Lawrence Coppar

I noticed Acura has turbocharged their SUV. I wish they would do the same for the TL. I also notice that you can get the 3.5 L engine in the 2007 TL as an option. Personally, I would have preferred that they offered the 3.2 L engine and put a turbo or two on it as an option. BMW has now done it - twin turbos on an inline six that puts out big torque from 1400 rpms to nearly the redline with essentially no lag. I suspect installing the 3.5 L in the TL costs less than turbocharging the 3.2. When you get to thinking about the piping, intercooler, wastegate, blow off valve, engineering costs, and software changes, the bigger engine is the less expensive option.

98CoupeV6

Do you have any idea how much it costs to develop a reliable turbocharged engine?

Lawrence Coppar

I'm an engineer but not in the automobile industry so I can't say how much it would cost. I see a lot of cars at the track with turbochargers and superchargers added that run with little problem. Friend of mine has a supercharger blowing 7 psi on his NSX with nothing done other than adding the supercharger and intercooler and chips (plus bigger brakes). BMW has done it and is only asking about $5K more for the car that puts out 300 ft-lbs of torque from 1400 - 5000 rpms. I see lots of Miatas on the track that are either supercharged or turbocharged. How do I know? It's obvious when I cannot run them down on the straights with my Porsche that runs 16 psi boost.

98CoupeV6

Then make it last for 500,000 miles and you have a problem.

simplyredvw

Hell, making it last for 100,000 miles can be hard enough. See if you can find someone with aftermarket forced induction that has put a lot of miles on their motor without any serious issues.

Kai

The two engines cost about the same to produce.

maquereautin

If i might ask, what do your engineer to own a amg, ferrari, tl, and a porche?

i think single turbo systems work better than two. Putting two after-market turbos on a car that wasn't designed for it is next to impossible from what i hear. singles are easier to configure and maintain i believe.

Lawrence Coppar

Retired in 2004 from a chemical company where I spent much of my time writing software for engineering analysis in the areas of heat transfer and diffusion of gases through solids, etc (very similar mathematics). I've done a lot of stress and vibration analysis but mostly stayed in the thermal analysis/diffusion areas where I was very comfortable.

Lawrence Coppar

The BMW has two turbos. Each handles 3 cylinders. They are small so they spool fast. So they are acting like one rather than sequentially. I think the modern Porsche uses twin turbos - one for each half of the engine as the BMW does.

My turbo is a hybrid one that has a larger compressor section but the same turbine section as the stock one giving it higher flow. It does not produce full boost until about 2800 rpm. It's been on the engine for 70K miles, and I have over 100 track events on it. I like the way it drives. Boost is very predictable. It almost gets as much highway fuel mileage as our TL when driven normally.

Papiowhisperer

I was wondering how pressurized Miatas are faster than you.