-Written by Rohan Santhosh
Why do people love cars? Cars give us the feeling of being completely in control and engagement that can’t be found anywhere else. Modern cars, however, lack that feeling of engagement and feel disconnected. One of the reasons for the lack of engagement is the use of a turbocharger.
What is a turbocharger? A turbocharger is essentially an air compressor that uses exhaust gases to pump compressed air into the engine. Older cars have naturally aspirated (or NA) engines. So what does that mean? Naturally aspirated engines lack a turbocharger or a supercharger that increases air pressure in the engine and in turn gives out more power. More power seems like a good thing, right? Not really. The power might increase, but the directness of the throttle is seriously affected. The turbo has to “spool up” or use the exhaust gases to compress the air. It takes time for the air to get compressed and in turn this causes a delay in throttle response. The sound of the car is lessened and made a lot duller because of the turbine in the exhaust used to spool the turbo up. Turbocharged cars also sound worse because of their generally smaller engines.
So why do automakers use turbochargers? Turbocharged engines don’t have to be as large to produce the same horsepower figures as a naturally aspirated engine. This means that they’re generally more fuel-efficient and release fewer harmful gases. All of these benefit a large part of the consumer base, but this means
the few that do care about the driving experience feel more disconnected. With emissions regulations becoming more restrictive, automakers are looking for any way to keep CO2 levels as low as possible.
When was the turbo invented? The first turbo is thought to have been invented by Alfred Büchi in 1905. It was used to overcome the power loss that aeroplanes face due to the low air density at high altitudes. The first turbo used in a car engine was in the Oldsmobile Turbo Jetfire. These cars were unpopular due to their reliability issues. One of the first mainstream manufacturers to use a turbo in their cars was Porsche in the Porsche 911 Turbo. The Turbo had 260HP and was the world’s fastest mass-produced car at the time.
In Formula 1, turbocharging was used from the 1977 season to the 1988 season. By the mid-80s, turbocharged cars dominated till in 1988 they were outlawed. However, for the 2014 season, turbocharging returned, much to the dismay of F1 fans all around the world. Relative to the Naturally Aspirated 2.4L V8s of the 2013 season, the turbocharged 1.6L V6s didn’t sound nearly as good and while they did make similar power figures, the lower redlines and hybrid technology took away from the experience.
Turbochargers are a useful invention and have a multitude of benefits on paper and are going to be a lot more popular in the future with the restrictions on internal combustion engines becoming tighter. The old days of naturally aspirated engines are going to be forever ingrained in car enthusiasts' minds for decades to come. It seems that as electric-powered vehicles start to dominate the market, the end of the internal combustion engine is also on its last legs.
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