Anyone else amazed at how many turbo cars there are?

[JasonC]

Stupid america is about 20 years late on the turbo phase.


And yea I live in the US but the BS automotive regulations is gay stuff.

I'll step back over 20 years, Mopar was putting turbos in their normal cars in the mid 80's-early 90's. Yes they had The sporty ones with Shelby name. But there was Turbo mini vans, LeBarons, and Lancers. And iirc Pontiac had a Turbo Sunbird, Buick had Turbo cars in the late 70's! Their Regals and LaSabre had them. Ford may of had some, i have no idea... Its just in the 90's there wasnt really any turbo cars that was normal, they was sporty as someone else stated. Then as the OP stated, 10 years ago, what was there? The Neon SRT. Yes a Neon is a Neon LOL. But there is no denying they where quick little cars. But still a SRT isnt a normal car. I guess my point is, that there was a time when a manufacturer was trying to put out normal cars for the masses. And saying America is slow to the game... Well we was there, but dropped out of the game for awhile.

[wholethingoff]

I'll step back over 20 years, Mopar was putting turbos in their normal cars in the mid 80's-early 90's. Yes they had The sporty ones with Shelby name. But there was Turbo mini vans, LeBarons, and Lancers. And iirc Pontiac had a Turbo Sunbird, Buick had Turbo cars in the late 70's! Their Regals and LaSabre had them. Ford may of had some, i have no idea... Its just in the 90's there wasnt really any turbo cars that was normal, they was sporty as someone else stated. Then as the OP stated, 10 years ago, what was there? The Neon SRT. Yes a Neon is a Neon LOL. But there is no denying they where quick little cars. But still a SRT isnt a normal car. I guess my point is, that there was a time when a manufacturer was trying to put out normal cars for the masses. And saying America is slow to the game... Well we was there, but dropped out of the game for awhile.

The Americans invented turbo.

Also those power windows were in US cars quite early saw one in a saabkyle04 video of year 1957 or something. It went downhill in the 90s I believe.

I just think Americans tend to come up with great ideas and then beat the guy who came up with it and get back into their 1960s Cadillac.

Japanese and Germans just carry on with whatever idea they get.

[nrubenstein]

The only reason turbo's are so popular now are because manufactures have to get there fleet average up to like 50 mpg by like 2025 I think (not because of the price of gas, because of government mandate). The cheap route is a boosted 1.4 or so on. I can't stand it. There's nothing wrong with turbo's, I'm just a big fan engineering and excellent engine building. Turbo'ing is so easy even you guys do it.

Umm, a well engineered turbo setup is a lot more difficult. I grant that turbo engines do take away from the kind of joy that you get from, say, an S54, but they are not lazy engineering.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Turbo is alright/decent/good on factory cars.

But for aftermarket, all about dat twinscrew bby. Wish there was a good DIY twinscrew kit for E30 S50 swaps. :(

DIY and KIT don't go hand in hand.

OP I do see what you mean, and I gotta agree that the only reason we are seeing more turbo's is because of their efficiency. My VW got 32-34mpg cruising and could put down 400+ when my foot got heavy. It is a beautiful thing, because if you want power nowadays you just bolt on a bigger turbo, add fueling solutions, tuning, and go.

[evandael]

i'm glad turbocharging is in the mainstream. why not? with good off-throttle driveability and economy but power when you need it, it's a good fit for most people's driving styles and needs (ie, mash the gas on the free ramp and cruise). hopefully they won't prove to be too unreliable in the long run (turbo's always require more upkeep and care)

i myself prefer big n/a powerbands but it's really fun to hear the compressor spool and the diverter valves do their thing. superchargers, though... mmm that's another story. my father's STASIS S4 is fucking nuts.

[Wschnitz]

I think op means how like everything is turboed now. Take vw for example, suv with a 2.0l turbo?

[E30_Pare]

[ACHTUNG]

TAAAARRRRRBBBBBOOOOO!!!!

[slammin.e28]

Turbos make sense.

Absolute and complete sense.

Why let a potential for more power just go right out the tailpipe? Why?

I'm waiting on the day someone figures out how to make power, efficiently, from the heat of the exhaust/engine. That's the last bit of major energy waste with the internal combustion engine.

[E30_Pare]

Doesn't a car do something like that with brAkes. Lights as well turn the heat into power & charge the batteries.

[ACHTUNG]

I'm waiting on the day someone figures out how to make power, efficiently, from the heat of the exhaust/engine. That's the last bit of major energy waste with the internal combustion engine.

instead of moar powah maybe use it to fry eggs for breakfast in the car?

[slammin.e28]

Doesn't a car do something like that with brAkes. Lights as well turn the heat into power & charge the batteries.

I'm not up on my regenerative braking , but I know many are getting into that, including BMW with the Efficient Dynamics thing.

instead of moar powah maybe use it to fry eggs for breakfast in the car?

That would be badass.

[ACHTUNG]

That would be badass.

[VinniE30]

The question is, will they be able to perform as well as a naturally aspirated engine of equivalent power while being reliable at the track.. since they are known to have heat problems when at full load for a long time.

[slammin.e28]

Really, they just need to pipe the exhaust back into the engine and burn it again. All this mess with turbos, etc, etc.....just figure out perpetual energy and roll it into production.

Is that too much to ask? Really?