How Much Horsepower Does a Turbocharger Add? (Answered)

Are you thinking of installing power-boosting features to your vehicle? Are you thinking of doing an installment of the turbocharger in your car’s engine?

However, are you thinking about whether or not there will be any possible increasement in the horsepower level due to such an addition? Nevertheless, are you confused whether or not such an alteration is possible for any non-turbo car as well?

How much horsepower does a turbocharger add?

Nothing can beat the boosting of power that is obtained by the installment of the turbocharger. Accordingly, a turbocharger can approximately add from 70 hp to 150 hp to your car’s engine meaning it has the potential to provide a gain of 10 to 50 percent hp to your car. 

It is no surprise that turbochargers add more horsepower to the engine which in turn boosts up the power of the engine.

Therefore, being knowledgeable about which engines can be benefitted from turbocharging can help you mold your decisions accordingly. 

To a v6 mustang: 

Due to the universal fit of the turbochargers, it can be fitted with v6 mustang very efficiently. This will not only increase the horsepower to the full potential but it will also increase the power and speed of your v6 mustang.

In addition, when it comes to estimating the exact addition of the horsepower, the turbo can deliver an increase of 45 – 70 percent horsepower. 

To a 4 cylinder:

A turbocharger can give a gain of 70 to 150 horsepower to your 4 cylinder car. Additionally, the installation of the turbocharger to 4 cylinder cars allows the processing of more air into the combustion chamber which increases the pressure accordingly. 

To a v8: 

You can definitely use a turbocharger in a v8 engine which can increase the horsepower to almost 15 to 25 percent which is approximately at the level of 60 to 150 horsepower. 

How much hp does a twin-turbo add? How much HP does a Stage 1 turbo add? 

The installation of a turbocharged engine can add more horsepower or power to the engine which is almost to a level of 10 to 50 percent meaning it can add from 60 hp to 150 hp to your ordinary engine.

However, when it comes to the installation of a twin-turbo system to your engine, it increases the full potentiality of the engine.

In addition, it can almost give your car’s engine a increasement in horsepower which numbers at almost 20 percent to 60 percent of the car’s ordinary hp level. 

To give a rough estimate, the addition of a twin-turbo to your engine can give almost 40 hp to 650 hp. 

However, the addition of extra horsepower also depends a lot on your vehicles’ original horsepower, on the type of car you have, and on the turbo’s boost pressure.

Nevertheless, a twin-turbo can also effortlessly give you a boost of thirty percent to forty percent horsepower level compared to the present power level of your car. 

In addition, when it comes to Stage 1 turbo installation, it can almost give you a boost of 100 horsepower meaning 93 horsepower. 

Are turbos bad for your engine?

As glamorous as the installation of such a performance-boosting feature may seem, it still comes with some serious baggage that can literally pile up the bills for your car.

In addition, when it comes to the normal engine without the performance-boosting feature of the turbocharger, the engine does not have to use a lot of fuel, pressure, or emission. 

However, the installation of turbochargers in the vehicle can surely be bad for your engine.

Turbochargers increase the emission of your car’s engine which eventually requires twice the fuel consumption and this will eventually lessen the longevity of your engine’s lifespan. 

Moreover, turbocharged engines will also require more premium fuel which adds to the cost also.

Furthermore, when you are installing an extra layer of mechanical complexity like turbocharged engines to your vehicles over the ordinary engine, it will naturally require higher power, higher temps, and pressure. 

Consequently, all these will add severe pressure to the engine which will eventually shorten the lifespan of the engine. Turbocharged engines also require more proper maintenance which also wears out the engine more quickly. 

Is adding turbochargers illegal?

Several modifications and customization are done to the cars to increase their emissions and power and such an amazing modification is the addition of turbochargers or superchargers.

However, when it comes to adding turbochargers to your car, there may be some restrictions related to it. 

Additionally, the legality of adding turbochargers depends heavily on the state you live in as the legality seems to vary a lot based on country to country. 

Moreover, in a general sense, it is legal to add turbochargers to your car as long as you abide by all the national standards that are complied with it. 

In addition, in some places, it is legal to add a turbocharger to your car only if you use the turbocharger that is manufactured by the same company that has manufactured the car.

In other places, the installation of turbochargers also requires you to get permission certification from the manufacturers. 

The reasons behind these restrictions are very simple which is because these turbochargers actually increase the power of the car which makes them subject to the violation of traffic laws.

These modified cars can also be subjected to several unwanted accidents and this is why several restrictions are implied with it. 

Can I add a turbocharger to any engine? Can you turbo a stock engine?

You can definitely add a turbocharger to any engine or to any naturally aspirated engine system, however, the addition of the turbocharger to the engine varies a lot on several elements.

In addition, the installation of the turbocharger to any engine also depends a lot on the RPM range of the engine, on the size of the engine, and finally, on the compressor map of the engine. 

Moreover, when it comes to any kind of engine, you have to keep in mind that it does not fully alter the activities of the ordinary engine rather it only brings some alterations in the features. 

Accordingly, the general working of the engine still works to compress fresh air into the combustion chamber but the turbocharger allows more air to be compressed into the combustion chamber which eventually results in the production of more power. 

In addition, you can also add a turbo to a stock engine which can increase the horsepower of the stock engine. 

However, some stock engines’ cooling setup and compression ratio may not be aligned with the turbo which can, in turn, result in incompatibility. 

At what RPM do turbos kick in?

At what RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) turbo will kick in depends a lot on the size and stature of the turbine. The turbine is one of the components of the turbocharger.

Accordingly, the smaller the turbine is of your turbocharger, the faster the turbo will kick in or will be occupied.

Therefore, at the rough estimate of two thousand revolutions per minute, the turbo will kick in or will tend to be engaged. However, sometimes it may need three thousand to four thousand revolutions per minute to kick in. 

How do turbochargers work?

Turbochargers are a great addition or modification to your vehicles that not only increases the desired horsepower of your car but also boosts the performance of your car.

Consequently, it is needed to be knowledgeable of the activities of the turbochargers so that you can mold your decisions accordingly.

Capture the Air: 

Air and fuel are the most important elements that are needed for the acceleration of the engine. Therefore, when it comes to the adding of air to the engine, the compressor wheel of the turbocharger filters air through the air filters and pushes it to the engine. 

Vent: 

After that, the exhaust gas with the help of the turbine blades spins at about 150000 Revolutions Per Minute. 

In addition, exhaust gas accordingly goes to the catalytic converter and here, exhaust gasses are brushed off of all the pollutants.

Compression of Air: 

The last step consists of pushing more oxygen-dense air into the combustion chamber where the air allows the burning of more fuel which eventually results in the addition of more horsepower. 

Final Thoughts

A turbocharger can enlarge the full potentiality of the engine meaning it can add 70-150 horsepower to the ordinary engine. In addition, by the installment of such a power-boosting feature, your engine will be prone to combusting more air into the combustion chamber which will result in more power.