Turbo Engine reliablity

Final Fantasy Online Forums > Community Discussion > The Dork Squad

06.03.2012 1:56am

Thread Creator

CaButler
Winter Knight of the Unseelie Court

So I don't know if I should put this in this forum, but I wanted to ask.

Today, I had the chance to test drive the Chevy Cruze, both the LS and LT versions. The difference between the two is the LS uses a 1.8 liter engine while the LT uses a 1.4 liter with turbo. i've done some research and found that the turbo engines have become reliable, but I wanted to ask the car heads here, would it be a good idea to buy a car with a turbo engine? I have a few others in mind but I wanted to get some other opinions out there.

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06.04.2012 4:05am

Atma Weapon
I Am Pure Energy

The entire purpose of a turbo is to pump in more oxygen, so that the engine can burn more fuel, faster. So if you are interested in performance and power, then a turbocharged engine might be something you want (other things being equal).

Cylinder volume is another strategy for accomplishing the same goal. While I am an engineer, I'm not the right kind of engineer to answer the question of how a 1.8 L would compare to a turbocharged 1.4 L. The answer may depend on some other particulars. The horsepower of each engine should tell you which has higher power output.

I'll go ahead and guess that the turbo engine gets lower mph but gives you a sportier feel. But I could be completely wrong. Hopefully someone will speak up and point out how stupid and ignorant I am about gearhead topics.

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06.04.2012 1:38pm

Crono
Crono can cross dimensions too!

Any time I've researched this pair of cars (turbo vs non-turbo but with slightly larger engine) the one with turbo always wins. It's usually the more expensive model of the two so you'd expect it to be the peppier/better model and yeah, that's generally the case. You're going to get better acceleration (especially at city road speeds) and IIRC better highway gas millage. The two cars usually have near identical horsepower but you get about 10% more torque out of the turbo model. Turbo models tend to come better equiped in a bare bones model too. ...Not to mention the sound a turbo makes is just awesome and that's what matters the most.

***All statements above are generalizations and not an EVERY CASE is this way.

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06.05.2012 1:12am

Amer
pew pew pew

The turbo won't kick in until you hit a certain level of RPM (turbo lag) so that's where some of the fuel savings from for 1.4L vs 1.8L. It's better on the highway when you're in high gear at low RPM, but the turbo will kick in on the lower gears for better performance.

I've never had a turbo myself but I've got a Subaru and while looking around forums before I'm pretty sure even on the performance models like the WRX and STI that most people don't start worrying about their turbos until they get in the 80 or 90k mile range.

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06.05.2012 4:06am

scnix
scnix.com

Well, I'd get the 1.8L then add turbo after a year. Even if you don't want to add turbo, I'd still prefer the 1.8L as it'll have more kick whilst going up hills or when driving with 4 other passengers. With the 1.4L turbo, you'd most likely feel some drag with those 2 scenarios before the turbo kicks in.

The 1.4L turbo engine will win the acceleration race along with better fuel saving (if you don't floor your gas pedal often), but I generally prefer a bigger engine over a smaller one with turbo, since you can always add turbo later on.

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06.07.2012 5:37pm

Thread Creator

CaButler
Winter Knight of the Unseelie Court

I did some additiona research and found that both the 1.8L and 1.4L Turbo engines are 138 hp, according to information I found, if that means anything.

Also, I've read up on adding a turbo to a non-turbo engine, and the general concensous is "not a good idea", based on what I found so far.

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06.08.2012 1:57am

(Edited on 06.08.2012 at 2:03am)

scnix
scnix.com

^ Really? Hmm, 'cause it's always a good idea here in asian countries. :D

Or maybe I just have a bunch of turbo junkies as friends.

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06.08.2012 2:19pm

Southern Comfort
silently judging all of you

CaButler said:

Also, I've read up on adding a turbo to a non-turbo engine, and the general concensous is "not a good idea", based on what I found so far.

I'll confirm this. Adding a turbo is NOT a matter of simply bolting it in place. To add a turbo to a non-turbocharged engine, you're going to have to entirely re-plumb both intake and exhaust, plus add in extra oil routing, plus find a place to mount an intercooler, plus have your computer re-chipped to understand and handle a turbocharger, plus switch to premium or superpremium gas. And if you get too aggressive with your boost, add in a high-stall torque converter and maybe some head work. Turbochargers are finicky beasts to get right when adding them in aftermarket - if you're all gung-ho for a turbo, buy it factory-installed.

Also, if both models are producing the same horsepower and same drive-wheel torque, then there's absolutely no difference for daily driving - other than the turbocharged version will likely require premium gas.

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