Can someone explain to me what psi means?

Question

i'm very novice and would like to get a better understanding of what PSI means. i know its a measurement used to put on your car if you have a turbocharger but i would like to be enlighten on how it works in a car and everything. thank you so much

Answer 1

PSI = pounds per square inch (a unit of measuring pressure)

turbo = compresses air into the intake manifold

Answer 2

IA turbocharger increas­es the power output of an engine while surviving extreme operating conditions. Wastegates, ceramic turbine blades and ball bearings help turbochargers do their job even better.

Turbochargers are a type of forced induction system. They compress the air flowing into the engine The advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a cylinder, and more air means that more fuel can be added. Therefore, you get more power from each explosion in each cylinder. A turbocharged engine produces more power overall than the same engine without the charging. This can significantly improve the power-to-weight ratio for the engine

­In order to achieve this boost, the turbocharger uses the exhaust flow from the engine to spin a turbine, which in turn spins an air pump. The turbine in the turbocharger spins at speeds of up to 150,000 rotations per minute (rpm) -- that's about 30 times faster than most car engines can go. And since it is hooked up to the exhaust, the temperatures in the turbine are also very high.

One of the surest ways to get more power out of an engine is to increase the amount of air and fuel that it can burn. One way to do this is to add cylinders or make the current cylinders bigger. Sometimes these changes may not be feasible -- a turbo can be a simpler, more compact way to add power, especially for an aftermarket accessory.

Turbochargers allow an engine to burn more fuel and air by packing more into the existing cylinders. The typical boost provided by a turbocharger is 6 to 8 pounds per square inch (psi). Since normal atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi at sea level, you can see that you are getting about 50 percent more air into the engine. Therefore, you would expect to get 50 percent more power. It's not perfectly efficient, so you might get a 30- to 40-percent improvement instead.

Answer 3

per square inch. its how much air pressure youre gettting. the higher the air pressure in a turbo, the more power it is putting out. all the turbo does is force air into the engine making it easier for the engine to rev.

Answer 4

Short and simple:

psi = pounds per square inch

Usually relating to pressure.  A turbocharger forces air (ie forced induction) into the engine by the said amount of pressure.

Therefore a 14 psi pressure reading in a car from a turbocharger means that the turbocharger is boosting the engines air pressure (forcing air in) by 14 pounds per square inch (of the engine).

Answer 5

You are talking about a boost gage. It is pounds per square inch, and is usually used to tell how your turbo is performing. Basically you have to drill and tap your intake manifold to put in a fitting to connect to the boost gage. You then install the boost gage somewhere inside the car that is visible when driving. The normal boost levels depend on the vehicle you have. It works by measuring the pressure present in your intake and gives you an idea of how much air is being pushed into your engine by the turbo. When you accelerate, the turbo spools up and produces boost up to a certain point then your waste gate opens up to relieve the extra boost. You can buy modifications to increase the boost, but it may harm your engine as it was designed to only handle a certain amount.  

Answer 6

Per Square Inch....pressure

Answer 7

i have no idea about the turbocharger. however in my physic's class psi stands for pounds per square inch. It is exactly like what it sounds. 12 psi is like putting 12 lbs on one square inch.  

Answer 8

It's a measurement of pressure:

Per Square Inch and usually expressed in pounds, like this:  50p.s.i. (fifty pounds per square inch)

Answer 9

Pounds per Square Inch of pressure. .

Answer 10

pounds per square inch of pressure