So I recently picked up an older VW Jetta/Bora with the 1.8T motor. I think I’ve somewhat gotten the concept, but I still can’t really seem to figure out how the turbo system actually works. What makes the turbine spin? The air from the intake or the air from the exhaust? How is it connected to the exhaust and why?
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Exhaust gases are hot and moving fast when they get pushed out of the engine. That heat and velocity is energy, and that energy just gets wasted if it’s allowed to simply go out the tailpipe. Instead, you can run that exhaust gas through a turbine, which makes the turbine spin, and the other side of the turbine compresses the intake gases.
Compressing the intake gas means you are stuffing more air into the engine, and an engine is, at base, just an air pump. You put as much air as you can into the engine, add fuel, burn it, and use the heat and pressure of the burning gases to push the pistons down on the power stroke.
So a turbo uses the exhaust gases to pressurize the intake gases and get more intake air into the engine. More air in means more power.
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