Rumors about T/Cing and Economy

Kdawg532 · May 15, 2008

ok if i T/c'd (Turbo charged) my 3.0 i have heard it will give you better economy IF you stay out of the turbo(which will be hard ;missingteeth;

), is that true??? cause i got the equiptment to put a universal turbo on it.. just would like some opinions before i buy

Dave · May 15, 2008

If you stay "out" of the turbo, what's the sense in installing it? Staying "out" of it will give you essentially a stock naturally aspirated engine.

Dave

2004ranger · May 15, 2008

well i know what you mean by staying out of it. I have heard that also personally im not sure but i don't see why it wouldn't make your gas mileage better. turbo charging makes your engine more efficient and it also has to work less to get the same amount of horsepower. so if you don't floor it everywhere it should increase your gas mileage in theory.

Will · May 15, 2008

On the EPA site I compared 2 identical cars--1987 Volvo 740 wagons; one turbo, one naturally aspirated. The turbo was 18/23 and the NA was 19/26

I don't think it makes a gas motor more efficient. It lets it burn more fuel. If it made it more efficient, it would be on more cars. I think the only thing that has it now is that direct injected Mazda 6--and that thing is a gas pig for its size--17/23 mpg.

inferno94 · May 15, 2008

There is tons of discussions about this but my experience owning a turbo car is that I get better mpg's in town especially and on the highway its awesome too. My example is my 1.8 turbo mazda 323 32mpg city 42mpg hwy at about 230whp. The car can drive at 50kph in 5th if I wanted to.

The reason that turbo charging CAN (note I didn't say will) is that a turbo recovers heat energy from your exh to spin the turbine and help air into the engine reducing pumping losses. When you are someone who regularly uses most or all of a naturally aspirated engines power for most driving (you like driving fast) you could benefit from the turbo's off boost characteristics. It also lowers the point an engine starts producing torque, hence why my 1.8 dohc motor produces max tq (~215ft/lb) at 3200rpm.

If your interested look into kei cars they are 660cc turbo cars in japan that are ultra fuel efficient they are built this way because you need turbo power to accelerate them but only a little power (660cc's worth) to maintain cruising speeds.

That said don't expect any mpg gain from turboing a truck you will be heavier on the throttle but will notice a large torque increase and likely a substantial hp increase (assuming correct turbo size selection).

Will · May 15, 2008

I don't know. There must be more to it because the EPA shows a worse loss at highway speed than in town accelerating. I think in town you accelerate faster and use more fuel, and on the highway it becomes a restriction. The throttle plate probably has something to do with it, because a diesel sees a healthy gain no matter what. I'll bet with a gas motor since the amount of air going through matters, the throttle plate is pushing back against the incoming air and the pumping losses aren't reduced very much--if at all.

Diesels and turbos are like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder sharing a piano.

Kdawg532 · Jun 4, 2008

yeah, the best way to find out is to do it, so i might just do it for the heck of it, the 3.0 could always use a little boost

exbass94 · Jun 4, 2008

I think when people who say you get good mileage with turbos, they mean you get "good" (ie stock) mileage when you stay out of the gas pedal. The mileage then goes down from there when you get throttle-happy.

Psychopete · Jun 4, 2008

More air needs more gas to maintain the right air fuel ratio. Too lean, you're "F"ed.

Pete

Wicked_Sludge · Jun 4, 2008

exbass94 said:
I think when people who say you get good mileage with turbos, they mean you get "good" (ie stock) mileage when you stay out of the gas pedal. The mileage then goes down from there when you get throttle-happy.

exactly. if you turbo'd your truck....you could get nearly the same mileage as your getting now if you stayed out of the boost.

Big Jim M · Jun 5, 2008

Even when NOT using the boost the engine is getting a bit LESS milage after the turbo is installed.
Since the turbo is run by the exhaust flow, the engine uses MORE fuel just to push the exhaust past the turbo fan.
The smaller 1.8 and such engines NEED a turbo just to get moving. But, rest assured, even them little guys must push the exhaust past the turbo fan just the same as any other turbo charged engine. However WITH a turbo it is possible to use such a small engine in a vehicle...without the turbo a larger, heaver engine would be needed.
Big JIm

Kdawg532 · Jun 5, 2008

yeah i would just love to have a twin turbo ranger tho, i was thinking about getting one of those turbos that connect right behind the cat instead of off the header my friend has one(on a stang) it was an easy install just required alot of fabrication and it gives off a good bit of power sure there is boost lag cause of the distance the air has to travel but it was cheaper than buying an actual kit, i really want to put one on its just i dont have the time to do it, if i did do it and ran the turbo(s) at lets say about 7 or 8 psi what would be the correct size of fuel injector to get i know that even a little 19 pounder would be way to small

93worktruck · Jun 6, 2008

you know this might sound like a stupid question but will the ranger ecm support a turbo. I know for one that the MAF sensor isnt the recommended way to go , perferably a map sensor system but then you need to be able to have the ecm read pressure in the intake instead of just vacuum. Your going to need at least a 2 bar map sensor. What Im getting at is make sure that the electronics will support what you want to do or else your spending a couple of grand for an aftermarket ecm and harness.

As far as better fuel mileage, I doubt it, I have a twin setup on my s10 sbc, when I switched from N/a I had to get larger injectors (26lb to 55lb) and she really sucks it down under boost now. Stay out of the pedal and not so bad, but whats the point of the turbos if you dont use them.

And I hope you have some cash set aside cause putting a turbo isnt as easy and cheap as your thinking. I used the cheap twin kit $1000 then the intercooler, piping , silicones, oil system, custom headers, fuel pump, injectors, ecm , wiring harness and little incidentals and your talking easy $4000 +. For much less than that you could swap in a n/a SBF and be above the 3.0 trubo hp. Believe me I thought about a turbo but doesnt seem cost effective. Any gas money your saving is going right in to the turbo system.

Wicked_Sludge · Jun 10, 2008

his truck is an '07...meaning OBD II, which can be flashed to do just about anything you want it to do. and MAF is prefered over speed density in most cases.

a different MAF and injectors are a given when boosting, but thats not a huge deal (not compaired to the amount of work that will go into the rest of the system).

the good thing about turboing a smaller engine is that you can drive it on a daily basis and get almost the stock mileage. yeah, he could swap in a good n/a v-8 build and get just as much power, but he'd also get half the fuel economy no matter how nicely he treated the skinny pedal.

Kdawg532 · Jun 15, 2008

i dont think i would run a twin turbo at first as i think i MAY have said earlier cause as you said its quit expensive, my neighbor down the road has a chip flasher thing so he would dyno it and flash the compy to make everything run right. so i am trying to find just one universal turbo with nothing with it under 1000 dollars if its to hard to fab i will just go the Paxton or Vortech route which ever one is cheaper

Rumors about T/Cing and Economy

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