In this post I will discuss why I am not in favor of the increased usage by manufactures of turbochargers. Most manufactures have been installing these turbochargers due to not only increased government regulation but also consumer demand for a more efficient vehicle. This will lead to over 40% of light vehicles furnishing a turbocharged engine in the United States from the 10% currently seen (Walsh pg.1) . I think this is a bad idea as consumer will be unprepared for the changes in their cars and how they are supposed to treat them.
Government regulations is one of the leading drivers forcing manufactures to increase the number of turbocharged vehicles on the road. This takes the shape of emission targets. In similar fashion the second biggest driver for increased turbochargers is consumer demand for increased fuel efficiency. Cars and trucks will need to meet a standard of 34.1 mpg by 2016 nearly a 25% increase from their current standard of 27.3 mpg (Walsh pg.1). While it is necessary for car companies to reach this target forcing a consumer to use an inferior, more expensive product is not how I feel they should go about it.
The main reason that I feel this way is that while turbochargers will increase the fuel efficiency I do not believe in the accuracy of the manufactures fuel efficiency readings that is being released to the public. For example in the Chevrolet Cruze, which comes with a 1.4 liter turbo four cylinder has the same fuel efficiency of 26mpg as the larger Cruze’s 1.8 liter four cylinder engine. Or if you don’t believe that example perhaps as one off how about the Hyundai Sonata with its 2.4 liter four cylinder engine with a 27mpg in comparision to its 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine with an estimated fuel efficiency of 25 mpg. Even when the size of the engine is decreased but a turbocharger is installed to try and keep the power up there is still very little gain in fuel efficiency. For instance in the BMW X3 which has a 3.0 liter with an efficiency of 22 mpg and its 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder receives only 23 mpg(Evans pg. 1).
Another problem that I see with installing turbochargers on consumer vehicles is the final cost of a turbocharger. Not only will the consumer have to pay an additional $925 but they will also have to nearly double the amount of service done for changing oil as well as other repairs (Csere pg. 1). For example on Hyundai’s Sonata and Santa Fe it suggest changing the oil every 7,500 miles or once a year. While on a turbocharged engine, the engine oil needs changed every 5,000 miles or half a year (Schmitz pg. 1). This additional service will raise the cost of the vehicle over the life of the vehicle. While government estimates that vehicles will save an average of around $4,000 on fuel over it lifetime it is doubtful that they will ever reach these estimates as I have previously shown, turbochargers are nowhere near as efficient as they are promised.
Additional problems with turbocharged engines is their safety and reliability. Due to the increased stress that a turbocharged engine they have been known to be quite temperamental. The main reason for this is all the heat from the air that is normally expelled by the exhaust is sent back into the engine heating the air even further. Temperatures then for diesel powered engines go up to 830 degrees Celsius while gasoline powered vehicles can operate up to 950 degrees Celsius (Kahl pg. 4). Since not only do turbochargers have to deal with the increased exhaust heat but also all the other engine components, this then will drive the final price of a car up drastically. Not only do the increased temperatures cause increased wear on the vehicle but it can also lead to vehicles catching fire. While it is no longer as much of a problem as it was in the 1980’s it still is a problem to be worried about. A final service problem with turbochargers that use a fluid bearing is that they must be kept running several minutes after you have reached your destination as well as letting them run several minutes before you start. Although this is an annoyance, it is necessary as it allows the car to warm the oil before you start as well as allow the oil to continue to lubricate the turbine till it stops (Turbocharger Maintenance 101).
All this leads me to conclude that consumers will not appreciate the increased amounts of tasks that will need to be done just to keep a turbocharged car running. Still manufactures seem insistent on selling consumers these cars; from Ford’s EcoBoost line of cars, Honda’s new smaller civic, this year’s F1 racing cars, the Dodge Dart, and Chevrolet Cruze are just a few of the many new cars that have, or will hit showroom floors in the coming years. Most of these changes are due to not only consumer demand for more fuel efficient cars, but more stringent government regulation which forces car manufactures to meet. If consumers were really interested in saving fuel I would suggest them to instead be more economical with their driving styles or much more simply just turn off their air conditioning and keep their windows shut when driving on the highway. While this isn’t the nicest way to drive you’ll save at least 10% of your gas this way. Another suggestion would be to keep asking legislative bodies to increase the number of hydrogen filling stations as I feel this is the only technology that could realistically replace gasoline cleanly and be used to recharge a car within a couple of minutes.
Works Cited
Csere, Csaba. “How Automakers Will Meet 2016 CAFE Standards.” Car and Driver. Car and Driver, May 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Evarts, Eric. “Consumer Reports Finds Small Turbo Engines Don’t Deliver on Fuel Economy Claims.” Consumer Reports Finds Small Turbo Engines Don’t Deliver on Fuel Economy Claims. Consumer Reports, 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
“History.” BorgWarner Turbo Systems. Borg Warner, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Kahl, Martin. “Interview: David Paja, VP, Global Marketing and Craig Balis, VP, Engineering, Honeywell Turbo” AutomotiveWorld.com, 03 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Nice, Karim. “How Turbochargers Work” 04 December 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. 07 April 2014.
Schmitz, Matt. “Do Turbocharged Cars Require More Maintenance?” – KickingTires. Cars.com, 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
“Turbocharger Maintenance 101.” TurboRepair.com. Work Turbocharger, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Walsh, Dustin. “Lights, Cameras, Interaction.” Crain’s Detroit Business. N.p., 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.