Should I bet on a turbocharged gasoline engine? TSI, T-Jet, EcoBoost

Car manufacturers are increasingly equipping gasoline engines with turbochargers. As a result, they can afford to reduce their displacement without losing productivity. What do the mechanics think?

Until a few years ago, turbochargers were used mainly for diesel engines, from which it was difficult to get the notorious natural fire even at high power. Example? Reliable and extremely comfortable Mercedes W124, a tankette beloved by Polish taxi drivers. For a long time, the car was offered only with naturally aspirated abscesses - a two-liter 75 hp. and a three-liter, offering only 110 hp. power.

- And, despite their poor performance, these machines were the most tenacious. I have clients who ride them to this day. Despite its considerable age and mileage exceeding a million kilometers, we have not yet carried out a major overhaul. The engines are book compression, they do not require repair, says Stanislav Plonka, an auto mechanic from Rzeszow.

See also: Fiat 500 TwinAir – Regiomoto test.

Much more trouble for his customers, owners of cars with turbo engines.

– Often these are units of the same power and almost the same design. Unfortunately, they work at a higher speed and are more loaded. They break down much faster, says the mechanic.

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Turbo is almost standard

Despite this, almost all diesel engines offered today are turbocharged units. Increasingly, the compressor can also be found under the hood of gasoline fans. Such a solution is used, among other things, by Volkswagen, which produces TSI engines, Ford, which offers EcoBoost units, or Fiat, which produces T-Jet engines. The Italians even put a turbocharger on the tiny Twinair twin-cylinder unit. Thanks to this, a less than liter engine develops power up to 85 hp.

– We have EcoBoost engines from 1,0 liters. For example, in a Ford Focus with such a unit, we have 100 or 125 hp. For the 1,6 engine, power increases to 150 or 182 hp. depending on version. Mondeo with EcoBoost engine has power from 203 to 240 hp. The engines are not difficult to maintain, they require the same care as turbodiesels, says Marcin Wroblewski from Ford Res Motors Service in Rzeszow.

Worth reading: Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1,4 turbo – Regiomoto test

How to care for turbocharged petrol engines?

First of all, regularly check the condition of the oil. In addition, it is important to maintain the correct temperature of the turbine. Since this device is powered by exhaust gas energy, it operates at high temperatures and is subjected to very high loads. Therefore, it is necessary to wait a few minutes for the engine to cool down before turning off the turbocharged engine. This is especially important after a long journey.

– If the driver forgets this, he will increase the risk of a malfunction. For example, play in the rotor bearing, leaks and, as a result, oiling of the suction system. The turbine should then be replaced with a new one or regenerated,” explains Anna Stopinska, service consultant for ASO Mercedes and the Subaru Zasada Group in Rzeszow.

More strength and failure

But turbo problems aren't the only problem with supercharged cars. According to Leszek Kwolek, the owner of the website turbo-rzeszow.pl, engines also suffer in new cars.

- All because too much power is squeezed out of a small tank. Therefore, many gasoline engines do not withstand even 100 thousand kilometers. We recently repaired a Volkswagen Golf 1,4 TSI that had a head and turbine failure after 60 miles,” says the mechanic.

See also: Regiomoto test – Ford Focus EcoBoost

In his opinion, the problem affects all new turbocharged gasoline engines.

– The smaller the capacitance and the greater the power, the greater the risk of failure. These blocks are stuffed with electronics, all components work as a system of communicating vessels. As long as everything is in order, there are no problems. When someone refuses to obey, it causes an avalanche of problems, says Kwolek.

The cause of the problems, among other things, is the high temperature of the exhaust gases, which, for example, in the event of a failure of the lambda probe, can rise very quickly and dangerously. Then there will be too much air in the car, but not enough fuel. “I know cases where the high temperature of the exhaust gases caused the pistons to burn out in this situation,” adds Kwolek.

Problems with injectors, mass flywheel and DPF filter. Is it profitable to buy a modern diesel?

Biturbo engines also get bad reviews.

– In this case, more and more often one of the compressors is supported electronically. This solution is straight out of the rally and eliminates the turbo lag phenomenon. But at the same time, this increases the risk of a defect, the repair of which is expensive, - says L. Kwolek.

How much does the repair cost?

Complete turbine regeneration in a professional workshop can be done for only PLN 600-700 net.

-  Our repair costs include cleaning, decommissioning, replacement of o-rings, seals, plain bearings and dynamic balancing of the entire system. If it is necessary to replace the shaft and compression wheel, the price increases to about PLN 900 net, says Leszek Kwolek.

Test Regiomoto – Opel Astra 1,4 Turbo

Replacing a turbine with a new one is much more expensive. For example, for a Ford Focus, a new part costs about 5 PLN. zł, and restored about 3 thousand. zloty. Up to the 105th generation of Skoda Octavia with a 1,9 TDI engine with 7 hp. a new turbo costs 4 zł. zloty. By handing over your compressor, we reduce the price to PLN 2,5. zloty. Regeneration through ASO XNUMXth. zloty. However, repairing or replacing a turbine is not enough. Most often, the cause of the defect is other failures in other systems operating under the hood. therefore eliminate them before reinstalling the turbine and starting the engine. Lack of proper lubrication is a guarantee that the turbine will crumble immediately after start-up.

Turbo in the car. Typical malfunctions, repair costs and operating rules

In such a situation, is it worth betting on a turbocharged car? In our opinion, yes, after all. Driving pleasure compensates for the possible troubles that naturally aspirated cars are not free from. They break too.

Examples of ads for the sale of cars with turbo gasoline engines and not only:

Skoda - used TSI and naturally aspirated cars

Volkswagen – used cars – ads on Regiomoto.pl

Ford petrol, turbocharged and naturally aspirated used ads for sale