And good fuel economy if you stay out of the boost. I almost said that with a straight face.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
And good fuel economy if you stay out of the boost. I almost said that with a straight face.

My little Fiesta would probably be in the kid 30s, then.
I'm averaging 28-31, too fun to put a boot to it.

9mpg when you need it and 18mpg when you want it.


Drive it like you stole it owners will have issues, as will those uninterested in preventative maintenance. The turbos aren’t really the problem it’s the engines that they are attached to.

From what I gathered from the video. If you want X Power with a NA (Naturally Aspirated) engine it will cost you Y emissions. The EPA has demanded lower and lower emissions year over year, while the customer expects the same or even greater power.

So, trying to hit X Power when the EPA says you must have some fraction of Y emissions, you are going to need something more than just adding an additional speeds in your transmission (8,9,10 speed examples compared to 4/5/6 speeds that use to be so common) or swapping to the dreaded CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).

The solution chosen by the big manufacturers in internal combustion has been to design smaller engines with turbos in mind from the start (along with adding a CVT to save additional weight). Remember, they are essentially just trying to hit X power. X+5% or sometimes even X-5%.

Another advantage of turbos is the power at relative low RPM. Sure The final output of the new gen vehicle might be the same or within 5% of the previous NA version, but the driving dynamics of the turbo could provide a faster more engaging 0-60, once again, as long as they haven't swapped transmissions for something like a CVT.

There may be a price for this, of course. As mentioned in the video. Reduced service intervals, despite what the manual says. Per Amd, his turbo engines get serviced 3-4k miles, as opposed to the past norm of 5k miles on relatively recent consumer NA vehicles. Can you follow the manuals and get your modern turbo vehicle serviced every 10k and still make it to 100k? Maybe. I'm certain it's happened, but he doesn't recommend it.

I'm not so sure that these small turbo engines are just an interim until most vehicles become hybrids. Hybrids develop even more power at low rpm and deliver better mpg.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
A major cause of premature engine failure in turbo-charged piston aircraft engines, is the pilot. Rapid power reduction in flight causes "shock" cooling. We were always admonished to reduce power gradually, no more than one inch of manifold pressure per minute.

The maintenance guys shuddered when Harry Hot Rod taxied up to the ramp with a high power setting and killed the engine(s) quickly; they preferred Gentle George, who taxied in at idle power and let them cool just a bit before shutting down.

I’m surprised they don’t have turbo timers. Guys have them on their race cars because they go full throttle and circle back to the pits and turn of the engine. A turbo timer lets the engine idle for a while to cool the turbos so the oil doesn’t “coke”.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
A major cause of premature engine failure in turbo-charged piston aircraft engines, is the pilot. Rapid power reduction in flight causes "shock" cooling. We were always admonished to reduce power gradually, no more than one inch of manifold pressure per minute.

The maintenance guys shuddered when Harry Hot Rod taxied up to the ramp with a high power setting and killed the engine(s) quickly; they preferred Gentle George, who taxied in at idle power and let them cool just a bit before shutting down.

I’m surprised they don’t have turbo timers. Guys have them on their race cars because they go full throttle and circle back to the pits and turn of the engine. A turbo timer lets the engine idle for a while to cool the turbos so the oil doesn’t “coke”.

Modern turbos in automobiles are mostly wet turbo's now and cooled by the coolant in addition to the oil which is/was used for cooling and lubrication. So needing to idle for 3-5 minutes before shutting the engine off isn't as important nowadays. Also the ECM's are much more advanced and can change fuel curve and timing very quickly to reduce detonation and other early engine termination issues.

My 2018 Ford Expedition which has the aerodynamics of a brick and 500lbs of tools, chemicals and etc in the back of it for my work, will get 30-35 mpg on cruise control at 38-55 mph on a flat and relatively straight road. I average 15.5-16mpg I'd say 80% city/20% highway. Strictly highway will get 22 mpg at 80 mph which is over 20% better than a similar non turbo suv that was 2/3 the size (toyota 4 runner) that I drove on the highway, cruise control same speed, long distance.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
And good fuel economy if you stay out of the boost. I almost said that with a straight face.

I've gotten quite good fuel economy out of my Audi A4, Subaru Outback Limited XT, and my Mazda CX-30. Part of the secret is to not rev the engine past 4500rpm because there's no much past there anyways, and get to highway speed as fast as possible and coast to stay out of the throttle.

I drove my last F250 for 20 some odd years and over 400k miles, turbo was no issue.

I had a 1992 Toyota Supra Turbo, and the turbo was not the reason I sold it, it was the head gasket design that caused oil and coolant leaks. After the second time I had to replace the head gasket, I sold the car. I now have 2010 BMW 3 series with dual turbos, 170K miles and no turbo or engine problems. We also have a Ford F150 with the 3.7 EcoBoost with 90K miles and no turbo or engine issues. So I would say yes, they are reliable with regular fluid & filter changes.

i've had four bmws, one subie and one alfa, all with turbos. never had an issue with the engine. oil changes were always done at 6k/6mo intervals. But then again, I rarely keep a car past 80k miles these days. Longest I kept a car was 114k miles and that was my 2001 Olds Alero with GM's 3.4L V6. That had constant blower resistor, wheel bearing and headgasket issues.

1 VW 1.8T, 1 Audi 2.0T, 1 Ford 3.5TT. Always used synthetic oils, change at 5000mi (as recommended for the VWAGs, and early (usually around 40% oil life remaining) on the Ford. VW was purchased new, the others used with low miles. It’s not a big sample, but I haven’t had a single engine or turbo failure, and all 3 have been tuned with aftermarket tuners for more power than stock, though I admit that I run a near stock program on the Ford, the 93 octane performance program was just too fun, leading to consistent 14 mpg tanks of expensive gas.

Properly sized turbos no longer have any appreciable lag, make for amazing torque low in the power band, which makes them great to drive. My Expedition weighs about 1000# more than my dad’s Silverado with the 5.3L V8 and absolutely kicks its ass in performance.