sorry for my ignorance, but what is the purpose of having a BOV? I hear a lot of import owners talking about their turbocharged rice cookers with BOV's and I am unsure of their purpose. Is it to relieve excess turbocharger/supercharger pressure to create less strain on the engine? If so wouldnt that hinder performance greatly? Or am I completely in the wrong. please edjumakate me.
The blow off valve is there to release excess boost/pressure from the system so it does not back up and spin the turbo the opposite direction or surge that will cause damage to the turbo. Roots style superchargers have a bypass system but its built into the unit and you cant hear it like a turbo or a centri supercharger
Simply put, when an engine is running boost from a blower or a turbo, which means the blower or turbo is forcing more air into the intake than the engine would naturally pull in, as you let off the accelerator that built up air pressure needs to escape. A blow off valve or a bypass valve senses the change in vacuum caused by letting off the accelerator and a diaphram opens the valve to release the pressure that would otherwise build up in the tubing or intercooler and over pressurize them. For example, if I didn't have the bypass valve on my Procharger all of that built up air pressure from the blower needs to go somewhere when I let off the gas and the throttle body closes. The valve then opens and releases the pressure into the atmosphere rather than causing my tubing to swell up and cause possible damage to it and the intercooler.