First timer here, need some advice

cornflakes

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Hi everyone, I don't know much about tuning or anything but thought I'd ask if anyone here
could reply it would be helpful, thanks.


If I have a turbocharger set up, do I HAVE to use super/premium gas or can I use regular gas? I was told that I need to use premium as that is what the sensor mapping setup is for. I was told that I could go into a tuning shop and they can re-adjust the program to work for regular gas. Is this true? If so how much does it cost or what is the pros and cons of doing this?


Next question about turbo. Is a turbocharger the same thing or different thing as a turbo boost? Maybe the lingo is the same meaning but then again, maybe they are completely different? Does it make a difference if a turbo is on an automatic transmission car vs a manual? I read somewhere that the reason why we hear this whistling or hissing sound from a turbo usually during gear changes or when you let off the pedal, is because of a valve that shuts and back pressure has to be released else it could damage the engine.


Is it common for turbos to accidentally blow out engines if the valves didn't open/shut properly and the back pressure wasn't able to be released? It's sounds pretty dangerous if something were to not function properly.


Last question, I'm not much of a racer type or anything like that, but I do like driving. I don't street race or try to be the fastest car on the road. Would having a turbo suit me still or is it just over the top and only should be left for those who know what they are doing. In other words, what I'm asking is if a turbo is easy to maintain or does it require a lot of electrical programming, checkups, tuning, maintenance etc that would require extensive knowledge of other car operations and parts?


Sorry, I lied, one more question! How much gas does a turbocharged engine use up than a stock one? So assuming I had 2 cars exactly the same model, but one has a turbocharger and the other is stock. Say they are both driven daily at 100 km/h (nothing crazy like that). If the car at stock is supposed to give you say 47 mpg, how much would a turbo give? I'm assuming slightly less as more power = more fuel consumption? Maybe I'm wrong. I know that if I drive it hard, hard accelearation, hard breaking, that consumes more gas, but as I said, if I'm taking it relatively easy on both cars, how much difference of mpg's would I be looking at from a turbo and a stock?
 

Burninriverdiver

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There are so many variables to each of these questions that there is no true straight answer I could give you to any one of them. Other people with more experience may be able to chime in to help, but I think we need more details. What type of vehicle, what turbo kit, what type if fuel system etc. if you are not going to drive the vehicle fast, don't want to lose fuel economy or risk damage to your engine I would recommend staying stock.
 
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cornflakes

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There are so many variables to each of these questions that there is no true straight answer I could give you to any one of them. Other people with more experience may be able to chime in to help, but I think we need more details. What type of vehicle, what turbo kit, what type if fuel system etc. if you are not going to drive the vehicle fast, don't want to lose fuel economy or risk damage to your engine I would recommend staying stock.

Ok, thanks Burn. I agree, I think since I'm not really needing to drive fast and the risk is bigger with turbo kits, I better stick with stock.
 

Orange 94

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What car is this for?


As for premium vs regular:
Not sure if its possible to run regular. The point of running premium is to prevent detonation. Detonation is very bad.
If you're going to go turbo don't cheap out on gas.... run what gas the car is tuned for.

For blowing engines up:
Well when you modify anything you run the risk of breaking stuff. It it really depends how its built. Remember you get what you pay for.

Turbo right for you?:
Well that one is up to you. If you don't have much knowledge on cars, don't jump into a turbo set up. If you can get someone else to build it for you its gonna cost $$$.

Gas consumption:
You will get worse gas consumption. But it all really depends how you drive, the more you put your foot into a forced induction setup the more gas it uses.
 

Sinned83

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With premium gas at around $4 a gallon you should stay N/A and ship that turbo to me...
 

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