TURBO CHARGER
Turbocharged
engines are very popular today because of their Jekyll and Hyde personality.
Since the turbocharger generates extra power, it allows smaller turbocharged
engines to equal larger nonturbocharged ones in acceleration. But because the
turbocharged engines are smaller, they're also generally capable of better fuel
economy. It's like having two engines in one: a small, economical engine for
ordinary driving and a responsive, high-performance engine for passing and
such.But
turbocharged engines are only more fuel efficient when you drive with a light
foot. Once you get the turbocharger all worked up, even a small turbocharged
engine can suck down gas just like those larger engines. So if you drive
aggressively, you may want to consider a larger nonturbocharged engine, as
you're not likely to see huge fuel economy gains with that driving style.
You
also should consider that the turbocharger is another moving part that can
fail. In fact, it often does fail during the life of the car. Not surprisingly,
replacement turbochargers don't tend to be cheap.
Pros: A turbocharged engine is typically
more fuel efficient than a regular engine at a given horsepower; pleasant punch
for passing and merging
Cons: It can be thirstier than a regular
engine if you have a heavy foot; turbochargers themselves can fail and be
costly to replace
HOW TURBO CHARGER WORKS?
When
people talk aboutr race cars or high-performance sports cars, the topic of turbochargers
usually comes up. Turbochargers also appear on large diesel engines. A turbo
can significantly boost an engine's horsepower without significantly increasing
its weight, which is the huge benefit that makes turbos so popular!
In
this article, we'll learn how a turbocharger increases the power output of an
engine while surviving extreme operating conditions. We'll also learn how
wastegates, ceramic turbine blades and ball bearing help turbochargers do their
job even better. Turbochargers are a type of forced induction system.
They compress the air flowing into the engine. The advantage of
compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a
cylinder, and more air means that more fuel can be added. Therefore, you get
more power from each explosion in each cylinder. A turbocharged engine produces
more power overall than the same engine without the charging. This can
significantly improve the power-to-weight ratio for the engine.
In
order to achieve this boost, the turbocharger uses the exhaust flow from the
engine to spin a turbine, which in turn spins an air pump. The
turbine in the turbocharger spins at speeds of up to 150,000 rotations per
minute (rpm) -- that's about 30 times faster than most car engines can go. And
since it is hooked up to the exhaust, the temperatures in the turbine are also
very high.
