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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This is a pretty easy one.
The more air you can provide an engine, the better.
A basic combustion engine will suck in air when the cylinders go down.
But more is possible. When the exhaust gas gets shoved out, it’s moving pretty quickly. Normally that’s lost energy. So instead, if you put a small impeller blade. (a bit like a complicated wind turbine blade) in the flow of of exhaust gas you can get it to spin. Attach it, via a shaft and a few bearings, to another impeller blade to the air intake to your engine, then you can literally pump air into the cylinders. That gives you far more air, which means you can burn less fuel for the same power, or you can put in more fuel to get more power.
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