Another thread got me thinking

What is the stupidest, or least informed question you have been asked about your turbo either by a stupid ricer or by somebody who just doesn't know better?

I have been asked "what RPM my blow off kicks in" before by somebody who is somewhere between ricer and sadly doesn't know better. I just didn't know how to answer that.

 

Not turbo related, but I saw a Honda guy asking what a "long block" and "short block" were. He'd been on the site for over two years and had a nice big block of "reputation" squares.

 

I showed my friend the Miata a few weeks ago and he very anxiously said, "TWIN TURBO!?" and wanted to know why one of my turbos was all rusty and the other was nice silver. I had to explain to him that it was all one turbo; one side exhaust, one side intake.

 

I had a kid ask me if I had a blowoff valve. He knew it was a turbo car so I was a little confused. I said, it's a turbo car so of course it has a blow off valve. His buddy said, "well, you could have a recirc" I just drove off rather than try explain be it VTA or recirc, it's still a BOV.

 

I can't recall any dipshit ricer questions offhand, but I know about 1/2 dozen guys who drive BMW's and think they know everything about cars. I got into a discussion with a buddy with an '02 M5 about crank horsepower vs. wheel horsepower, and power to weight ratio... you could see his heart visibly break when I explained driveline loss and that only about 340 of his ponies actually counted.

Also:
"Dude, I know for a fact that my M5 weighs 5600lbs, and it does 155 before the engine shuts off".

He had read the GVWR sticker on the door and "knew for a fact" that the engine shut off and you had to turn the key to start it again if you accidentally hit 155.

I find this is very typical of BMW owners who have a Motor Trend subscription.

 

He thought the car actually shuts off????

 

I'm a little confused here. a turbo car can run just fine without any kind of blowoff valve. many factory turbo cars dont even come with them.

 

I thought all the factory ones just had recirc units... Learn something new every day!

 

He knew I had one because he heard it. He thought a VTA BOV was a BOV, i.e you can here it making noise, and a recirc was someting different.

 

Haven't had any stupid questions toward my cars. Have had lots of stupid questions at work though. There are lots of people out there that should not be allowed to know where there hood release is.

I had a customer buy a can of R12 freon (when it was legal to sell). We watch him open his hood, look around, and pull a cap off. He comes in a minute later and asks for a can opener so he can open the R12 and pour it into the reservoir!

Best statement I have heard by a customer so far "Can you help me? I tried to work on my own truck and now it's REALLY effed up"

 

most questions directed towards me are about how stupid I am...such classics like:

"why did your driveshaft just fall off?"

"did you know your manifold is cracked?"

"why is your car smoking?"

 

Have a similar story after we got the Supercharger setup installed on my friends car. Cruising one night some stupid ricer in a rustbucket pile of trash Honda or some sorts attempted to race us. After we blew his ****** doors off he seemed pretty surprised. Told us our car wasn't too bad, but we should think about boosting it.. After I told him, "It is" he looked shocked! "It IS?! I didn't hear a blowoff valve!?!?" At that point we just left him in our dust again, with our faces planted in our hands...

I find it pretty amusing how many people read the GVWR stickers and have no ******* clue what they mean.. They're all completely convinced thats the curb weight of the car! Speaking of idiot BMW owners.. Yeah, theres one that lives 2 blocks away from me with some crappy *** junker E30 318 who thinks its the fastest ***** on 4 wheels. He'll pull up to the top of the street and take off at WOT through 1st and 2nd gear, then pull into his driveway. I just take comfort in knowing those things are monumental turds, and his ***** broke every other week anyway.

 

Been asked where the button is for the turbo... Button still has not been found :(

 

You should install one. Big red one like the S2000 start button.

 

Its right there!!

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum I knew a guy that did a full e36 M3 swap into his 318ti and it was pretty insane.

 

How could I forget this one! Best ever!



This dudes 17 and I don't think even has a job.. Kinda doubt that'll ever happen. Its more likely I'll have a turbo miata.

 

Many OEMs call them a bypass valve (BPV).

 

"What supercharger kit is that?" while looking at my BEGI s4 turbo system.

 

technically, it is a supercharger. a supercharger is anything that forces air into the engine. a turbocharger is just an exhaust driven supercharger.

and it's also way more awesome.