Now, when I hear people talking about getting a turbo or turbos in general, I often hear someone ask 'what stage'. Now, my understanding is that the 'stage' system of identifying a 'kit' is more or less arbitrarily assigned by the people producing the kit. Am I correct, or are there, in fact, specific, technical divisions for various levels of turbocharger, fuel system, ECU, etc?

 

Stage is really a term enthusiasts have given to turbos. They are not sold that way. Some retails may sell a different "stage" or level of kit. Turbos are sold by the size of their impellers. You can modify boost levels by using different impeller sizes, changing waste gatetypes or blow off settings, changing exhaust components, adding coolers to the system (exhaust gets hot and intakes like things cool), etc.. Stage turbo kits are like bolt-on accessories. Maybe stage 1 is a CAI kit where stage 2 is a CAI and a throttle body.

 

so my assumption is correct. Thanks for the reply

 

Yeah its all just a name, there is no real ryme or reason to it.