tennis_dog said:
also, how much boost can an engine take?? 16psi? normal turbos give about 6-8 right?? could 20 just blow your car up?
It's hard to say how much boost an engine can take. Some engines, specifically ones already with large turbos, were made to handle a lot of boost, while other engines weren't. You just have to look at various factors, like engine size, turbo size, compression ratio, stock setup, etc.
Stock turbo setups allow a good amount of boost. Most Evos run a lot of boost completely stock, peaking at 19 psi in the Evo VIIIs and 20.2 psi in the IXs (which is pretty crazy, seeing how it already has a compression ratio of around 9.0:1). I don't remember exactly, but I think stock WRXs would run about 13.5 psi and the STi runs 14.5 psi. And usually when you begin modding, boost can safely be cranked up a psi or two before requiring more serious mods to strengthen the engine.
Now onto cars not boosted from the factory. A decent amount of people end up strapping turbos onto their Hondas and what not. Most people who do that usually use the older Civic Si motor (B16A) or the Integra GS-R motor (B18C1). Since those motors are smaller and have slightly higher compression ratios, they weren't really made to handle boost, so most aftermarket turbo kits made for those cars usually put out between 6-8 psi to keep things safe. Anything beyond that can blow the motor, unless you strengthen it, and that process usually requires the engine to be opened up. However, it can lead to the bulletproofing of the motor, seeing how there are a lot of built motors running 20+ psi, even a handful running 30+. But usually at that point, it's not really meant for daily driving and probably won't pass smog tests.