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Does a higher compression ratio help build boost faster? Spark advance doesn't seem like it would..... -Abe. -----Original Message----- That's an interesting and often observed phenomenon. The real question is, is it an illusion? Often one's perception is so blinded by the big hit the turbo affords up top, that one believes the low end power has been sacrificed. We usually find that the power curve never drops below stock unless something is wrong. Maybe there is more tweaking in the carburetion that needs to be done. Do you have dyno curves before and after? Have you ridden a stock one again for comparison? This situation is a lot like when you put nitrous on something. After getting used to the big hit, it kind of feels like something's wrong with the bike when you twist it without nitrous. Then you realize it was that slow all along. You can generally make more peak power with less compression and more boost unless your compressor is maxed out or beyond its "good" efficiency range. Reducing the compression ratio (CR) reduces the peak cylinder pressure (PCP), helping to reduce preignition/detonation and reducing the maximum stress on all of the components. One might believe that this would reduce power, and this is theoretically correct, assuming all other things are equal. But PCP occurs at only one slice in time over the power stroke event. The Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP) is a measure of what you really have to work with over the entire event. By using a reduced CR and packing more mixture into the cylinder (via more boost) you can increase the BMEP above what is was before you reduced the CR, and end up with a similar PCP. This way the maximum stress stays the same but you make more peak power. Of course, this is where you do lose low end (off boost) power since there is no additional charge when you're off boost. For true street use, less boost and more CR is usually better and results in a more linear power curve (if there is such a thing on a turbocharged engine). In practice, getting it right is a delicate balance between chamber shape/design, boost level, intake temperature, CR, squish, and ignition timing, not to mention matching the proper turbo to the application. More displacement will always help fill in the bottom and make boost sooner. Later, Bob