---
title: "An Eight-Turbo Ford Mustang Was a Great Idea, Until It Wasn’t"
description: "This YouTuber's build was wild indeed, but noise doesn't count for much when you just can't make the power you want."
date: "2021-05-05"
modified: "2021-05-06"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/40466/an-eight-turbo-ford-mustang-was-a-great-idea-until-it-wasnt"
categories:
  - "Ford News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Coupe"
  - "Ford"
  - "Mustang"
  - "sports car"
---

# An Eight-Turbo Ford Mustang Was a Great Idea, Until It Wasn’t

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/05/octuple-turbo-mustang.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

If one turbocharger is good, two is better, and four is [Bugatti](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/40450/bugatti-builds-a-self-leveling-carbon-fiber-pool-table-for-its-yacht-owning-clients>). Then turbos are a simple case of *more is better*—right? For sheer novelty, sure, but for performance, it turns out less is more when it comes to modern turbos.

That's the lesson learned for the builder of an LS-swapped Ford Mustang (SN95) drag car that we've [covered before](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/39503/1995-mustang-boosted-with-not-one-not-two-but-eight-turbos>). Featured on the Canadian YouTube channel [Boosted Lifestyle](<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkcoapTJt7U0A5gZHogsSAA>), the host Kyle Williams plumbed his Chevy V8 with eight turbos from 1.8-liter Volkswagen engines, for one per cylinder. On the dyno, Williams claims, this setup was initially capable of generating 33 pounds of boost for 737 wheel horsepower, a benchmark he hoped to beat with an enhanced intercooler setup.

![message-editor%2F1620232168828-octuple-turbofordmustangengine.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1620232168828-octuple-turbofordmustangengine.jpg>)
*Octuple-turbo Ford Mustang (SN95) drag car, *YouTube | Boosted Lifestyle**

Though the improved intercooler setup did its job, maintaining an intake charge temperature of just 59 degrees (presumably Celsius; they're [Canadians](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/33857/this-wildly-unsafe-ram-pickup-towing-a-mobile-home-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen>)), problems elsewhere in the highly complicated octuple-turbo engine handicapped its performance.

During at least one dyno pull, some oil misted out the left bank of turbos, suggesting blow-by and thus failing seals, and though intake charge temperatures were where they wanted, pressures weren't. Due to possible turbo back-feeding, boost wouldn't crawl any higher than 23 psi, resulting in a loss of more than one-fifth of the previous run's power, for 563 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque at the wheels.

https://youtube.com/embed/E7fw7udvXoI

Because the worn VW turbos would be costly to replace, and their performance was underwhelming in the first place, Williams will revert to [his prior single-turbo, eight-second setup](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/39503/1995-mustang-boosted-with-not-one-not-two-but-eight-turbos>)—for now, anyway.

"I've only admitted defeat for the summer so I can rebuild my race car," Williams teased in an email to *The Drive*. "I'll be back, don't you worry."

*Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com*

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)