Does A Blow Off Valve Add Horsepower? A Shocking Disclosure!

If you own a car with a turbocharged engine, then at one point in your life, you must have heard about a blow off valve, commonly known as (BOV). While discussing blow off valves, we often encounter a common question: does a blow off valve add horsepower?

To be exact, Blow off Valve doesn’t add horsepower, but it surely increases the turbo engine’s performance. So when the throttle flap is shut, it discharges the boost force built up in the inlet pipe and intercooler.

This is just a brief section of what a blow off valve does. Thus, if you wish to increase your car’s performance and know more about them, keep on reading.

What is a Blow Off Valve

Before we go into the discussion of whether or not Blow Off Valve increases horsepower, we will need to know what exactly a BOV is. Its primary function of it is to release extra pressure from the turbocharged engines.

The majority of petrol turbocharged engines have a blow out valve to relieve some of the pressure. When the throttle is shut, BOVs are utilized to decrease the pressure in the inlet manifold, avoiding compressor surges. It stops the boost from returning to the turbocharger and stops the compressor or turbo fins from being harmed.

On the other hand, another valve known as the bypassing valve inserts pressure into the turbo inlet, from which all of the air entering a turbocharger comes instead of venting pressure to the outside.

Does A Blow Off Valve Add Horsepower

Now we come to our main discussion: Can we actually increase horsepower by using a blow off valve? No, it doesn’t add horsepower; however, the performance of the turbo will be increased by a noticeable amount.

BOV will effectively contain the boost and stop leakage. You can also increase the power through it. According to Ifandi L. from car performance boss and our own experience, horsepower won’t be any boost with whichever blow off valve you utilize on your turbocharged engine. Nonetheless, you’ll notice a considerable improvement in your car’s overall performance.

How Does a Blow Off Valve Work

We talked about an overall performance boost using a blow off valve. But how does BOV actually work? Keep on reading to know more.

In a vehicle that uses a turbocharger, the mechanism creates boost pressure to push more airflow through into cylinders. The regular combustion process continues with more fuel/air for larger bursts and higher power.

However, if the driver accelerates whilst the turbo is pumping, that air pressure quickly changes from being necessary to be hazardous. The BOV then boosts the turbo performance while entirely or partially releasing this pressure into the environment, protecting your vehicle from damage.

A blow off valve comes with a gate that permits the pressured air in your inlet piping to escape into either the environment or straight through the pre-turbo intake pipe when the throttle is shut. Compressor surge can be a serious issue on outdated, tattered turbochargers without a BOV, resulting in early turbocharger breakdown.

Why Should You Use a Blow Off Valve?

There are basically two common reasons to use a blow off valve. One is for protecting your car, and another is for making your car sound more aggressive. Read below to know more.

Compressor Surge

The primary reason for using a blow off valve in your turbocharged engine is to prevent the compressor surge. Compressor surge can be a serious issue for any car as due to this overall performance of the engine is reduced by a drastic amount, and it can even cause irreparable damage to the engine and other components.

A compressor surge develops when you abruptly depress the accelerator pedal and the accelerator plates shut. When a burst of boost strikes the closed throttle plates in the engine, it has no place to go but straight inside the turbo. Compressor surge results from this boost traveling backward into the compressor output and messing with the compressor wheel.

Louder

Many car owners want their cars to be loud; muscle cars have that sweet connection with sound. The loudness of the car makes it feel more aggressive while driving on the road.

BOVs are widely known for making distinctive loud noise. The lyre escape channel, which produces the recognizable powerful sparkle or spitting sound, is entirely responsible for this.

Types of Blow Off Valves

Blow off valves are quite simple devices for turbocharged cars. Yet they come in two different choices, as we will discuss below.

Hybrid BOV

Hybrid BOVs are comparatively newer and more advanced technology. Because they hold onto part of the pressure, they lessen delay as you change gears since the boost will not really begin at zero. Nevertheless, if your engine does not include a mass air flow sensor, you shouldn’t install a hybrid blow off valve.

Vented BOV

The more conventional choice is a vented blow off valve, which is also less expensive than a hybrid valve. They feature a horn at the discharge port that screeches when they release air into the surroundings.

Therefore, they are recommended if you want that extra loudness in your automobile. However, if you’re driving a manual, you can experience turbocharger lag with vented BOVs when you shift gears.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that a blow off valve doesn’t add horsepower. But by ensuring optimum airflow, it does enhance the turbocharger’s effectiveness. So, they are absolutely worth it; the small amount of money you will be paying for them will eventually save you a lot of money in the long run.

They will increase performance as well as protect the engine and turbocharger from any damage. Additionally, you will get that hissing sound that can aggregate that aggressive feel while driving the car.

Do make sure that the BOV you are getting must be compatible with your car’s engine.

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