A turbocharger makes power more efficiently than a belt-driven blower because it runs on exhaust energy instead of pulling horsepower off the crankshaft. That gives you more flywheel power at the same boost, and with wastegate control we can shape boost and torque instead of being locked to engine speed. On a small-block Chevy, the real challenge is making the system live. That means proper oil feed and drain plumbing, boost control that keeps the turbos responsive, and exhaust manifolds that do not crack or sag under heat. That is why this twin-turbo setup uses high-silicon ductile iron manifolds instead of fabricated tubular pieces. If you want serious power from a small-block, the hardware has to stay together first. Bolt this onto a healthy EFI small-block and about 600 horsepower is realistic. If your target is 1,000 or more, the engine needs the right cam, lower-compression pistons, and detonation control built in from the start.
The segment introduces Gale Banks and his new Sidewinder crate engine, built around a twin-turbo Chevrolet small-block. The discussion is framed as both a product demonstration and a refresher on turbocharging fundamentals for viewers who may be new to the subject. This particular engine uses a twin-turbo layout feeding a plenum and throttle body, with direct-port fuel injection supplying the engine.
Banks explains a turbocharger as a compressor driven by a turbine. Exhaust gas flows through the turbine housing at the rear of the turbocharger, spinning the shaft to roughly 100,000 RPM and sometimes beyond. That shaft drives the compressor at the front, where incoming air is compressed and delivered as boost pressure through the plenum, past the throttle body, and into the engine.
He contrasts turbocharging with a belt-driven blower. Based on his experience dating back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, a turbocharged engine could make substantially more power than a blown engine at the same boost level, on the same engine and fuel. He says the difference could be as much as 200 horsepower. The reason is that a supercharger consumes crankshaft power through its drive belt, while a turbocharger uses otherwise wasted exhaust energy. Although a turbo does create some exhaust backpressure, it requires far less shaft horsepower, so more power reaches the flywheel.
Banks also emphasizes the control advantages of turbocharging. By using the wastegate, he can regulate how much exhaust flow passes through the turbine and therefore change turbocharger speed relative to engine speed. That allows him to shape the torque curve far more aggressively than with a blower.
He argues that traditional concerns about turbo lag are outdated. In his view, modern turbo systems no longer suffer from a meaningful power-delivery delay; traction is the limiting factor rather than engine output. He also notes that boost can be adjusted to suit fuel octane. According to Banks, the engine can be run on anything from 87-octane fuel to 100-octane or higher, simply by changing boost level with the wastegate. On clear, unleaded 100-octane fuel, he states that this combination produces 1,015 horsepower.
Banks describes the twin-turbo small-block Chevy concept as an old idea becoming new again. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he built many 700-horsepower twin-turbo Firebirds, Camaros, and Corvettes, including what he says was the first magazine-tested street machine to exceed 200 mph. After spending the following decades focused heavily on diesel development, he returned to the gasoline small-block market because, in his view, no one had offered a ready-to-install, bolt-on twin-turbo system with 100,000-mile durability.
He says the company built complete engines as examples, but the main point is that customers do not have to buy a full engine to use the system. Since there are millions of small-block Chevrolets in circulation, the turbocharging package is intended to let owners upgrade existing engines rather than start from scratch unless their power goals demand it.
To support serious turbocharged power, Banks says the engine itself must be built as a rugged foundation. That includes a camshaft designed specifically for turbocharging and pistons intended for boosted operation. Compression must be lower than in a naturally aspirated high-compression build.
The piston used in this engine is described as a Banks blower piston with a reverse deflector. Instead of a pop-up dome associated with high compression, the piston crown is recessed in a way that preserves a quench area while helping resist detonation. Banks also mentions that the combustion chambers are polished to remove hot spots that could trigger detonation. Together, the lower-compression piston design and chamber preparation are presented as key durability measures for a high-output turbocharged small-block.
For viewers who already have a healthy small-block and want boost rather than a complete engine, Banks says the Sidewinder kit includes everything needed for installation. He stresses that the package is designed so the installer does not need a hardware store's worth of extra parts or machine-shop capability; ordinary hand tools are enough.
One of the major engineering decisions in the kit addresses a common aftermarket turbo problem: exhaust manifolds. Rather than using fabricated tubular manifolds, Banks uses left- and right-side manifolds cast from high-silicon ductile iron. He says this avoids the cracking, turbo sagging, and gasket failures often associated with hand-built tubular exhaust manifolds. The system layout is also designed to fit 1955-and-up Chevrolet cars and trucks.
The installation begins with the recommendation to start with a sound electronic fuel-injection system, in this case an ACCEL DFI setup. Each exhaust manifold is bolted on with a heat shield placed between the manifold and the cylinder head. Studs are installed, then gaskets and spacers are dropped over the manifold flange before the turbo assemblies are mounted with the turbine outlets facing rearward.
Each turbocharger is said to flow enough air for 560 horsepower, and because both the turbine and compressor can spin to 100,000 RPM, oil supply to the center section is critical. The oil-feed system starts with an elbow fitting, followed by a hard line leading to a T-fitting that supplies both turbochargers. From there, a braided line connects to the back of the block. Oil drain is handled separately through two bungs welded to the oil pan.
The wastegate assembly mounts beneath the turbo on the manifold. A pressure chamber is then installed, containing a shuttle valve that opens when manifold vacuum rises. Banks explains that this gives boost a place to go when the throttle is lifted, helping keep the turbos spooled so boost is available again on the next gear change. Boost tubes connect the compressor outlets to the pressure-chamber inlets, and hard lines provide the wastegates with their boost reference from that chamber.
Before startup, the oiling system is primed to ensure the turbochargers are properly lubricated. After that, the remaining hardware is installed, including heat shields, exhaust pipes, the O2 sensor, distributor, and the wiring harness for the fuel-injection system. The radiator is then mounted to the engine stand and connected with water hoses so the engine can be run safely.
The presenters estimate that most enthusiasts could install a Banks Sidewinder kit at home in about a day. They also draw a practical line between bolt-on and full-engine builds: a stock small-block can accept the kit if the target is around 600 horsepower, but reaching 1,000 horsepower or more requires building the engine specifically for that level of output. Once fired, the engine demonstrates the expected result of the twin-turbo combination. The segment closes by noting that a 3-inch exhaust is required for maximum power, whether the buyer chooses the bolt-on kit or a complete twin-turbo crate engine.