Turbo or NA, which do you prefer and why?
Poll: Turbo or NA, which do you prefer and why?
Total Members Polled: 487
Discussion
Guvernator said:
I'd have to go for a third option which is I like both but with a caveat.
N\A as long as it's charismatic, sounds good and delivers good power for it's size.
Turbo as long as it's charismatic, sounds good, is tunable and likes to rev.
What I can't stand are modern turbo engines and their uncharismatic diesel like power delivery, just so boring.
Very much this.N\A as long as it's charismatic, sounds good and delivers good power for it's size.
Turbo as long as it's charismatic, sounds good, is tunable and likes to rev.
What I can't stand are modern turbo engines and their uncharismatic diesel like power delivery, just so boring.
I went from turbo-charged (Starion) to Type R (Integra) to turbo-charged again (Starion), to Type R (Accord) again. Each time I'd had one for a while I'd miss the characteristics of the other. Both entirely different driving experiences but both hugely entertaining.
But as Guv says, a turbocharged car has got to have character. All the things I personally love about turbocharged engines, manufacturers seem to have spent the last 15 years engineering out of them- turbo lag, on/off power delivery, noise etc. These are the things that I love about a turbocharged car, so for me it's 80's / 90's turbocharged engines only for me.
Oh and ideally the car should have clearly displayed "TURBO" badges, or written proudly down the sides- the more the better
Squirrelofwoe said:
Very much this.
I went from turbo-charged (Starion) to Type R (Integra) to turbo-charged again (Starion), to Type R (Accord) again. Each time I'd had one for a while I'd miss the characteristics of the other. Both entirely different driving experiences but both hugely entertaining.
But as Guv says, a turbocharged car has got to have character. All the things I personally love about turbocharged engines, manufacturers seem to have spent the last 15 years engineering out of them- turbo lag, on/off power delivery, noise etc. These are the things that I love about a turbocharged car, so for me it's 80's / 90's turbocharged engines only for me.
Oh and ideally the car should have clearly displayed "TURBO" badges, or written proudly down the sides- the more the better
I call it turbo-shyness. It's almost like they are embarrassed about having to downsize to smaller turbo engines and are saying "sorry, we've tried our best to not make it NOT drive like a turbo". I went from turbo-charged (Starion) to Type R (Integra) to turbo-charged again (Starion), to Type R (Accord) again. Each time I'd had one for a while I'd miss the characteristics of the other. Both entirely different driving experiences but both hugely entertaining.
But as Guv says, a turbocharged car has got to have character. All the things I personally love about turbocharged engines, manufacturers seem to have spent the last 15 years engineering out of them- turbo lag, on/off power delivery, noise etc. These are the things that I love about a turbocharged car, so for me it's 80's / 90's turbocharged engines only for me.
Oh and ideally the car should have clearly displayed "TURBO" badges, or written proudly down the sides- the more the better
To be fair though, eliminating lag was a holly grail chased by many tuners and enthusiasts but it seems now they've managed to do it or got reasonably close at least, we old skoolers don't like it. The problem is they've reduced lag but also got rid of the character, throwing out the baby with the bathwater so to speak.
My ideal turbo engine would be a mix of old and new. Decent early spool up\low down response but with the ability to carry that power through to a high redline. Unfortunately you need to get into real exotica\supercar territory before you get that kind of engine.
Guvernator said:
Squirrelofwoe said:
Very much this.
I went from turbo-charged (Starion) to Type R (Integra) to turbo-charged again (Starion), to Type R (Accord) again. Each time I'd had one for a while I'd miss the characteristics of the other. Both entirely different driving experiences but both hugely entertaining.
But as Guv says, a turbocharged car has got to have character. All the things I personally love about turbocharged engines, manufacturers seem to have spent the last 15 years engineering out of them- turbo lag, on/off power delivery, noise etc. These are the things that I love about a turbocharged car, so for me it's 80's / 90's turbocharged engines only for me.
Oh and ideally the car should have clearly displayed "TURBO" badges, or written proudly down the sides- the more the better
I call it turbo-shyness. It's almost like they are embarrassed about having to downsize to smaller turbo engines and are saying "sorry, we've tried our best to not make it NOT drive like a turbo". I went from turbo-charged (Starion) to Type R (Integra) to turbo-charged again (Starion), to Type R (Accord) again. Each time I'd had one for a while I'd miss the characteristics of the other. Both entirely different driving experiences but both hugely entertaining.
But as Guv says, a turbocharged car has got to have character. All the things I personally love about turbocharged engines, manufacturers seem to have spent the last 15 years engineering out of them- turbo lag, on/off power delivery, noise etc. These are the things that I love about a turbocharged car, so for me it's 80's / 90's turbocharged engines only for me.
Oh and ideally the car should have clearly displayed "TURBO" badges, or written proudly down the sides- the more the better
To be fair though, eliminating lag was a holly grail chased by many tuners and enthusiasts but it seems now they've managed to do it or got reasonably close at least, we old skoolers don't like it. The problem is they've reduced lag but also got rid of the character, throwing out the baby with the bathwater so to speak.
I guess for me the experience of driving a car has always had a higher priority than outright performance so I've never had any interest in removing turbo lag. I absolutely loved the 'wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, woossssshhhhhh!' of the Starion's turbo engine. It meant you had to work a bit to get the performance out of it rather than just plant foot and go, and it sounded awesome doing it. Probably the same reason why I love the Type R n/a engines too. You can have a heck of a lot of fun without necessarily going that fast.
Next on the list for me though is either a TVR Chim or a Monaro VXR so it will be good to experience the other side of the n/a coin.
Guvernator said:
My ideal turbo engine would be a mix of old and new. Decent early spool up\low down response but with the ability to carry that power through to a high redline. Unfortunately you need to get into real exotica\supercar territory before you get that kind of engine.
Or a car with a supercharger? 
I was lucky enough to drive a supercharged Exige a while back and that was what can only be described as 'frantic' in terms of power delivery!
4 Litre Twin Turbo. Best of both worlds. 
Had lots of fast turbo cars and fast NA cars. E63 AMG RS6 911 turbo x2 911 Targa 1.8VHPD Caterhams M5 (5 litre na) scooby 2lt turbo saab 9-5 Hot areo (2.3 turbo)
Must say that I do love a good turbo the thump is addictive and there is no delay in the thump if there are 2x turbos. The rs6 punches way quicker then the E63 AMG for instance.
different cars drive differently for sure but for grunt and delivery I love the newer twin turbos.
Had lots of fast turbo cars and fast NA cars. E63 AMG RS6 911 turbo x2 911 Targa 1.8VHPD Caterhams M5 (5 litre na) scooby 2lt turbo saab 9-5 Hot areo (2.3 turbo)
Must say that I do love a good turbo the thump is addictive and there is no delay in the thump if there are 2x turbos. The rs6 punches way quicker then the E63 AMG for instance.
different cars drive differently for sure but for grunt and delivery I love the newer twin turbos.
Edited by superlightr on Friday 29th April 12:54
Edited by superlightr on Friday 29th April 12:58
s m said:
TheAngryDog said:
Thread revival 
I'm doing 205 miles later in my M5 to Torquay. Would I want to do the same in a 2.0 turbo?
For me, it would depend on the car - if I was just motorway cruising would it make much difference to me , probably notI'm doing 205 miles later in my M5 to Torquay. Would I want to do the same in a 2.0 turbo?
TheAngryDog said:
s m said:
TheAngryDog said:
Thread revival
I'm doing 205 miles later in my M5 to Torquay. Would I want to do the same in a 2.0 turbo?
For me, it would depend on the car - if I was just motorway cruising would it make much difference to me , probably notI'm doing 205 miles later in my M5 to Torquay. Would I want to do the same in a 2.0 turbo?
te on fuel (bar my first car).Not a huge fan of turbos as I like to know what power I'm getting when I flex my foot - with an NA it's very predictable - with turbos - particularly with older cars or larger aftermarket kits, it can vary massively.
I have a few supercharged cars and they generally don't have a downside but equally neither does a good NA whether it's a screamer or a big V8 in the appropriate car.
I have a few supercharged cars and they generally don't have a downside but equally neither does a good NA whether it's a screamer or a big V8 in the appropriate car.
Squirrelofwoe said:
Next on the list for me though is either a TVR Chim or a Monaro VXR so it will be good to experience the other side of the n/a coin.
Or a car with a supercharger?
I was lucky enough to drive a supercharged Exige a while back and that was what can only be described as 'frantic' in terms of power delivery!
You should try a Monaro/VXR8 with a supercharger or twin turbos. Now that IS the best of both worlds. 800hp with rwd is excellent fun!Or a car with a supercharger?
I was lucky enough to drive a supercharged Exige a while back and that was what can only be described as 'frantic' in terms of power delivery!
For me I don't have a preference.
I love my E36 328i, the noise, the responsiveness and the drama that went with revving it hard to get going properly.
On the other hand I love my 335i, the noise isn't quite the same and the responsiveness isn't quite on a par but the low/mid range shove is incredible, I love the noise of the boost building and the BOVs.
Both have places in my world and I wouldn't turn one down over the other. It all depends what car it is and what it's for.
I love my E36 328i, the noise, the responsiveness and the drama that went with revving it hard to get going properly.
On the other hand I love my 335i, the noise isn't quite the same and the responsiveness isn't quite on a par but the low/mid range shove is incredible, I love the noise of the boost building and the BOVs.
Both have places in my world and I wouldn't turn one down over the other. It all depends what car it is and what it's for.
I definitely prefer NA, I like the way they are ultra relaxed in the lower revs, almost sluggish, which makes you waft every where, but then once you get passed about 3000rpm they start to come alive, they have to be worked and kept in the sweet spot and that is rewarding.
Then you have the turbos which feel more like big NA in a way, things like the new bread of BMWs, quite linear, and pretty nice to drive, very accomplished all round, incredibly quick and controllable.
Then you have some of the Jap stuff, on off switch response, massive boost again as you hit 3000 revs, all a bit twitchy but fun.
The ones I don't like are things like the VAG 2.0T combined with FWD, that imho simply doesn't work, having a st load of torque trying to go through the front wheels, torque steer just ruins a car for me.
A decent NA gives you two cars in one imho, so that wins, but nothing against a FI if done right.
Then you have the turbos which feel more like big NA in a way, things like the new bread of BMWs, quite linear, and pretty nice to drive, very accomplished all round, incredibly quick and controllable.
Then you have some of the Jap stuff, on off switch response, massive boost again as you hit 3000 revs, all a bit twitchy but fun.
The ones I don't like are things like the VAG 2.0T combined with FWD, that imho simply doesn't work, having a s
t load of torque trying to go through the front wheels, torque steer just ruins a car for me. A decent NA gives you two cars in one imho, so that wins, but nothing against a FI if done right.
TheAngryDog said:
If Only vxr8's weren't so expensive in the first place 
talking £26000 to buy and supercharge one to 560bhp.
Supercharged ones do come up for sale from time to time. Somebody on the HSV forum has just got themselves a nice supercharged Monaro CV8. 550hp from a 5.7 litre V8 and a thunderous sound track for £12k. He's a happy man! talking £26000 to buy and supercharge one to 560bhp. No way I'd let mine go for that much though!
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 30th April 08:46
Turbo in the week and N/A for the weekend, the reason I say this is because when I ran a E92 M3 as a daily I didn't like the fact it felt flat on its bottom end and not much happened until 6k revs, whereas with Turbo's the power and punch is there with very little effort so far more usable.
N/A is nice for the weekend though when you can search out the open and clear roads so you can enjoy the greater depth and character of the engine and really enjoy the strong points of them.
N/A is nice for the weekend though when you can search out the open and clear roads so you can enjoy the greater depth and character of the engine and really enjoy the strong points of them.
wormus said:
TheAngryDog said:
If Only vxr8's weren't so expensive in the first place talking £26000 to buy and supercharge one to 560bhp.
Supercharged ones do come up for sale from time to time. Somebody on the HSV forum has just got themselves a nice supercharged Monaro CV8. 550hp from a 5.7 litre V8 and a thunderous sound track for £12k. He's a happy man! talking £26000 to buy and supercharge one to 560bhp. No way I'd let mine go for that much though!
Edited by wormus on Saturday 30th April 08:46
If a vxr8 with a charger came up for that price lol. I know one won't though.
I can charge my M5 for around 10k including various upgrades, for around the 600bhp mark. I've heard of a supposed 650bhp vxr8 in the north east but no dyno graph to back up the claims and it's on a tvs3200 kit. According to monkfish they produce another 120bhp so it would need something else for the other 100bhp increase
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff