How to Maintain Turbo Engine | How To Maintain Turbo Car

Its an era of turbo engines and actually turbo engines in a car let us feel good when we drive in city and specially on highways. But we have to keep in mind that the turbo charger needs extra care and extra maintenance too. So realizing this thing in mind we should keep learning how to maintain turbo engine and how to maintain turbo car. Here are some tips to follow about the maintenance of Turbo engines.

What Maintenance Do Turbo Engines Need?

First we need to know what is Turbo and how does it work. Turbo come from the word Turbine and when it is set up with the engine it is known as the Turbocharger or Turbocharged engine. This system of Turbo gives very good pickup in cars and these are high torque producing. Exhaust gases which are sent out in the environment are being reused and supplied again to the engine so that the burning of fuel becomes more efficient and ultimately the output is in the form of more power. This is being done by the use of a Turbo which compress the gases and sent directly to the burning chamber of the engine.

The turbocharged engines give high torque but at the same time they need more maintenance. like follows

• A small engine which is turbocharged giving more power as compared to a bigger engine. A 1L turbo engine can produce more power than a 1.5L NA engine. So a small engine basically producing more power than its actual capacity. For example a 1L turbo petrol engine in Skoda Kushaq produces 114BHP power and 178NM torque but at the same time 1.5L NA engine in Maruti Brezza car produces 101BHP power and 137NM torque.
• In this process the engine lives in high stressed condition. It works more than usual and thus need extra care.
• More careful driving is suggested if you are driving a turbocharged car.
• Long highway driving or continuously driving on the highway cause the turbo to get hot.
• So after every 150-200km running it should get proper rest so that the turbo gets cool down.
• Never switch off the engine of the car suddenly. Take a proper time when we stop driving the car and keep the engine ignition on at idle condition for 1 minute. The turbo needs more time to cool down.

• Also give a proper warm up time to the engine before get to the drive. It is also suggested for an NA engine but it is more important for a Turbocharged engine. It should compulsorily be given warm up time so that the engine oil should get circulated properly. The engine oil again need more time to reach to the turbo of the car.
• Turbo generates heats because the turbo blades run at higher RPM like between 100,000 to 200,000 RPM and due to which the turbo becomes so hot at high temperature. For reference the car’s engine produces highest power on 6000 and 7000 rpm or even less than that.
• The temperature of the turbo can go up to 200° C and it becomes red hot sometimes. So it needs proper rest and breaks while driving.

Also Read: How to Maintain Car Engine

• Cleaning the fuel injectors regularly in a turbo engine car, carbon residue gets accumulated in the fuel injectors so for a better burning of the fuel the injectors should be cleaned properly.
• Get the service done even before the time schedule suggested by the company. Because there are more components working in a turbocharged engine and this engine is working more than its actual capacity. So in long term it is needed that all its components work properly. So timely servicing should be done.
• Choosing the right engine oil for turbo is very essential. Due to more components like Turbo also need engine oil to cool down and get proper lubrication quality of engine oil is becomes vital. Because the turbo generates more heat so it is required to get the right engine oil. Use fully synthetic oil always for a turbocharged engine.
• Try to get a High Octane fuel to be filled in the turbo car. Cleaner fuel will reduce the chances of turbo getting clogged.

How To Properly Maintain A Turbo Engine

For properly maintain a turbocharged car follow the steps in day to day life

• Give more warm up time to the turbo engine for getting ready for driving. Engine cold start and air circulates properly. When the air goes out then the turbo starts working. So this process take little time. Also let the engine get proper lubrication from the engine oil it also takes time when we start the engine of a car, the oil gets circulated properly all over the components of the engine. So warm up time should be given to the engine and driving after that is good for the turbo health.
• Early oil replacement even before the company prescribed. You should change the engine oil regularly. Never drive more than the company suggested come what may.
• Maintain proper gear shifting while driving.
• Never do Engine Lugging– means running a car on higher gears at low speed.
• Take a rest during a long drive, give break to the cars engine after 150-200 kms because the turbo engine gets warm early than a bigger engine. The chances of turbo getting wear early is more. Do not run your car directly on the highways for a long time continuously. Take proper rest every time.

• Also do not suddenly switch off the turbo engine after a long drive, keep the engine at idle condition, this will help the engine oil get circulated properly and let it cool down. If sudden switch off the engine then the engine oil will stop circulating in its parts and will not cool down properly. So never turn off the engine suddenly after a long drive in a turbo car leave the car at idle for 1 minute or so. The Turbo contains exhaust gases trapped in side.
• Air filter of the turbo gets chocked earlier so it should be cleaned regularly. Get it changed if it is more clogged because the turbo needs to supply air to the engine and which air should also be clean. So air filter must not be chocked.
• Focus on getting a good fuel only for turbocharged engines. The cleaner fuel contains no residue of the filtration.
• Get the fuel injectors cleaned after every 30000km running during the service of car.

What is the main disadvantage of a turbocharged engine?

• Turbo lag is there in these cars. It hit after a certain RPM so during the low RPM there is performance lag.
• High maintenance.
• Extra care and sometimes extra expenses if turbo gets damaged.
• Turbo weak blades gets down if running on highways.
• Performance goes down if service is not done properly on time.
• Less life as compared to NA engines. Your car can get damaged due to some bad practices as early as 5 years.
• Service intervals should be less as compared to the NA engine cars.