Manufacturers have always been looking for ways to increase the efficiency and performance of an engine. Turbocharged engines have been the rage ever since their introduction. Turbocharged engines comprise turbines and compressors that use wasteful exhaust gas to harness energy for the vehicle. Although the system works well, there is a major point that people tend to overlook for these engines – the fuel efficiency. Fuel efficiency can be a big problem for these engines!
Fuel efficiency refers to the ability of the vehicle to convert the fuel from the engine to generate power. More fuel efficiency means more power generation with lesser effort.
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Turbocharged engines should work perfectly concept-wise. The fact is, these use up the waste exhaust gases which might be emitted into the atmosphere and generate more power. Even though the targets of increased power generation and lower levels of emissions are met, fuel efficiency is a major problem that can be explained by a single term – "knocking."
Knocking is a term used to define defects in engine cylinders. In the case of knocking, the fuel burns unevenly throughout the cylinders. So, some of the mixtures of air and fuel cannot generate enough ignition for the vehicle.
One of the major reasons why knocking takes place is because the pressure and temperature inside the cylinder are way above the operating limit of the cylinder. That leads to the fuel either pre-heating or suffering a lag or not heating up at all.
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When turbochargers are included along with the engines – the problems start to arise. It is a guarantee that these turbochargers increase the pressure on the engine. That means more chances of misfiring for these chargers.
To counter the knocking problem, the engine control unit delays the ignition. But even this retardation has a certain limit to which it can function. For higher RPMs, more fuel is injected into the engines. So, when the onset of knocking is seen, the turbocharger injects more fuel into the cylinder, reducing the pressure and temperature. But that severely affects the fuel efficiency since more fuel is being injected for the engine's functioning.
So, more throttling inflated this problem of over-usage of the vehicle's fuel. This means that the efficiency of turbocharged engines is much less than traditional engines. One way to avoid such a problem is to do what one does with traditional vehicles but much more vigorously – being careful of one's driving style and avoiding wide open throttling conditions! The moderation of the feet while driving needs to be more careful and deliberate.
