Educate me please about electric turbochargers.

[bobbywalter]

They do take a lot of room. That was the first question on my mind. The second question is what about the engine itself? I would imagine that it would need plenty of work to handle the increased horse power.

its marginal.

That's what was talked about above. Requires a special battery to power the turbo. $2500 might be for the turbo itself, but the kit with a battery is over 3k (current pricing). If you've got bigger than a 3L, you're going to need two according to their website. Then you have to figure how much weight are you adding between the two turbos, piping, and batteries.

Still left with the questions of what is range on those batteries and what you going to do when it runs out? Doesn't seem very viable for off track or anything that'll leave town.

just set it up for wot... for cruising around likely not to have too many issues

 

[superj]

A friend and her husband ran a rear mount turbo. He ran a t from his oil pressure sensor to the turbo and then just tapped the oil pan for the return line. They said you really fell it around 3k, which is where they needed it for towing

 

[bobbywalter]

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[stmitch]

They do take a lot of room. That was the first question on my mind. The second question is what about the engine itself? I would imagine that it would need plenty of work to handle the increased horse power.

The 3.0 is a fairly stout little engine. The Whipple/Ford Racing superchargers put out 8-10psi and included a Ford warranty, so I'd have no concerns at all running that amount of boost as long as the fuel and tune are adequate. Having a way to cool charge temps on top of that would make me even more comfortable.

I've been in the 3.0 game for a couple of decades now. Boosted 3.0s are not super common, but of all the ones that I've read about I'm only aware of 1 failure involving engine internals. There was a member here named JP02XLT that had a Whipple pushing over 15 psi, and he stretched a rod bolt while spinning like 7k rpm. You might be able to search his old threads and dig up some info. I'd be tempted to attribute that failure more to engine speed than boost level, but who knows...

 

[Lefty]

The 3.0 is a fairly stout little engine. The Whipple/Ford Racing superchargers put out 8-10psi and included a Ford warranty, so I'd have no concerns at all running that amount of boost as long as the fuel and tune are adequate. Having a way to cool charge temps on top of that would make me even more comfortable.

I've been in the 3.0 game for a couple of decades now. Boosted 3.0s are not super common, but of all the ones that I've read about I'm only aware of 1 failure involving engine internals. There was a member here named JP02XLT that had a Whipple pushing over 15 psi, and he stretched a rod bolt while spinning like 7k rpm. You might be able to search his old threads and dig up some info. I'd be tempted to attribute that failure more to engine speed than boost level, but who knows...

I'm inclined to agree. I might as well go out and buy a totally different engine.

 

[superj]

i think you are safe with the 3.0 and boost but you just will have a tougher time finding the components to do the job.


reading what @stmitch said, i kind of want to get a small turbo and put on my truck.

right now, it spins the tires, if you want to, in first, second, and part of third (because i think the truck is so light in the back end) but its not super duper quick light to light. its fun enough, but when is "fun enough" actually enough versus having something that is "really fun enough" and is able to spin the tires in the gears, and be quick light to light.

i know that focus st my son has is "really fun enough" when i have driven it. if the ranger was that level of "fun enough" it would be actually enough

 

[Lefty]

Pardon Our Interruption...

very interesting. i'm going to look into this.

 

[Lefty]

I'm inclined to agree. I might as well go out and buy a totally different engine.

But maybe before I do, I will read up on your suggestion. Any idea what this does to my mileage?

 

[superj]

looks like fun. just need the exhaust mount for the turbo and the down pipe.


i have not seen an aftermarket turbo kit make gas mileage better. factory turbo is made to help improve gas mileage so maybe if you are after that, you can have a tuner tune the truck for mileage but i have not seen aftermarket kits make the gas mileage horrible unless the person was just driving it like a hotrod.

 

[bobbywalter]

will not improve fuel economy. buy spare engines. have fun.

 

[Lefty]

looks like fun. just need the exhaust mount for the turbo and the down pipe.


i have not seen an aftermarket turbo kit make gas mileage better. factory turbo is made to help improve gas mileage so maybe if you are after that, you can have a tuner tune the truck for mileage but i have not seen aftermarket kits make the gas mileage horrible unless the person was just driving it like a hotrod.

Thanks for the tip.

You are right. The 3.0 could be "fun enough." Mine will do 0-60 in a respectable 9 secs, but t won't spin the wide tires, especially not with limited slip, and traction bars.

I've seen a couple Youtubes with shade tree mechanics installing turbos. They were not very pretty, downright ugly, in fact. But thanks to @bobbywalter, there is already a complete kit ready to go.

I've got a buddy, Pat, a classic car collector, a builder, who's got a car lift in his heated and air conditioned garage. Car heaven! It's complete with all the fixings for a muffler shop. Chances are he could look into the mileage concerns, and maybe if not too bad, even do the work.

 

[Lefty]

will not improve fuel economy. buy spare engines. have fun.

You're right! I'm going to investigate that turbo charger too. Do you have one?

 

[superj]

i bet that really, you won't lose mileage since we are both probably conservative drivers 95% of hte time

 

[Lefty]

i bet that really, you won't lose mileage since we are both probably conservative drivers 95% of hte time

You got that right. Jack rabbit starts are fun, but my concern is passing and climbing hills at highway speed. And maybe, just maybe, a turbo might even help with the mileage on the open road.

 

[superj]

thats what my friend said about her having that rear mount turbo. it helped in the areas you are talking about. so if you do a rear mount set up, you won't have to get an exhaust manifold or downpipe and can just plumb the turbo into your exhaust. it will kick in when you start climbing or want to pass so that should help you out