What is Anti-Lag?

The concept of anti-lag is to reduce or eliminate turbocharger
lag. Turbocharger lag is generally considered the time it takes for your engine
to produce boost. Note, we say time – Not RPM. Anti-Lag is in an improvement in
response, it will not make a large turbo create boost earlier in the RPM range on
a dyno (as an example), but a good setup system will ensure you maintain boost
between gear changes and dynamic (On / Off) throttle situations as seen in
motorsports such as drifting, rallying and such.

How does Anti-Lag work?

There are a couple of Anti-Lag strategies based on your
engine, vehicle and ECU. The Turbosmart ‘Fresh Air’ ALV40 is the basis of a
full bypass system where the valve actually opens when the throttle is closed
& allows compressed air from the turbocharger to be directed into the
exhaust manifold prior to the turbocharger – effectively ‘around’ the engine.
This compressed-air requires an ECU strategy of additional fuel & adjusted ignition
timing to effectively ignite and control a burn, in the manifold right before
the turbo. This burn creates energy, which can maintain turbine speed, also known
as boost.

Is this all I need to get going?

Not really. This valve is specifically designed to do this
job, however, in order to actuate the valve, you will need to operate it via
either boost or vacuum. Either of which will require a charge canister in order
to hold the boost or vacuum, ready for use. Although there are many ways to do
this (we recommend talking to your tuner before you decide) a common way to activate
the charge canister is via a check valve/system of some kind. Then, once your canister is charged you can use a 4-Port electronic solenoid to control the two
sides of the ALV40 actuator.

Is this just an External Wastegate?

No. The Turbosmart GenV External wastage architecture did
make this product a reality – However there is a small, but important
difference between a wastegate and an ALV40: True Twin Port Control. The valve
maybe capable of handling exhaust gas temperatures, however in an Anti-Lag application
you are actually passing much cooler, compressed air (rather than exhaust) As
normal External wastegates do have exhaust gas which is much hotter, they run a
relatively large tolerance on the valve guide. While this is a design feature
and very necessary on an external wastegate, we can engineer in a much tighter
seal on an Anti-Lag valve and this ensures much more accurate & higher
levels of valve control.

Is this the same as throttle kick Anti-Lag?

Not at all, no. There are a couple of key differences and
yes, you require more hardware to do it. Throttle Kick style Anti-Lag has been
a feature on most aftermarket ECU’s for some time. Fresh Air Anti-Lag however
has several distinct benefits. The first is significantly lower EGT’s during
Anti-Lag operation and means greater reliability of your turbocharger,
manifold and accessories. The other benefit is around vacuum boosted brake
systems. Vehicles fitted with these types of braking systems (most cars) will lose
braking assist when kick-type Anti-Lag is activated as the engine does not run
in a vacuum. A Fresh Air Anti-Lag system however does have a vacuum and maintains
all vacuum bases & boosted accessories when in operation.