are NA engines fun?
Discussion
coming from driving turbocharged cars delivering "big power" it's hard to imagine something being as fun as shifting down a couple of gears, spooling your turbo and planting it - what would doing the same feel like in a NA engine?
what is the NA experience like in general? (both when giving the beans and normal driving)
one thing though, wouldn't miss turbos breaking down on me.. or do NA engines have their own pitfalls?
what is the NA experience like in general? (both when giving the beans and normal driving)
one thing though, wouldn't miss turbos breaking down on me.. or do NA engines have their own pitfalls?
te, I just prefer the drive.Highly strung NA engines are fun if you like to have to work for your performance, not if you want it to be easy to extract. They obviously tend to have far better throttle response than turbos.
They're simpler than turbocharged engines so like-for-like I suppose they're more reliable. A good turbo will be better than a bad NA, though.
They're simpler than turbocharged engines so like-for-like I suppose they're more reliable. A good turbo will be better than a bad NA, though.
ambuletz said:
not fun at all, that's why porsche are finally doing turbo'd ones.
They've only just started doing turbo ones? You sure about that? 
Turbos are more entertaining. You can't beat the 'hold on and see' feeling when a turbo way too big for the engine spools up and flings you down the road. e.g. F40 Vs F50.
There's a place for NA, track work for example, where a linear progressive increase in power is required.
Personally, I find NA a lot more fun. The fact that their performance is harder to extract is perhaps the reason. Yeah, my Z4M will get spanked by most modern hot hatches unless I'm in the right gear at the right time. But that sort of turbocharged performance can be exploited whenever and wherever you like, so it soon loses its novelty. The opportunities to explore an NA engines performance are fleeting, yet more satisfying when they arise. For me, it's the noise at high rpm which I find most intoxicating. When you get the chance to ring it's neck, and the whole car buzzes and fizzes to a crescendo as you approach the limiter, it is so exciting.
Never been a fan of the highly strung 4 pot NA engines as fitted to most Honda Type-R products. Too much hard work and crap when you just need to cruise on a motorway etc.
I switched from an Impreza Turbo to a 330i back on the early 00's and although it didn't have quite the same pace it was so much nicer to use.and sounded glorious when revved out.
Modern turbo engines are very good but you still can't beat a decent capacity 6+ cylinder NA engine for both responsiveness and aural pleasure.
I switched from an Impreza Turbo to a 330i back on the early 00's and although it didn't have quite the same pace it was so much nicer to use.and sounded glorious when revved out.
Modern turbo engines are very good but you still can't beat a decent capacity 6+ cylinder NA engine for both responsiveness and aural pleasure.
kambites said:
A good turbo will be better than a bad NA, though.
There are far too many bad NA's. All too many have been ruined trying for low down torque with next to no power up top. Ignoring the crap ones, personally I love both. The big kick that a turbo delivers as well as the race to the red-line in a good NA.
Bikes especially so as they've been so tuned for power at the top end it comes in a distinct powerband.
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