Understanding The Concept Of Turbocharger Lag

Friday, July 30, 2010 5:49
Posted in category Automotive

Thinking of turbochargers people have different associations: increased horsepower, improved performance, turbo lag etc. Anyways, what is a turbocharger lag? It is the time required by turbocharger to spin enough to produce boost. Turbochargers are powered by hot exhaust fumes that enter the turbine. Turbochargers need enough exhaust energy which spins the turbine and consequently the turbocharger produces additional boost. To get necessary amounts of hot exhaust fumes the engine needs to be under significant load. Thus, when the engine is under essential load, a lot of boost pressure is released, more fuel is injected and thus, more exhaust fumes are produced and its energy makes the turbine spin and the turbo works even faster. This cycle is a great engineering miracle.

Turbocharger lag is something that is negatively perceived by most. Is it really that bad? Well, it used to! In old days people installed larger turbochargers containing heavy metals. That’s why they took a lot of time to spin. This caused essential delay before the boost was produced. Another reason for turbocharger lag was bad low end torque which meant that the turbo could spin up only at very high RPM’s. However, these problems were solved. Now we use smaller turbochargers consisting of light materials which work towards eliminating turbo lag. And this drawback of turbocharged engines has been successfully beaten.

The turbo technologies have gone a long way. It’s amazing what great results have been achieved. There are cars that come with a turbocharger, intercooler and 2.7liter V6 engines and they produce 250HP at 5800 RPM! All this became possible because car manufacturers use small turbochargers that spool immediately. What turbo lag can we talk about in this situation? Drive this car! I bet you would not feel any! Modern turbocharged cars produce peak torque at 1850RPM. Do you still think there can be any lag??? Well, some people still manage to criticize such cars for lag that they allegedly can feel.

Different magazines have talked so much about turbo lag and turbo engines that it sounds like a curse for car manufacturers. They are ready to do whatever it takes to keep away from it. Thus, car manufacturers use very small turbochargers so that a driver won’t feel any lag. But there are disadvantages of this approach. Small turbochargers mean great low end torque but they limit top end horsepower. In my opinion all this talk about turbo lag is much exaggerated and people need to look deeper into the matter to see the whole picture clearly.

Here is my opinion about peak torque. It should be reached at about half the maximum RPM. This leads to great performance of the car, smooth and fun driving. This is the most comfortable zone where you can enjoy the boost and feel no turbo lag!

Long time ago automobile turned into not only a vehicle but also a luxury and entertainment object. Many people want to have high-powered sport car but not everybody can afford it. There is a way out – turbo kits. Those who search how to turn their car into a unique masterpiece, check out this site. Lots of info about performance parts and how to purchase them.

Even if you don’t manage to find anything you need, don’t frustrate. Today we have a really unique chance to choose what you require at the best terms which are available on the market. All that we need is the Internet technologies. Use search engines, look for “car performance parts“, review blogs, social networks and forums. All this will help you get lots of different information. And with that sign up for the RSS on this blog and you will always keep abreast.

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