I wonder how the turbo will affect MPGs (when driven conservatively)? Could a turbo help it get over 90 MPG on the freeway?
There again for those MPG numbers, you have to be a very good HYPERMILER. 6 months after I get my ELIO, I'll let you know,
I've contemplated turbos for fuel before. I know truckers use them but for cars the general consensus is that it reduced mpg. My understanding, I could be wrong, is that adding them to an engine reduces mpg but putting in a smaller engine and adding a turbo to equal the first engine could be better mpg. It's all so complicated. So if you need 100hp it might be better to use too small and engine and a turbo. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. I drove a turbo 4-cly Camaro not too long ago and it was really nice. I'd have bought it but the Camaro is too big for my tastes.
Agreed, from what I read theoretically a turbo on same sized motor can save on fuel consumption, but it seems to rarely be the case. But using a smaller motor and turbo to achieve the same level of power or more, that does work. The reason I want a turbo on my Elio is I have owned cars that are sporty in handling but in the 10s range for 0-60. The last was my 2012 Hyundai Veloster. Fun enough to drive, but would be really exciting with a bump in power. I think the Elio will be the same. Fun to drive but would be a blast with more power. Getting 0-60 into the 7s range should be easily achievable with a pretty low boost turbo and that puts you near other sporty modern cars. While not necessarily to increase miles per gallon it would increase the smiles per gallon XD
Turbos on small engines end up being the best way to get great fuel mileage. Since it's getting to be older off the shelf components, it's why all of the manufacturers are doing it. Cheap and easy for them to do. One other thing is because of electronics. Today they can control so many things and at such a faster rate, that companies can tune the engine for what they need. So in the end, a 1400 cc turbo, direct injection, dual variable cam timing with variable lift is not a big deal like it was just 5 years ago. Then they can use that same base engine for more than one vehicle. VW uses the E888 engine and it's the same size externally but they just do bore changes along with extra items (different size turbo's, variable valve lift, dual injection) to fit the same engine in many different products. One thing I do like about the E888 engine is that it has no exhaust manifold as the turbo is bolted directly to the head (makes for a small package). So, the exhaust part of the head is liquid cooled, the the car gets heat in the winter in about a minute. There's another great thing with all of these smaller turbo motors that everyone is making today. Just plug in a $300 box and you get an extra 30-50hp. In my mind, that's a great value.
This is very true. I spent around $1,500 for a new header, midpipe, muffler, and ECU tune to get an honest extra 20 HP out of my Miata (non-turbo). ECU tune alone on a turbo vehicle with get you 2X or more without sounding like a race car, LOL.
I did the turbo mod on my Insight for less than $1,000.00 in parts. Don't regret it at all. Still using std ECU. 6# of boost. I've got a spare turbo......................just waiting for the ELIO.
I think my box is better. I bought it used for $150. Took 10 minutes to install. I took it to a chassis dyno and it makes 42hp more at the wheels. If I don't like that extra power, I can take it off in 10 minutes. If I wanted, I could buy the brand new version and get 70hp minimum.
Tuning box. They make them for lots of cars. If you have a German car, then you are in much more luck because there are about a half a dozen brands.
