Porsche Delaware Official Blog
Do you know what gives your Porsche its incredible power?
By Product Expert | Posted in FAQ, Porsche Technology on Wednesday, November 25th, 2020 at 8:14 pm
How does turbocharging work?Â
Porsche vehicles are typically light and high-performing. Of course, the secret to this performance is the engine built by the world-famous automaker. In order for a Porsche vehicle to hit the kind of performance output that is to be expected from it, engineers need to keep the chassis and engine as light as possible, which means employing a turbocharger. So, how does turbocharging work? All internal combustion engines combine air and fuel to create power. Basically, a turbocharger pulls in more air so more fuel can be burned to make more power. We have included a couple of videos below to help illustrate this process to make the concept of turbocharging as easy to understand as possible. Let’s take a closer look.Â
READ MORE: Reserve the 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S todayÂ
What is a turbocharger?
There is a reason that any vehicle’s air filter is important, an engine can’t work without the ability to burn the proper mixture of both air and gasoline. At its most basic, a turbocharger is a fan in a tube that pulls in more air to drive a pump that injects the additional air into the engine.
However, the turbocharger’s best trick is that it traps exhaust gas, which would normally be wasted, to spin this fan to drive the compressor. This process happens quickly, but it’s not instantaneous – this is what is commonly referred to as, ‘turbo lag.’Â
How is supercharging different?
You may have also heard that some engine use what is called a supercharger. From a conceptual stand point, there is not a lot of differences between supercharging and turbocharging. Where the two air induction processes differ is how the impeller systems are employed.
While a turbocharger traps exhaust gasses, the fan of a supercharger is driven by a belt or a chain that is directly attached to the vehicle’s engine. Because of the direct mechanical attachment between the supercharger and the engine, turbo lag is not an issue so the boost is almost instantaneous.
If you would like to learn more about how Porsche engines employ turbochargers, make an appointment with a Porsche Delaware product expert today.
