Quote:
Originally Posted by pwrdbym
I'm growing tired of the better efficiency claim of turbo engines. Real world numbers are not showing this to be the case. The NA I-6 from BMW gets over 30MPG highway in many models, no worse than Audi's 2.0T. Ford's SHO with V8 power and V6 efficicnecy is getting 16-17mpg in long term tests. All the while the turbo engines are produced at a higher initial cost and a higher replacement costs to the owner. Plus BMW hasn't proved that they can reliably build a turbo yet. I think turbos are being forced into the market with the hybrids and other "green" models. I'm all for more efficient and powerful engines but I'd like the numbers to actually reflect the claims.
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"Real world" numbers can and do show that smaller displacement turbocharged engines are capable of better fuel mileage even though HP/TQ numbers may be similar and or greater for the turbocharged engines. I'll give you an example using my car ('08 128i automatic) compared to a family members '07 VW GTI 2.0T automatic. My car makes 230 HP and 200 lb-ft. The GTI makes 260 HP and 303 lb-ft (aftermarket ECU tune being the only modification to the car). The weight of both cars are not too far off from each other. On my daily commute (70 miles roundtrip, about 50/50 mix of highway and suburban backroads) I average about 22-23 mpg at best in my car. Swapping the GTI for the same commute as I often do, I average 25-26 mpg. That's with a number of "spirited" acceleration runs both on local roads and the highway for both cars. RWD vs. FWD dynamics aside, the GTI will walk all over my 128i with the HP and TQ that the GTI is putting out, all the while averaging about 2-3 mpg better fuel economy. It's no coincidence that I chose to mention VW's 2.0T in this post because, with only an aftermarket ECU tune, it makes about 5 HP more than the NA I-6 in the base Z4 and yet it also has about 80 lb-ft more TQ, all while achieving noticeably better fuel economy.
There's a reason I'm driving a BMW and not a VW or Audi. However, and as much as I am addicted to BMW's I-6 engines, my car would be oh so sweet with VW's 2.0T under the hood and an aftermarket ECU tune!!