I’m leery of turbo engines. From the longevity standpoint.
I know they are all the rage, just wondering if you wanted to keep a car 10+ years whether a turbo could make it.
One other question.
I remember when turbos first came out there was a warning about towing, that the turbo would be kicked in and burn up.
I had an Accord, ‘83. Great car, sold it to a relative . Had 200,000+ miles on it and I’m not sure it didn’t go beyond that.
I think the auto trans would die before the turbo. It would be a neck and neck race. LOL
Turbos cannot run without the engine running.
I’ve had the same impression of turbos, though no real evidence and I’ve never owned one. VW and Porsche have been using turbos forever, though, and seem to have success.
I’d rather have a normally-aspirated V6 like in my Audi A4 than a turbo four; that said, today’s turbo fours (and turbo sixes) are boasting some impressive performance.
My second car was a 84 Chrysler Laser XE Turbo, I got it as a teenager. I could not kill that car. I drove it like I hated it... because I loved it.
I distinctly remember the manual said nothing against towing, except not to exceed the limits, which was low, since it was a K car frame.
Turbochargers have pressurized oil lubrication, and the Chryslers went a next step and added water cooling to the journal bearing as well. You could run full boost till the cows came home, or the motor failed (not the turbo).
Notice the Turbo I 2.2L from that era was technically a pull through system, since the compressor was behind the throttle blade (it was port injected, so the compressor was not wet). That means there was some special seals in the journal bearings to keep suction from pulling oil out of the journal bearing.
Honestly, todays turbos are so far advanced, you can’t really tell they are turbo. They just feel like really strong motors. Back then, you were on boost or off boost, and the transition usually caused loss of traction if you were really getting up the road.
And remember, even then in the 1980’s, no serious semi truck lacked a turbocharger. Those diesels ran boost at highway speed, meaning the turbocharger was always loaded.
What has changed since those days is computational fluid dynamics simulations to improve response, and reduction of inertia in the turbo’s rotating assembly. Combine that with fast microporocessors, and lag has basically vanished...