Turbo or N/A for short journeys?

[declan727]

Hello everyone,

In the next few months I am looking change my car to a quicker more performance orientated car. My journeys each day consist of all town driving and I only do few short 4-5 mile trips each day. I currently own a SEAT Ibiza FR TDI which is a far from ideal car for short town journeys so I am looking to switch back to a performance petrol car.

Coming from a diesel I am a fan of torque so I feel like a turbocharged petrol would probably suit my needs best however I wouldn't rule out naturally aspirated engine either.

The two cars I have in mind are a Subaru Impreza WRX (blobeye or hawkeye) or a Honda Integra Type R (DC5). I am aware the two a very different cars but my worry is with the engine in the Impreza WRX which has a habit of going pop at a certain mileage, given that my journeys are relatively short would this be putting undue stress on the engine? I know that short journeys aren't good for any engine but given that the Subaru takes a fair few miles to warm up before 'boost' should be used, would I be better off with a naturally aspirated engine rather than forced induction?

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has owned either of these two cars or has any advice for me.

Thanks in advance.

[neil1jnr]

Neither are ideal for short journeys, both would need warmed up appropriately, even more so with the Integra if you want to use all of those rpm's.

I'd probably go for the DC5, unless the Impreza was the right one. Go for one already forged if you want a hawkeye.

[cib24]

The most important thing is to make sure the oil temperature (and ideally water temperature) is up to a normal operating temperature before shutting down. A turbo car will be fine for short journeys so long as this is taken into account as frequent cold temp shut downs isn't the greatest idea over an extended period because you won't have sufficient oil flowing through the turbo, etc.

If there isn't a factory gauge for oil temp then install one. It's not difficult and there are how-to's all over the net.

[nickfrog]

I think the prime criteria would be how they drive when not used for commuting. They're very different. The DC5 is very special.

[300bhp/ton]

My Impreza used to warm up super quickly. Would get hot air from the heater sooner than almost any car I’ve owned. This doesn’t mean the oil was at full temp yet. But you are unlikely to be making use of the turbo in a town.

On that note. Petrol turbos, especially performance and older ones favour mid to high rpm range. And may not see significant boost until 3000-3500rpm. This means normal driving up to 50 or even 60mph you might not even hit the boost range. Unless you deliberately hold onto the revs and use more throttle. But would be completely uneeded in a town.

The ITR. Well they make very good torque. But depends on how you view this. The VTEC engines actually make about the most peak torque of any n/a engine of the same displacement and the actual VTEC part means this torque is made low in the Rev range.

So compared to other 1.8 and 2.0 na engines. The ITR’s are quite torquey low down.

On the flip side. Because they rev so high and hold on to the torque output. Their high rpm power output is massively higher than their low rpm power output. This makes them feel revvy and comparatively flat lower down. Even though they aren’t.

However compared to larger displacement engines or forced induction. They will be making less torque low down. Hence something like a Rover KV6 will feel more grunty. Despite making less Peak power.

Can’t see why any of these can’t be used daily for any sort of daily use. They are all MASS market designs intended exactly for this use.

[TartanPaint]

Do not buy a 2.5 Impreza that hasn't already been forged by somebody reputable. A very, very expensive mistake.

And don't, as I did, listen to owners who haven't had any problems and tell you it will be ok. It won't be ok.

Overall, for short journeys the Impreza is far from ideal. You're constantly trying to keep it off-boost until it's warm. Remember, water temp might be up to thermostat-opening level after a few miles, but your oil is not warm yet. Maybe I'm overly-cautious. Once bitten, twice shy and all that...

A 1.0 ecoboost Fiesta would be quicker than a 400bhp STi for the first 15 minutes of any journey. They're also noisy and unrefined. As a weekend car, a good one is unparalleled, but as a short-journey commuter I'd forget it.

[Car-Matt]

Buy a £500 fiesta for the commute and a nice car for the weekends......

[fido]

I use my WRX Wagon (07) for short-journeys all the time. It's fine - the 2.5 is torquey enough at the low-end so that even if old school turbo doesn't pick up until 2.75-3k rpm - so you're rarely caught out. I actually find it fun to drive because you have to nurse it a little bit but it can be driven fast very easily with the 5-speed. I thought it was just the STIs that had engine issues - not had any problems with mine and it's coming up to 65k.

Edited by fido on Monday 2nd October 13:57

[declan727]

Thanks for the replies guys. At the minute I am edging towards the DC5, I have always driven my cars sedately until water temperature gauge is at optimum before making use of the car's performance, I now know that oil temperature is key.

I only really need one car and I don't do that much driving so I want it to be something I can enjoy.

[designforlife]

DC5 is a cracking car, up until recently I was dailying mine 7 miles each way with no ill effect aside from some oil use, which they tend to do anyway.

As long as you warm it up and cool it down it should run fine, a few longer trips a month should help keep everything ticking over.

I've had mine 9 months and love it to bits, they're very special and something of a future classic. Day to day reliability is good.

If you go for a dc5 feel free to hit me up with any buyer questions. They're a track oriented car, but also a honda, so very much built with mass market reliability and useability in mind.

[e30m3Mark]

I'd take a NA engine over a TC'd one every time. Especially something a bit more special like the DC5.