Turbo Theories

[OREO447766@aol.com]

I was browsing through my current Road&Track mag when I came upon an
interesting Audi-related tidbit. I post this for thoughts and discussion
because I've never heard of this technique before, and am not at all sure I
want to try it!.....

     ".....the report created by raw fuel exploding as it reach the red-hot
vanes of the turbocharger. You see, some years ago Audi discovered that you
could overcome turbo lag by squirting gasoline into the air intake system
just upstream of the turbocharger. When the gas ignites, the ensuing series
of backfires keeps the turbine spinning after the driver has backed off the
throttle. This makes the engine more responsive and life a lot easier for a
rally driver who uses mostly the throttle to position the car."  R&T Mar '95
pg124

     The article addressed rallying in general but not Audi's specifically.
Do you think the gasoline injected was misted by a version of a cold-start
injector? If so, was it cycled on and off or was there always fuel ignited in
the intake. It makes one wonder what effect this had on the rest of the
system, how many parts did they replace on a regular basis because of damage
caused by this technique? It certainly doesn't seem like an acceptable
solution for the street, but an interesting historical item though. I'd never
heard it before!

-Chris