Turbocharged – Are You Going to Buy a Car With a This Engine?

There are more turbocharged engines being used now than ever before. In fact, nearly every automaker has turned to some form of forced induction with either turbocharging or supercharging added to the engines to give them more power and better fuel mileage. Originally, the goal was to use turbocharging to improve the fuel mileage and meet the stricter fuel economy and emissions standards with smaller displacement engines, but automakers have discovered that these engines are also more powerful and help vehicles become lighter to give us better use of that power.

How Does a Turbocharged Engine Work?

Simply, a turbocharged engine uses a turbocharger to draw in air, compress it, and feed the pressurized air into the intake manifold. This pressurized air is forcefully entered into the combustion chamber during the downward stroke of the piston to allow you to burn more fuel, which allows you to make more power. You might think that burning more fuel would mean that an engine with a turbocharger wouldn’t be as efficient as one without a turbo, but there’s much more to what a turbocharged engine can do and how it will perform for you.
The second part of the turbocharging process uses hot waste gas. The gas exits the combustion chamber through an exhaust outlet and passes into the turbocharger to spin a compressor wheel. When this wheel spins, it draws in cool air from the other side of the turbocharger which starts the process over. The air that’s compressed does need to be cooled before entering the engine, which is where an intercooler comes in. The compressed air passes through this intercooler before being introduced into the engine to make sure it’s not too hot, which would reduce the amount of power of the engine.

Pros and Cons of using a Turbocharged Engine

Pros

When a turbocharger is used, you can receive more power and torque from a smaller engine, more torque at a low RPM range, and much better fuel mileage if you drive the vehicle carefully with fuel mileage in mind.

Cons

If you drive aggressively, you’re going to negatively impact the fuel mileage you could reach, there may be a need for premium fuel when a turbocharged engine is used, and repair costs can be much higher with a turbocharger under the hood of your car.

Can You Depend on a Turbocharged Engine?

The facts and proof are simple, the fewer parts that are involved in making a vehicle more, the more reliable it’s going to be. A turbocharged engine introduces more parts into the equation. Even though this should mean turbocharged engines are less reliable than those without a turbocharger under the hood, the fact is, these engines seem to hold up extremely well. Turbochargers do put more stress on the engine than one without a turbo, but you can certainly have many years of driving pleasure when the vehicle you choose to drive has a turbocharged engine under the hood.