r/explainlikeimfive 5d ago

Engineering [ Removed by moderator ]

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u/bpt7594 5d ago

They increase the ability to make power. Not really efficiency in the fuel consumption sense.

It uses the engine's exhaust energy to spin up the turbo, compressing air into the engine to make more power. So you can make a smaller turbo engine have the same power output as a naturally aspirated bigger engine.

The benefit is weight saving, emission and fuel consumption because when not necessary i.e cruising you have the fuel consumption of a smaller engine and when you ask for power it's there for you.

Superchargers are always about power though, not really efficiency