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The principle of turbocharging is to pressurise the inlet manifold, so that when the inlet valve opens and the piston falls, air is forced into the combustion chamber under pressure. On normally aspirated engines the air is drawn or sucked into the combustion chamber as the piston falls.

Therefore, on turbocharged engines a greater density of oxygen can fill the combustion chamber allowing a greater quantity of fuel to be injected, resulting in greater engine power.

The turbocharge is basically a compressor. It consists of a shaft with an impeller on one end and a compressor on the other.

as the exhaust gases are expelled from the engine, the force of these gases spin the impeller shaft. The air on the compressor side is compressed to between 1.1 and 1.3 bar.

The turbocharge is mounted directly onto the exhaust manifold and as a result it runs at exhaust temperature which can reach 300°C. Therefore, the compressor side will get hot and as air passes through, it will be heated to around 120°C. Air expands with temperature, resulting in air with less density entering the combustion chamber. Therefore counteracting much of the benefits of the turbocharger.

The Role of the intercooler

The intercooler is positioned between the turbocharger and the inlet manifold. It is essentially a cooling radiator which cools the air just leaving the turbocharger, at 120°C down to 60°C.

As the air is cooled it becomes more dense allowing an improved quantity of oxygen to enter the combustion chamber.