an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (02/21/84)
Why is everybody talking about turbos as if they are the greatest things since orgasms ?!!! Turbos have many disadvantages that few people have mentioned: - increased complexity; more moving parts, more servo circuits, etc; - turbos frequently spin well over 100k rpm -- can you imagine a lubrication failure at that speed ? oil passages clogged up, oil breaks down and turns to water, oil leak resulting in low pressure, etc ? turbine wheels are made of exotic metals to withstand intense heat; those babies are expensive ! - increased heat; turbo engines without oil coolers are asking for disaster. - turbo lag, compared to a normally aspirated (and maybe bigger) engine of the same peak hp If you want more power, bigger engines or even supercharging are simpler and more reliable ways to get it. Turbos are a sales gimmick imposed on the buying public by car companies. Turbos remind me of scr*wing in a hammock just to show you can do it ! Au Nguyen P.S. GM can keep the Turbo Fiero, just gimme the HO V6 !
dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale) (02/22/84)
Turbos are NOT just a gimmick. A turbocharger which provides boost at relatively low RPM is a way of getting a large amount of power out of a small, light engine. This is useful for "performance" cars. A turbocharger which is designed to provide boost only at higher RPM's allows a given size engine to provide the same sort of fuel economy in cruise that it would without the turbine, but considerably more power for acceleration. Or, to put it another way, for a given amount of power available for passing, you can use a smaller engine and get better fuel economy. (Unfortunately, they don't show up on economy cars because of the higher initial cost. Same is true of fuel injection, for the most part.) Yes, there is a lag in the availability of the extra power. If you really want instant power, buy the monstrous engine and you can pay for its fuel appetite. If other people find different tradeoffs more appropriate for them, "to each his own", eh?