i could see this being very useful in a drag racing setup. none of the dangers hobie talks about and helps with weight distribution.

 

Check this link and look at an even more efficient place for the turbo (front left side of car).

http://www.pasmag.com/dragsource/article.asp?ID=144

 

1. turbos require heat and exhaust gas to move, the further away the turbo is from the motor, the less efficient
2. think about lag issues here. you have to move the exhaust all the way out before it even begins to spool, then you have 2x more piping to pressurise before it reaches the motor! can we say LAG!!!
3. oil, you need to pump it in you need to pump it out
4. location location location!!! if you mount your turbo underneath the car you are exposing it to lots of abuse. they make a lot of kits for trucks. think about this, it is underneath a 4x4 vehicle. he is 4wheelin and crunch! anyone who goes 4wheelin a lot knows you will break everything at lest once. thats an expensive break
5. air filter location? right next to the turbo. ok guys, we have been over this one before. do you want to suck air that is all nice and hot? cause thats where the filter is attached. right there under the truck, filter strapped directly to the compressor. ok, one more question for you guys. where is the dirtiest part of your car? ever looked how greasy it gets undernieth your vehicle? so how is that a good location. if your filter gets dirty, dusty, and greasy how does it flow well. not to mention if you tear it at all, and you suck that crap up! that would be bad
6. legality issue. still not leagal!!! it is legal to have on the car, however it is pushing air into the motor, so its still not technically legal. not yet at least, it can if it passes emmisions laws. you can install it on your car, and then everytime you go to get it smogged you can just diconnect the intake track so it looks stock in the engine bay. they cant comment about somthing downstream, but if it ties itself to the motor, its not legit

so is it a good idea? well probably not really. kind of a lot of hassles, until you look under the hood of a newer stang or F-body GM. then maybe it looks better and better. seen a firebird with a normal TT setup on it, and actually had to work on it. it was so tight! so maybe just maybe it would work, i mean a turbo F-body is FAST! like HOLY CRAP BATMAN fast, especially for somthing that feels like stock unless your WOT. it was pretty impressive, and im use to dealing with really fast cars. so i gues its cool, but for all those downside's, it just cant be super efficient. there has to be a better way to do it.

my $0.02

 

conclusion :

good for a stock application bad for any performance application


end of story