Here’s the truth. If you connect the exhaust housing of a turbocharger to the exhaust on an LS engine, and the compressor side to the intake manifold, it will make boost and more power than it did naturally aspirated as long as you also provide it with more fuel. With very rare exception, it will do this regardless of what turbocharger you use, what exhaust you have, what cam is in the engine. With that said, the amount of power that it makes does depend on this parts. You can make pretty stupid power with a completely stock engine with a turbo, injectors, and a tune, but if you want to make the absolute most power possible for a given combo then the components you use matter. But how much do they matter? Well, it kind of depends.

We’ve already seen Richard Holdener test different camshafts, intake manifolds, etc, but let’s look at just one thing here. Exhaust manifolds vs short headers vs purpose-built turbo headers. Which ones make the most power, and what’s the real difference? Cost compared to horsepower is something I always like to look at, as well as what the intended use of the vehicle is.

Watch the latest video from Richard below and let us know what you think.

Here’s the video description from Richard.

DOES YOUR TURBO LS REALLY NEED TUBE HEADERS TO MAKE POWER? CAN THE STOCK, CAST STEEL TRUCK MANIFOLDS REALLY MAKE BIG TURBO POWER? IS IT CRITICAL TO USE DEDICATED TURBO HEADERS TO MAKE BIG TURBO POWER FROM YOUR JUNKYARD LS? ACTUALLY, THE STOCK TRUCK MANIFOLDS OR EVEN SHORTY HEADER WILL MAKE SERIOUS TURBO POWER. THE KEY TO MAKING A TURBO SYSTEM WORK ON YOUR LS IS ACTUALLY FITMENT. STOCK MANIFOLDS WORK VERY WELL. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO RUN WITH A 4.8L, 5.3L AND 6.0L, ALL RUN WITH TURBOS AND EITHER STOCK MANIFOLDS OR SHORTY HEADERS.