we love the way the exhaust sounds and we quickly grow to love the way it helps make the engine purr—or scream—what we often fail to realize is that those fumes are a huge waste of energy. Yes, exhaust has gotten a terrible reputation for being bad for the environment, and rightly so, but it is also a complete waste of energy that could be used for a turbo, one of the most effective and popular aftermarket parts for cars. What comes out of the exhaust has kinetic energy that the turbocharger uses to help add more power to the engine.
How an Engine Works
The engines in cars burn fuel in order to cause explosions inside cylinders. Once air goes into the cylinder, it combines with the fuel, and the spark from the plug makes it explode. That explosion causes a piston to move, and that turns a shaft that helps make your car move. As the piston comes back in, it pushes out the waste, which is a mixture of air and fuel. This exits the cylinder and ends up as exhaust. The power a car produces depends on how quickly it can burn fuel. Therefore, if you have more cylinders, you will produce more power. Also, the size of the cylinder makes a difference because the bigger it is, the more fuel is burned, resulting in more power.
You could add more cylinders to a car to make it go faster or choose an engine with bigger cylinders. Boom: more speed. The problem with this is it would mean you would have to spend a lot more money on the car. Even if you got a car with a smaller engine and upgraded it with a new engine in order to make it more powerful, you would still end up spending a hefty sum on the new engine. However, with a turbo, one of the most popular Mitsubishi aftermarket parts, you can use what’s already in your engine compartment to add speed.
How a Turbocharger Works
Now that you know how an engine works, understanding the workings of a turbocharger is actually pretty easy. In the engine, air is sucked in cold and then dispensed through a chamber where it combines with fuel and burns. The hot air that results is sent out the back. With a turbo, as the hot air exits, it goes through a turbine that powers a compressor, which is an air pump at the front of the engine. (A turbine is something that spins as air hits it, and it has fans that help capture the air efficiently in order to properly harness its power.) This air pump then pushes more air into the engine in order to help it burn more fuel. The more air that is infused into the fuel-air mixture, the more power the engine produces. The turbo charger serves as the air-pumping force to maximize each explosion that makes your car scream.
Where to Get a Turbocharger for Your Mitsubishi
Many suppliers that sell Mitsubishi aftermarket parts are going to have turbochargers that will fit your car. The advantage of Mitsubishi aftermarket parts is they can fit a variety of cars, so suppliers that have them tend to serve a variety of vehicles. This means with one stop at a Mitsubishi aftermarket parts supplier can give you all you need. You can get turbos, replacement parts, or general performance parts. However, making your car scream is probably one of your primary objectives, so check out an aftermarket supplier to grab the turbo you want.
Knowing how a turbocharger works can help you understand other performance upgrades like superchargers. The principles are somewhat the same. With this basic understanding, you are now in a good position to comprehend how the different pressure levels of turbos work, too. When adding power, the sky is the limit. With some imagination and determination, you can have your car turning heads while it pins yours to the headrest. Above all, have fun and be safe.
