What's the bottom line on 2-Litre Turbocharged 4-Bangers?

[DGS49]

They are used in everything from small sports cars to behemoth's like the Volvo XC90.

My experience is nothing but positive. I had four old Chrysler turbo's. They all performed well, got pretty good mileage, and were trouble-free (although I never kept them beyond 75,000 miles).

My wife's BMW 330GT (4,000 lbs) is fantastic with the T-4. It is fast, quiet, and economical - 25.5 mpg average over 45,000 miles. I bought the extended warranty (75k miles) and we are thinking long and hard about whether we want to have a Beemer with 76k miles on it and no warranty, especially with the turbo-4.

The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that you can't do engine braking with this engine. Put it in a lower gear going down a long hill and it doesn't slow down much, and the engine sounds like it's going to explode.

Is it too obvious to expect these engines not to last as long as a bigger 6 or V8? Any personal experience on their longevity?

 

[JustAGuy1]

Damn that sounds erotic.....

 

[Rambunctious]

With a turbo charged motor you are pushing the limits of the engine....remember the Ford Triton 6cly turbo boost engine?...they kept blowing out....

 

[Sunni Man]

They put turbo's on small engines today to get more power and better fuel economy. Which works well at normal speeds, average driving. But if you take advantage of the turbo and put your down on the pedal, gas milage goes in the toilet.
Also, when a turbo breaks, and they all eventually do. It costs big bucks to repair. Turbo's put a lot of mechanical stress on an engine. Meaning that it's rare to see high milage turbo engines.
In my opinion, buy a 6 or 8 cyl. non turbo engine if you plan on keeping your car for 100+ thousand miles. They have plenty of power and good reliability. ...

 

[Shawnee_b]

They are used in everything from small sports cars to behemoth's like the Volvo XC90.

My experience is nothing but positive. I had four old Chrysler turbo's. They all performed well, got pretty good mileage, and were trouble-free (although I never kept them beyond 75,000 miles).

My wife's BMW 330GT (4,000 lbs) is fantastic with the T-4. It is fast, quiet, and economical - 25.5 mpg average over 45,000 miles. I bought the extended warranty (75k miles) and we are thinking long and hard about whether we want to have a Beemer with 76k miles on it and no warranty, especially with the turbo-4.

The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that you can't do engine braking with this engine. Put it in a lower gear going down a long hill and it doesn't slow down much, and the engine sounds like it's going to explode.

Is it too obvious to expect these engines not to last as long as a bigger 6 or V8? Any personal experience on their longevity?

My Z06 2003 anniversary corvette gets 22-26, city, little hwy. 405 hp, standard LS6 engine. 46K

Now I'm not saying I wouldn't go blown, just not this one. 1200 made. I'd take another C5 and have it Lingerfelter (sp) or Callahan done.

Turbo 4 cyl? Why not, they are pretty cool. Yes harder on that 4 but so what. Blow it, fix it.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

With a turbo charged motor you are pushing the limits of the engine....remember the Ford Triton 6cly turbo boost engine?...they kept blowing out....

I have personal experience with Superchargers.
Put the TRD charger on my Tacoma and I was replacing head gaskets every six months.

 

[Thunk]

My "thing" has always been dependability.

If it's old, tried & true...it's for me.

When I bought my F-150 in 2011 I wanted the 8 cylinder 5.0 even though the new 4 cylinder turbo had more HP.

But the 4 cylinder turbo you speak of sounds old tried and true as well. Go with what you know!

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

They put turbo's on small engines today to get more power and better fuel economy. Which works well at normal speeds, average driving. But if you take advantage of the turbo and put your down on the pedal, gas milage goes in the toilet.
Also, when a turbo breaks, and they all eventually do. It costs big buck to repair. Turbo's put a lot of mechanical stress on an engine. Meaning that it's rare to see high milage turbo engines.
In my opinion, buy a 6 or 8 cyl. non turbo engine if you plan on keeping your car for 100+ thousand miles. ...

The only reason to supercharge or turbo your engine is if you plane on racing it and are prepared and capable of repairing it yourself.
Diesels are a different story since they're designed to take on huge cylinder pressures.

 

[flewism]

I just bought my first turbo as my latest and hopefully last commuter vehicle.
2020 escape 3 cylinder turbo. So far I'm happy with it, it is pretty zippy driving 60+ highway miles at 80-85 mph back and forth to work. We will find out about longevity, I expect about 150,000 out of it before I retire.

 

[Sunni Man]

I have personal experience with Superchargers.
Put the TRD charger on my Tacoma and I was replacing head gaskets every six months.

Superchargers and Turbos are two totally different animals.
Sounds like your supercharger was too powerful and stressed your engine? ...

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I have personal experience with Superchargers.
Put the TRD charger on my Tacoma and I was replacing head gaskets every six months.

Superchargers and Turbos are two totally different animals.
Sounds like your supercharger was too powerful and stressed your engine? ...

I realize they're different.
The SC was from Toyota and designed for the engine.
TRD.....Toyota Racing Development.

 

[Jarlaxle]

They put turbo's on small engines today to get more power and better fuel economy. Which works well at normal speeds, average driving. But if you take advantage of the turbo and put your down on the pedal, gas milage goes in the toilet.
Also, when a turbo breaks, and they all eventually do. It costs big bucks to repair. Turbo's put a lot of mechanical stress on an engine. Meaning that it's rare to see high milage turbo engines.
In my opinion, buy a 6 or 8 cyl. non turbo engine if you plan on keeping your car for 100+ thousand miles. They have plenty of power and good reliability. ...

You are so full of shit your breath stinks.

 

[Jarlaxle]

They are used in everything from small sports cars to behemoth's like the Volvo XC90.

My experience is nothing but positive. I had four old Chrysler turbo's. They all performed well, got pretty good mileage, and were trouble-free (although I never kept them beyond 75,000 miles).

My wife's BMW 330GT (4,000 lbs) is fantastic with the T-4. It is fast, quiet, and economical - 25.5 mpg average over 45,000 miles. I bought the extended warranty (75k miles) and we are thinking long and hard about whether we want to have a Beemer with 76k miles on it and no warranty, especially with the turbo-4.

The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that you can't do engine braking with this engine. Put it in a lower gear going down a long hill and it doesn't slow down much, and the engine sounds like it's going to explode.

Is it too obvious to expect these engines not to last as long as a bigger 6 or V8? Any personal experience on their longevity?

I have seen plenty of turbo engines with high miles. 150-200K was nothing remarkable from a turbocharged Volvo even 15 years ago. (And some of those weren't even water cooled!) My wife more than doubled the power on her Buick's stock 100,000+ mile bottom end with no trouble. (It was only replaced because she went with a rip-roaring stroker V6, 800+hp.) The Ford turbo 2.3 her father installed in his Pinto had visible honing marks and ran perfectly with 130,000 miles.