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anyone into Turbo vehicles?

Posted on 5/23/14 at 11:12 pm
Posted by lsu xman
Member since Oct 2006
15525 posts
Posted on 5/23/14 at 11:12 pm
I'm just starting to car/truck shop and have noticed a big increase of turbo cars and trucks than from 10yrs ago.

Turbo bmw's, mercedes, ford F150's, etc...

I just have an iffy feeling about these turbo cars reliability and longevity.
Posted by Tigah in the ATL
Atlanta
Member since Feb 2005
27539 posts
Posted on 5/23/14 at 11:14 pm to
turbos are old, been in diesels since forever.

Good way to increase power in a smaller engine, which reduces engine losses & thus increases mpg.
Posted by LSUSUPERSTAR
TX
Member since Jan 2005
16303 posts
Posted on 5/23/14 at 11:59 pm to
All cars should be turbo.
Posted by Hammertime
Will trade dowsing rod for titties
Member since Jan 2012
43030 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 12:07 am to
I hate turbo lag
Posted by Them
People's Republic of Bozeman
Member since Nov 2008
11125 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 12:08 am to
Turbos increase torque, which makes a little engine feel like a big one. There's a saying that goes, "Americans buy horsepower but drive torque" and turbos help with that tremendously while bettering fuel economy. V8 torque from a 2.0L inline-4.
Posted by CptRusty
Basket of Deplorables
Member since Aug 2011
11740 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 12:49 am to
quote:

educes engine losses & thus increases mpg.


what do you mean by this?

Turbos (and forced induction in general) will increase the brake specific fuel consumption of the engine which it is added to.

The engine's net output will be increased (greater volumetric efficiency), but it will require more fuel per unit power (lower thermal efficiency).

All else being equal, the engine with the lower BSFC will yield the greatest fuel mileage.
Posted by Gaston
Dirty Coast
Member since Aug 2008
38927 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 7:48 am to
I went through all sorts of shite to buy the last naturally aspirated 528i. The I6 is iconic and I can't believe everything is spun up on turbos these days.
Posted by tigerinthebueche
Member since Oct 2010
36791 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 7:55 am to
My turbo diesel has 279,345 miles on it. No problems, still runs great FWIW.
Posted by DevilDogTiger
RTWFY!
Member since Nov 2007
6362 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:15 am to
quote:

All cars should be turbo.


This. Or super charged
Posted by Tigah in the ATL
Atlanta
Member since Feb 2005
27539 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:22 am to
quote:

what do you mean by this?

it takes less energy to spin a small engine.

No engine requires much power to just drive along. A small engine will give better mpg. We're comparing it to a V8 with similar power.

Also, while we're at it, torque & power are just 2 sides of an equation.

P=2*pi*N*T/33000
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89476 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:23 am to
quote:

I just have an iffy feeling about these turbo cars reliability and longevity.


This is the best effort to comply with the push to improve CAFE. (virtually) Everything will have to be a turbo or hybrid in about 5 years, anyway.


Posted by canyon
Member since Dec 2003
18300 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:25 am to
2002 Subaru WRX with STI mods including turbo. Amazingly fast for small engine size. Very reliable and like a lot have said, turbo charging has been around for a long time.
Posted by fisherbm1112
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2010
6566 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:25 am to
Turbos are great. I deal with big trucks but I see engines day in and day out with well over a million miles on them still strong as an ox and a lot of that is because of a healthy turbo. The lag is not as bad in small vehicles as it is in big trucks.
Posted by Pretzel Logic
Louisiana
Member since Apr 2013
198 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:27 am to
quote:

All cars should be turbo.


All cars should be twin turbo.
FIFY
Posted by TrueTiger
Chicken's most valuable
Member since Sep 2004
67635 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:28 am to
The 80s are back in style I guess.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89476 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:30 am to
quote:

Turbos (and forced induction in general) will increase the brake specific fuel consumption of the engine which it is added to.


Yeah - but what they're doing, Rusty, is they're turboing (and increasingly 2 turbos) 6s to feel like 8s, and hitting in between for fuel economy - similar to a bi-turbo V8 doing the job of a V12 in high end cars.

They already have normally aspirated V6s with 300 horsepower that can achieve (not that anybody drives them that way) - 30mpg - a magic number. Bi-turbo that, you can probably get to 330-350ish, with only a 15% drop in efficiency - or about 25mpg (again, driving it like a grandmother most of the time).

Combined with engine stop technology, a 560 (turbocharged) horsepower engine can claim (for CAFE standards) 20mpg combined, 17 city, 24 hwy (2014 Porsche Turbo S).



Posted by fisherbm1112
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2010
6566 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:33 am to
quote:

Turbos (and forced induction in general) will increase the brake specific fuel consumption of the engine which it is added to. The engine's net output will be increased (greater volumetric efficiency), but it will require more fuel per unit power (lower thermal efficiency). All else being equal, the engine with the lower BSFC will yield the greatest fuel mileage.




What Wikipedia here is trying to say is more air equals more power in a nutshell. The air being forced into the engine is great for power and efficiency. It is also one of the easiest ways for a company to cheaply improve a engines numbers without going back to the drawing board all the time. I own a turboed truck and love mine.
Posted by LSUwag
Florida man
Member since Jan 2007
17319 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:37 am to
With the steady increase in fuel prices, turbos are a smart way to increase MPG while retaining the size of our American automobiles.

On a side note, I wish small trucks with turbo 4 cylinder engines were available in the US.
Posted by AutoYes_Clown
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Oct 2012
5172 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 8:50 am to
I am. The mechanics of turbocharging is over a 100 years old, there is nothing new about it. The real advancement is in the engine management and tune. It has to be idiot proof.

As far as MPG goes, there is a direct correlation between torque and fuel requirement. More torque = more fuel consumption. Controlling the torque is controlling fuel economy.
Posted by CptRusty
Basket of Deplorables
Member since Aug 2011
11740 posts
Posted on 5/24/14 at 10:43 am to
quote:

What Wikipedia here is trying to say is more air equals more power in a nutshell.


No, that isn't at all what I said.

quote:

The air being forced into the engine is great for power


Yes.

quote:

and efficiency


Greater volumetric efficiency. Lower thermal efficiency

Ace cleared up the point of contention though. What ATL meant is that turbos enable smaller engines to achieve similar performance while getting better mileage than if the same performance were achieved by increasing displacement.

quote:

They already have normally aspirated V6s with 300 horsepower that can achieve (not that anybody drives them that way) - 30mpg - a magic number. Bi-turbo that, you can probably get to 330-350ish, with only a 15% drop in efficiency - or about 25mpg


That is the point I was making. Putting turbos on an engine will lower your fuel economy, not increase it.

But anyway, more to the OP's point: Turbo cars are kings of the street as far as performance is concerned. Build the engine's bottom end to be bullet proof and all you have to do is feed it boost and fuel. There are vehicles with well over 1000 wheel horsepower driving around on pump gas (and maybe water or meth injection at that power level). As far as reliability...well the old saying goes:

1. Fast
2. Reliable
3. Cheap

Pick two.
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