All drivers desire to drive a car with a high-performance and fuel-efficient engine. The good news is that there are a numbers of mods to increase the horsepower of your engine and substantially enhance its performance. One of the commonly used methods to bolster the performance of engine is turbocharging.
In the features and specifications section of some cars, you may have come across the term “turbocharged engine”. Some cars come with turbocharged engine but people often opt to add a turbocharger to reap the advantages of a turbocharger.
At this point, increased horsepower and improved fuel efficiency may sound tempting but it is essential to note that turbocharging has some cons as well. In this guide, we will take a look at the pros and cons of turbocharging.
Turbocharged Engines Pros and Cons
Before proceeding to the pros and cons of turbocharging, let’s understand what turbocharging means and how turbocharging works. Turbocharging refers to the process in which the turbocharger uses a turbine to create more power from the engine and a compressor to help the engine get more air. The flow of engine exhaust gas causes the turbine to rotate, which in turn causes the compressor to operate. The compressor blows air into the engine faster than it can do on its own which improves the engine’s compression ratio.
Pros of Turbocharging
This section sheds light on the advantages of turbocharged engine.
- Fuel Efficient — Despite being small in size, a turbocharged engine produces the amount of power a larger engine does by using less fuel. For example, if a naturally aspirated internal combustion engine produces 200 horsepower with six cylinders, the turbocharged engine can do so with just four cylinders.
- Good performance at high altitudes — The air pressure is lower at higher altitudes which means the air-to-fuel ratio would be impacted and it would not be able to burn fuel efficiently. Through forced induction, the turbo engine forces more air into the engine thus enabling good performance in high altitude areas.
- Reduced pollution — As compared to a naturally-aspirated internal combustion engine, a turbo engine produces less carbon dioxide and other noxious emissions, which means it’s more environmentally friendly and can reduce carbon footprint in cars.
Cons of Turbocharging
Now, let’s go over the disadvantages of turbocharged engine.
- Overheating: A car turbocharger, if an intercooler is not used, can generate excessive heat in the engine. This heat can cause car breakdown from heating, melting of engine components and even turbocharger failure. Using an intercooler can alleviate this problem, but is an expensive purchase as they are not usually sold in the kit with the turbocharger.
- Turbo Lag: Turbo lag is a common problem faced by turbocharged engines installed in cars. In a turbo lag, the turbocharger takes longer to build up sufficient pressure in the combustion chamber to operate the engine when you press the gas pedal. Turbo lag is a result of a variety of factors, including the size and tuning of the engine, turbine efficiency and exhaust backpressure. Any car whose engine is experiencing a turbo lag will have difficulty maintaining high speeds and would not accelerate smoothly.
- Engine Wears Out At a Faster Rate: The faster you drive, the more stress you put on the engine. When you add a turbocharger to increase acceleration, the engine works harder to move the car causing damage to your engine.
This concludes our guide about the pros and cons of turbocharging. To keep the turbo in good condition, make sure that you maintain it regularly by changing oil and not overheating it. If the performance of your car’s engine is declining or if you are interested in buying a car with a high-performance engine, check out this huge collection of used cars for sale in the UAE at reasonable rates.
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