The Fatal Flaw of Turbocharged Cars
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Date: 2019-05-28
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Comments and reviews: 9
erebus38
I currently own a turbocharged car and its my second, not first one and while I havent had my current vehicle for very long at about two years I still havent suffered from any sort of significant mechanical or turbocharger issues yet. Still, turbocharged engines have come a long way from the ones decades back in the past and obviously, like any other kind of vehicle they arent perfect but with basic maintenance such as properly timed periodic oil changes many of these cars arent really all that much less reliable in general as compared to the simpler naturally aspirated cars and it also depends heavily upon the drivers habits. If you drive these turbo cars like most other people who drive their naturally aspirated cars on a daily basis then problems dont generally tend to occur any more than that of other non turbo cars, but if you beat the hell out of and thrash them around on full boost all the time then yes, you will almost be guaranteed to have expensive problems, especially if you dont change the oil within the specified times that recommend you do such, as the turbocharger also relies on the engines oil for lubrication as well.
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I currently own a turbocharged car and its my second, not first one and while I havent had my current vehicle for very long at about two years I still havent suffered from any sort of significant mechanical or turbocharger issues yet. Still, turbocharged engines have come a long way from the ones decades back in the past and obviously, like any other kind of vehicle they arent perfect but with basic maintenance such as properly timed periodic oil changes many of these cars arent really all that much less reliable in general as compared to the simpler naturally aspirated cars and it also depends heavily upon the drivers habits. If you drive these turbo cars like most other people who drive their naturally aspirated cars on a daily basis then problems dont generally tend to occur any more than that of other non turbo cars, but if you beat the hell out of and thrash them around on full boost all the time then yes, you will almost be guaranteed to have expensive problems, especially if you dont change the oil within the specified times that recommend you do such, as the turbocharger also relies on the engines oil for lubrication as well.
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Dashcam Dumbasses
Another issue is direct injection. I get it on a diesel but on a gasser motor it doesnt make sense. Because fuel goes directly into the combustion chamber no fuel goes past the intake valve and since modern engines recycle crankcase vent gases through the intake manifold the end result is tons of carbon buildup which plays a part in crap performance and bad fuel economy since less air can be thrown in the motor. All the supposed money saved on fuel economy now has to be spent on doing carbon cleaning service ever so often so the savings are moot. I mean manufacturers are now using extra injectors at the port like before to prevent those problems but why not go back to port injection to being with? It was so much more reliable and its not like that system was saving the owner tons of gas money.
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Another issue is direct injection. I get it on a diesel but on a gasser motor it doesnt make sense. Because fuel goes directly into the combustion chamber no fuel goes past the intake valve and since modern engines recycle crankcase vent gases through the intake manifold the end result is tons of carbon buildup which plays a part in crap performance and bad fuel economy since less air can be thrown in the motor. All the supposed money saved on fuel economy now has to be spent on doing carbon cleaning service ever so often so the savings are moot. I mean manufacturers are now using extra injectors at the port like before to prevent those problems but why not go back to port injection to being with? It was so much more reliable and its not like that system was saving the owner tons of gas money.
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Jetta Red
Turbo cars require attentive maintenance because the high exhaust temperatures cook the oil more than non-turbo cars. However, 5000 mile change intervals should be no problem. I think the horror stories about turbos is about manufacturers who dont have a history of making turbo cars and are jumping on the turbo bandwagon late into the game. Also, they probably source their turbos internally or from less reliable manufacturers. Borg Warner makes the turbo for my Audi TT and I have 245, 000 miles on it (knock on wood. Of course, I change the oil every 5000 miles with ONLY approved VW 502 00 / 505 00 and ACEA A3/B4 spec oil--Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol 0W-30, Castrol 0W-40, or Castrol 5W-40, and a quality oil filter. Laboratory oil analysis of my oil at 5000 miles indicate it is good for another 2000 miles.
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Turbo cars require attentive maintenance because the high exhaust temperatures cook the oil more than non-turbo cars. However, 5000 mile change intervals should be no problem. I think the horror stories about turbos is about manufacturers who dont have a history of making turbo cars and are jumping on the turbo bandwagon late into the game. Also, they probably source their turbos internally or from less reliable manufacturers. Borg Warner makes the turbo for my Audi TT and I have 245, 000 miles on it (knock on wood. Of course, I change the oil every 5000 miles with ONLY approved VW 502 00 / 505 00 and ACEA A3/B4 spec oil--Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol 0W-30, Castrol 0W-40, or Castrol 5W-40, and a quality oil filter. Laboratory oil analysis of my oil at 5000 miles indicate it is good for another 2000 miles.
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Joshua Felty
I respect all your advice Scotty. But I feel that if a vehicle was manufactured with a Turbocharger or supercharger on it it was manufactured within the specs that the engine will last as long as possible under those conditions. Now somebody buys a car like I have which I have a 1998 Subaru Legacy 2. 2 5 speed manual all-wheel drive naturally aspirated Engine with 200600 miles. And then say I would put a turbocharger on that engine even though Subaru does make turbocharged engines in the same leader I would end up blowing my engine up because it wasnt design for and its old and has a lot of miles. Turbos are great thing theyre used in diesel tractor and trailers are used in a lot of these two applications its a its a necessary item for them so you make it sound like turbos are bad and theyre not
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I respect all your advice Scotty. But I feel that if a vehicle was manufactured with a Turbocharger or supercharger on it it was manufactured within the specs that the engine will last as long as possible under those conditions. Now somebody buys a car like I have which I have a 1998 Subaru Legacy 2. 2 5 speed manual all-wheel drive naturally aspirated Engine with 200600 miles. And then say I would put a turbocharger on that engine even though Subaru does make turbocharged engines in the same leader I would end up blowing my engine up because it wasnt design for and its old and has a lot of miles. Turbos are great thing theyre used in diesel tractor and trailers are used in a lot of these two applications its a its a necessary item for them so you make it sound like turbos are bad and theyre not
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Jay Maserian
Extremely pleased with my Sonic with a 1. 4l turbo. All of the people I know and My boss customers are very pleased with theirs. Mostly pleased that they are very rust resistant and have low cost of ownership. I dont know who you are getting for customers. I think you just have a vendetta against GM from watching your videos. As if they were actually more problematic than Fords. modern cars are all the same. I see just as many toyotas and hyundais as GM and Ford. Especially for rust issues on the Toyotas here in New England. I highly doubt you have customers displeased with their Sonics. They arent very popular anyway and statistically I can bet you havent seen more than 2 at your shop at the most.
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Extremely pleased with my Sonic with a 1. 4l turbo. All of the people I know and My boss customers are very pleased with theirs. Mostly pleased that they are very rust resistant and have low cost of ownership. I dont know who you are getting for customers. I think you just have a vendetta against GM from watching your videos. As if they were actually more problematic than Fords. modern cars are all the same. I see just as many toyotas and hyundais as GM and Ford. Especially for rust issues on the Toyotas here in New England. I highly doubt you have customers displeased with their Sonics. They arent very popular anyway and statistically I can bet you havent seen more than 2 at your shop at the most.
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IG Gonz24
I had a non-turbo Sonic with the 1. 8 engine. The engine ran really well and was a fun car. The transmission was a little glitchy but didnt fail after putting 40k on it until a teenage girl crashed into my car. I really do miss it. I dont have experience with the turbo 1. 4 liter ones, but I think many companies are pushing out turbo cars in a craze that is producing unreliability. Forced induction, other than turbo diesel trucks, has always been about sport performance. Nowadays theres the thought that putting a turbo on smaller engine will be better on fuel economy which simply isnt factual. Maybe 10% of those cars are actually producing good numbers, but not all them
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I had a non-turbo Sonic with the 1. 8 engine. The engine ran really well and was a fun car. The transmission was a little glitchy but didnt fail after putting 40k on it until a teenage girl crashed into my car. I really do miss it. I dont have experience with the turbo 1. 4 liter ones, but I think many companies are pushing out turbo cars in a craze that is producing unreliability. Forced induction, other than turbo diesel trucks, has always been about sport performance. Nowadays theres the thought that putting a turbo on smaller engine will be better on fuel economy which simply isnt factual. Maybe 10% of those cars are actually producing good numbers, but not all them
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DoubleM55
Yeah but its not the same with diesels. Basically there is no more NA diesel engines in the last 10 years or so. All turbocharged. And it makes sense, because diesels suffer from lower intake pressure especially at higher RPM. Turbochargers fix that by providing nice and steady boost over the entire RPM range. Also turbochargers on diesels are not primarily there to increase power of a smaller engine, but to ensure constant intake pressure over entire RPM range. Of course it does effectively increase power a little, but its not like extreme tuning that engine is under huge stress. Its just so engine works optimally with a little bit of boost.
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Yeah but its not the same with diesels. Basically there is no more NA diesel engines in the last 10 years or so. All turbocharged. And it makes sense, because diesels suffer from lower intake pressure especially at higher RPM. Turbochargers fix that by providing nice and steady boost over the entire RPM range. Also turbochargers on diesels are not primarily there to increase power of a smaller engine, but to ensure constant intake pressure over entire RPM range. Of course it does effectively increase power a little, but its not like extreme tuning that engine is under huge stress. Its just so engine works optimally with a little bit of boost.
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Ron Dye Channel
Scotty, 1988 Ford Thunderbird turbo coupe 5 sp, 267, 000 miles. Burns no oil and has everything original (except heater core. Some manufacturers use premium components like forged pistons, stellite exhaust valves, and water cooled bearings that can make these last a very long time. Others rely on just electronic safeguards that usually fail at some time and destroy the engine. Generally non turbo motors will outlast NA engines but not always
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Scotty, 1988 Ford Thunderbird turbo coupe 5 sp, 267, 000 miles. Burns no oil and has everything original (except heater core. Some manufacturers use premium components like forged pistons, stellite exhaust valves, and water cooled bearings that can make these last a very long time. Others rely on just electronic safeguards that usually fail at some time and destroy the engine. Generally non turbo motors will outlast NA engines but not always
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googlewolly
The logic makes no sense whatsoever. For example: the gen-x Civics. The 2. 0 litre Civic has a bigger engine, but its slower than the 1. 5 litre with the turbo. To recommend the 2. 0 litre because it allegedly doesnt need a turbo is weird, as many would understandably state that it does need a turbo. Many people would want a turbo for extra power; therefore, many choose the 1. 5-litre Civic because it has a turbo and is faster as a result.
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The logic makes no sense whatsoever. For example: the gen-x Civics. The 2. 0 litre Civic has a bigger engine, but its slower than the 1. 5 litre with the turbo. To recommend the 2. 0 litre because it allegedly doesnt need a turbo is weird, as many would understandably state that it does need a turbo. Many people would want a turbo for extra power; therefore, many choose the 1. 5-litre Civic because it has a turbo and is faster as a result.
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