Can someone explain turbo lag to me?

i know the basics that means you dont get full power until the turine in the turbocharger is spinning as fast as it needs to be. but why do people complain about it so much? do you accelerate slower than stock until its spooled up or do you just accelerate normal until its spooled then you get a jolt?

you just accelerate normal until its spooled then you get a jolt

turbo lag is the time it takes for a turbine to spool up between throttle plate closings.

usually a handicap between shifts if you lift and shift.

oh well if you just accelerate normal i dont see whats so bad about it except for 1st gear, because if your racing once your in 2nd you'll be high enough rpm that the turbo lag wont be an issue... i played some game that tried to simulate turbo lag and from what im hearing from you guys its totally fake because they made you accelerate like 1/3 as fast as stock until you hit 4000rpm if you were running more than 15 pounds of boost

Originally posted by 90gs
oh well if you just accelerate normal i dont see whats so bad about it except for 1st gear, because if your racing once your in 2nd you'll be high enough rpm that the turbo lag wont be an issue... i played some game that tried to simulate turbo lag and from what im hearing from you guys its totally fake because they made you accelerate like 1/3 as fast as stock until you hit 4000rpm if you were running more than 15 pounds of boost


games =/ real life

Lag will depend on how "big" the turbo is, the "length" and "diameter" of the piping, along with how big the IC is...

"Noth'in like Induction..." ;)

turbo lag is just a term from the time you hit the gas to the floor till the time the turbo reacts and puts the power to the wheels.. bigger boost, and bigger turbines are a way to defeat/ lessen this turbo lag time, but it will be ever present in any turbocharged vehicle.. Superchargers however do not have this turbo lag as they are not driven by exhaust gasses, but by the engine cranks itself. but there are downsides to SC's as well...

Originally posted by killah_xft
bigger boost, and bigger turbines are a way to defeat/ lessen this turbo lag time

actually, thats gonna increase the lag cuz it takes longer to get bigger turbines spining, cuz bigger almost always means heavier.

depends on the engine really.. like the "sanddog" car in last months "honda tuner" which reached a record for civics 204mph! woo, not bad for a 4 banger... but that sucker was totally stocked in the engine compartment... and the big ass turbo in it. bigger turbo more boost, and yes, I must have been on crack last night when I wrote that post. what I meant to say is bigger turbo more boost/power, the lag is kinda just there with any turbo system, only way to get rid of it completely is to run N/A or get a SC, but SC's are not all that great, and they don't give you that nice hiss from the wastegate. to reduce your turbo lag you have to learn how to drive with the turbo, and how to keep the rev up between shifts so you can minimize the turbo lag.

how quick does a turbo actually slow down.

say I takre off in 1st, the turbo spools, and I shift at 7k, it only takes me like .5 seconds to be back on the gas, and even down around 4 it is spooled, so can it really slow down that much in half a second to where you have lag time when it spools back up, doent it stay spinning fats enough to provide boost instantly once you ar on the gas ater you shift

Originally posted by killah_xft
depends on the engine really.. like the "sanddog" car in last months "honda tuner" which reached a record for civics 204mph! woo, not bad for a 4 banger... but that sucker was totally stocked in the engine compartment... and the big ass turbo in it. bigger turbo more boost, and yes, I must have been on crack last night when I wrote that post. what I meant to say is bigger turbo more boost/power, the lag is kinda just there with any turbo system, only way to get rid of it completely is to run N/A or get a SC, but SC's are not all that great, and they don't give you that nice hiss from the wastegate. to reduce your turbo lag you have to learn how to drive with the turbo, and how to keep the rev up between shifts so you can minimize the turbo lag.

The "hiss" comes from the blowoff valve, and superchargers can also have this:)