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The History of Turbocharged Performance


IN THE BEGINNING, GOD SAID, "LET THERE BE TURBOCHARGING!"
Datsun 280ZX Turbo This begins with turbocharged vehicles in the 80's. For their time they weren't very "underdog" at all. In the mid-80's you could buy a 4-cyllinder turbocharged, intercooled Chrysler/Dodge car with more horsepower and torque than Camaro or Mustang, and with better gas mileage to boot. Early ventures into turbocharging had always been limited in that they were based on simple carbeurated systems. Electronic fuel injection, computer controlled timing, and intercooling techniques changed all that. These technologies allowed the turbocharger to deliver higher boost for longer durations, and with less risk to the engine. To compliment this, engine components were designed specifically for turbocharged applications--stronger rods, crank, and valvetrain, lower compression, dished pistons, etc. Turbo engines of the 80's were typically more stout than their equivalent naturally-aspirated brethren.

Despite this, the naturally-aspirated V8 cars saw more popularity for performance. The turbocar would not see it's full potential for at least another decade. In the 80's, the downside to turbocharged performance was twofold. First off, the 80's years didn't offer much aftermarket support for turbocharged 4-cyllinder performance. There was still a very big V8 aftermarket presence, and the so-called "import" craze would not hit US lands until the mid 90's. Car manufacturers offered some options, but these were limited, expensive, and such options were not widely marketed to the public. The end result was that the best upgrades were custom, and very expensive.

The second issue with turbocharged cars in the 80's revolved around maintenance. Turbocars had turbochargers, which needed to be cooled, lubricated, and were exposed to extreme amounts of heat. The turbo itself was an expensive part to replace should it go bad. Often they did fail prematurely, because of clogged oil lines, or because the driver was hard on the vehicle and would shut it down immediately after spirited driving. Engines also failed (despite attempts to strengthen them) because manufacturers were still learning the ropes, and did not design components strong enough for prolonged use under boost conditions. Head gaskets would fail. Rings would lose compression. Rod and main bearings would fail. Valves would bend or break.

Between exploration of the new technologies and owner ignorance, turbocars of the 80's received a bad reputation. By 1994, Chrysler no longer produced turbocharged passenger vehicles. A decade where the turbo had been equipped on anything from a sporty car to a four door family car, to a minivan gave way to naturally-aspirated vehicles with higher compression and less required maintenance and care. The consumer did not have to worry about how to properly drive and maintain this kind of car; it was no different than the usual maintainance required in the old days of V8's and straight 6's. Fill it with gas. Go. Change the oil every now and then. No hassle with "spooling down". No worries about failing turbochargers. And to top it all, these new naturally-aspirated 4-cyllinder cars had cleaner emmissions, ran smoother, and yet still produced satisfactory power. The turbocharger was all but forgotten.

1996 Integra GSR with Erebuni bodykit With all these little four-bangers out there, a new industry was born. This was the so-called "import" craze. Aftermarket vendors found simple and cost effective ways to increase output on these vehicles. The aftermarket soon outgrew natural aspiration, and turbocharging was again called upon to deliver more power through smaller engines. New technologies and better awareness saw excellent opportunities for major performance that bullied the old-school ideas. "No replacement for displacement" became a fallacy, as turbocharged 4 and 6-cyllinder cars put out much more power than ever before. Most of these were from turbo "kits' and conversions, where a turbo system was adapted or designed to be installed on a car that originally came naturally-aspirated from the factory.

However, a few turbocharged vehicles were still produced from the US market, straight from the factory. Eclipse/Talon/Laser, Supra, Cellica, MR2, 300ZX, RX-7 to name a few. These became the true kings of speed and power. Already tuned from the factory for turbocharged induction, modifying these cars was much easier. Even today, some of the fastest cars in the world are based on these platforms. These were japanese vehicles, borrowing ideas from early american and japanese attempts to turbocharge, improving them, and marketing the results. They were expensive, however, and so the naturally-aspirated 4-cyllinder performance craze continued, riding the wave of Honda and it's superbly-built naturally-aspirated engines.

2002 Subaru WRX As Federal emmissions standards increased, the japanese auto manufacturers felt that the turbocar was too expensive to design and produce, and many of the turbocharged warriors of the 90's are gone today. In their wake, aided by the ongoing popularity of all "sport compacts", a new generation of racing was born around 4 and 6 cyllinder platforms. Even the domestic manufacturers are in on this. In addition to a continued demand for bolt-on performance for naturally-aspirated, small-displacement engines, aftermarket turbo kits became even more popular in the absence of new turbocharged vehicles. As a result, despite a lack of new turbocharged offerings in the dealerships, awareness of the potential of turbocharging reached an all-time high. Newer, more advanced computer controls hacked into stock autombile engine computers to tweak and tinker. Better timing techniques. More efficitent intercoolers. More knowledge across the board. Performance statistics that rivaled--and even surpassed--large-displacement performance vehicles. Because of this, the turbo has seen a recent revival in the auto manufacturers, with some new offerings available on the showroom floor, such as Subaru's Impreza WRX and the soon-to-be-released Dodge Neon SRT-4.

The turbocharged warriors of the 90's are also still quite active. Club DSM supports a major enthusiast and vendor market for Mistubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, and Plymouth Lasers, built from 1990-99. Toyota Supras, espeially the Mark IV (last issue) vehicles, are also very popular and see a large aftermarket support. RX-7 turbo, MR2, and recently many older early 90's and even some 80's turbocars are seeing attention, however these are mostly japanese cars. Domestic 80's turbocars still do not see the same level of support that japanese vehicles do.



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