When the engine is idling it does not generate enough exhaust flow to spin the turbo fast enough to produce any real boost. The air passing through the compressor side of the turbo housing is being sucked through by the engine, rather than pumped through by the compressor. All the exhaust gases have to go through the turbocharger because the wastegate is shut.
There are two main ways to get more power from a car's engine. The first (and until recently the...