Turbos utilize exhaust gases to power a turbine wheel, which is connected via a shaft to a compressor wheel.Checked 2026-08-12
Turbocharger
An exhaust-driven compressor that forces extra air into the engine.
Also called: turbo
What it means
Definition
Garrett, an OE turbocharger maker, describes the arrangement: turbos utilize exhaust gases to power a turbine wheel, which is connected via a shaft to a compressor wheel. The DOE adds what the compressor does — turbochargers are compressors that force additional air into the engine's cylinders, allowing more fuel to be injected as well. That is how a smaller engine can produce the output of a larger one.
Why a buyer cares
What it changes
It is a high-speed assembly fed by the engine's own oil supply, which makes oil service history more relevant on a turbocharged car than on a naturally aspirated one.
In practice
Where you meet it
In trim and engine badges, in listing spec lines, and on invoices where the turbo itself was serviced.
Two things that look alike
Not the same as
A supercharger does the same job but is driven mechanically off the engine rather than by exhaust gas.
Read next
Related terms
Where it shows up
Related problem files
Where this comes from
Sources
Turbochargers are compressors that force additional air into the engine's cylindersChecked 2026-08-12
A research agent proposed a Garrett sentence citing 350,000 RPM; the page does not carry that sentence and the figure was dropped.