Obtaining the most out of your engine has been the goal for many people over the years. There are several types of engines: normal aspirated engines and engines that make use of turbo and compressors to obtain more power from the same cylindrical capacity.
Modern car engines are more efficient and powerful than the engines produced twenty years ago, but there is still place for improvement. For example, if you have a normal aspirated car, you can add a turbo-compressor to increase the amount of horse power the engine develops. But before you rush out to the first car parts and buy a turbo charger for your car, there are things to consider.
The most important thing you must take into consideration when thinking of adding a turbo to your car is to think is the engine's parts will be able to sustain the extra power from the turbo.
Adding a turbo requires quite a few engine modifications, and the outcome will be more power from your initial power, but will also bring higher temperatures inside the engine and the very high revs the turbine will function.
The German BMW's are already known for their superior handling, reliability and power, but you squeeze a few more horsepower from your BMW engine by adding a turbo charger.
Compared to other methods of obtaining more power from your engine, superchargers offer less costly and an easier to install kit (these kits make 6-8 lbs of boost and the average home mechanic can safely install a quality application in 6 hours). Superchargers will typically make an impressive horse power increase, but many suppliers do not make a tremendous amount of low RPM torque, so if you only drive your car to work across the city, a turbo will not bring you significant advantages.
There are many components that a turbo charging set contains, as it is made up of thing like the intercooler, the bypass valve, the blow off valve, a waste gate, exhaust manifold, larger injectors and many more.
The typical home mechanic will probably be unable to complete this installation and that is why you should address a large car repair or tuning shop to complete the operation. Even for an experienced mechanic, mounting a turbo kit will take several days of work.
However, due to the significant increase in power a turbo kit brings your car, the wait is worth it. But when considering turboing your BMW, you should also consider improving your car's brakes, as a 500 horse power BMW will require a lot of braking force to bring it to a stop from the astonishing speeds it can achieve. So the braking system should also be improves when mounting the kit (elements such as larger diameter rotors, multi piston calipers, sport brake pads, stainless steel brake lines and performance brake fluid should be on your shopping list).
You should also pay special attention to the BMW's drive train when thinking of turboing your BMW. The initial car was developed to handle only a certain amount of power and any increase in this amount of power can affect your car's stability and ability in taking corners if you not strengthen up essential parts in the BMW's drive train (such as the clutch).
Also the car's cooling system should be upgraded as well when turboing your BMW, as power generates heat and the initial radiator had been developed to eliminate just a certain amount of engine heat.
So you may think that adding a turbo kit to your BMW is an easy operations, but the truth is that if you want to have a professional operation done, there are other elements beside the engine itself that have to be modified.
