After what seems like several years where forced induction seemed to have fallen out of favour, it's back in a big way - but as much because of environmental pressures as it's there as a performance enhancer.
Sure, we're seeing superchargers in cars like the 550-hp Cadillac CTS-V, which are pushing down acceleration times and pushing up top speeds. But turbos and superchargers are also letting carmakers extract more performance out of much smaller engines.
Take, for example, Ford's new EcoBoost initiative, which involves direct injection and turbocharging. As fitted to the Explorer America concept, it lets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder produce as much power and torque as a 4.0-litre V6 - with fuel consumption that's 30 per cent better.
Turbos also feature on BMW's new X6; two of them, coupled to a 4.4-litre V8, produce more performance than the old 4.8 with lower consumption.
Expect even more turbos - and more innovative installations - in the years to come.
Expect even more turbos...
And expect more premature engine failures, more piston slap, more piston ring wear, more oil blowthrough from worn turbos, and generally less engine durability.
Add in the costs of more-frequent oil changes, and forced-induction engines become a costly long-term-ownership proposition. Which, of course, would require vehicle replacement all the sooner, playing into the industry's preference...
Posted by: Eric Green | January 13, 2008 at 01:34 PM