Turbo engines are a cost effective way to get extra power to a small engine, but they hold a high risk of damaging your engine at the end of its life cycle. Here’s a great video on how to make your turbo engine last.
Until quite recently, turbochargers were reserved for cars of the “fast and furious” variety. These days, turbo engines are common across the board, especially in diesel vehicles, and are becoming a popular way for car manufacturers to give more ‘oomph’ to a smaller engine size.
In a nutshell: a turbocharger is a small compressor that uses exhaust gases from the engine to force feed extra air into the engine and improve combustion. In other words, they make smaller engines faster and improve fuel consumption because they make use of every millilitre of fuel possible. Turbochargers are used in diesel as well as petrol engines.
This video, posted by YouTube Channel Engineering Explained, gives you a detailed explanation of how turbo engines work and how best to care for them. The clip focuses primarily on the dangers of overexerting your turbo engine.
Why stress or overexertion is bad for turbo engines
One of the worst things you can do to a turbo engine is to try and accelerate in the wrong gear – specifically high gears. For example: if you are cruising at 80km/h in fifth gear (depending on your vehicle), you should gear down in order to speed up and overtake. If you simply floor the engine in this gear, you are placing a lot of stress on the engine by asking it to do something it’s not designed to do at high gears. If you trying to accelerate in a too-high gear, you are lugging the engine.
According to the Engineering Explained clip, lugging will systematically damage, and eventually destroy, your turbo engine.
What happens when you lug or stress a turbo engine
Every time a driver lugs or stresses a turbo engine by accelerating in too-high gears, a number of events happen under the hood. In the Engineering Explained video, you’ll see reference to:
- If an engine is overworked, it overheats
- This increases the temperature inside the cylinders
- This, in turn, can lead to irregular engine timing and uneven combustion
- The irregularity causes damage to the pistons and cylinder walls
Once this damage has occurred, there is no way to stop your turbo engine from deteriorating even further. Even if the damage isn’t too bad, it will still cause oil droplets and deposits (from the cylinder walls) to get into other parts of the engine. If the vehicle is consistently driven by someone who lugs the engine, the above factors will eventually lead to complete turbo and engine failure. All because drivers try to accelerate quickly by simply ‘flooring it’ instead of gearing down to gain more engine power.
Check your engine oil
One of the most important rules with any vehicle, is follow the manufacturer's instructions when it comes to maintenance and service. With turbo engines, this is especially important when checking or changing your engine oil. Manufacturers will indicate which oil is best suited to their engine – using the wrong oil can cause serious damage over time.
They might all seem to be the same thing, but engine oils are all made to work at different temperatures and under different conditions. To properly take care of your turbo engine, you need to make sure it gets the right oil to suit its operating needs. When oil gets old, it loses some of those heat-sensitive properties and can no longer protect the engine as well as it should, which is why it’s so important to replace engine oil regularly and make sure you’re putting in the right type of oil.
Warming up and cooling off a turbo engine
Until recently, it was common practice to allow turbo engines to warm up for a few minutes before driving, and to also let it cool off by letting the vehicle idle for a few minutes before shutting it off. Most modern turbo engines no longer require ‘warm ups’ and ‘cool offs’, but make sure to check the handbook, or even ask the manufacturer directly.
Some turbo engines, especially those used in large trucks or heavy vehicles, may still require a short time to warm up or cool off to reduce the risk of engine damage. Make 100% sure how your vehicle needs to be handled before you drive it, otherwise you can do serious damage to the turbo without even realising it.
Maintain your engine cooling system
As the Engineering Explained video shows, turbo engines (especially diesel) are extremely heat sensitive. Diesel engines are compression engines, which means they generate a lot of heat. This means they require robust engine cooling systems to prevent the turbo engine from overheating.
If you want to look after your turbo engine, you need to take very good care of your cooling system. Once again, follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to maintain, and when to service, the cooling system on your specific vehicle.
So why are turbo engines so popular?
Despite everything mentioned above, turbo engines are by no means fragile – they simply need to be driven and cared for in a certain way. Turbo engines have revolutionised the world of transport, especially fleet transport, because they are extremely efficient and deliver great fuel consumption. And if you care for them the right way, they won’t give you any more hassles than a non-turbo engine.
In the end, it all comes down to driving skill and basic engine knowledge. Drivers who understand how turbo engines work will take better care of them and, in the end, be more efficient and valuable drivers to any company. So, if you regularly find yourself behind the wheel of a turbo, this clip is worth a watch. In addition, grab the vehicle manual, and read up on the manufacturer instruction for oil changes and cooling system maintenance. You can only be a brilliant driver if you truly understand your vehicle.
