JSVH

I am considering a turbo. It would not be for racing or anything. My tC is my only car, and the one I drive every day, over 15k miles a year. I have a few questions:

Does anyone have any experience with a turboed daily driver?

Will a turbo make my car any harder to drive in traffic and normal driving conditions?

How will it affect the cars reliability? Can I still expect the engine to outlast the car like other Toyotas?

What sort of problems do turbo cars face and how can I avoid them? (ie it wears transmission, buy better clutch)

What sort of additional maintenance will I need to do?

Will it still pass smog tests?

Will it be legal? (I am in Georgia, does it need to pass CARB?)

I plan on getting one in a year or so after the kits have been out for a while. Then I can find which ones are reliable. I am sure I am not the only one out there that is looking for a quality turbo, so hopefully the manufactures are building reliable turbos. and not just producing them fast and cheap.

matty-tC

if you're a five speed, and you take it easy and don't smash the throttle all the time, it won't be harder to drive and the clutch will last a little longer. but you will still want to upgrade the stock clutch.

reliability may take a hit because of the increase in heat under your hood. as long as you maintain it good enough, it will last quite a while.

problems faced are just increase wear and tear but you must make sure it's tuned properly and not cooking your car or detonating.

additional maintenance is changing lots of oil and keeping track of your car more so than you would with it being naturally aspirated.

not sure about smog tests and such.

good luck

chamberlin

JSVH, last night I drove one of my buddy's 300+HP MR2s for him to a MR2/Supra get-together (he drove his 750HP one) and let me tell you, I think it has seriously put a damper on me getting the TRD SuperCharger... I have always like the Turbo 'kick' in the pants, but since like you, my car is my only car and is a daily driver, so I wanted practicality too...that's where the TRD SC comes in... but after spending some time in the cockpit of that rocket, I think I am going to wait for a suitable Turbo kit as well...
THere is no extra trouble driving it in traffic....when you get on it though, it will go....you gotta want to go fast. Obviously, a turbo tC is not going to be a turbo MR2, but I think it will still be much more gratifying (and more HP) in the long run than the TRD SC kit.
The Camry/tC motor is a great building platform for both SC and turbo, so I say go for it.
I am curious as to how the SC will interface with the stock computer, as I am guessing that if the SC stays under 6 pounds of boost or so, that the ECU will be able to handle everything fine as-is... with Turbo though, I am not sure. I think there are some fuel delivery mods with the SC kit, so obviously we will see that in the turbo kits as well.
As far as legal, all they're gonna due is hook up the OBDII harness to a computer and check smog...as long as all green lights, you are set. If for example you have yanked your 2nd O2 sensor or something, just put a load resitor on the circuit and the ECU won't throw any flags etc... I am not sure about CARB regs in your area.

Overall, it will indeed be harder on your driveline and engine, so yes life will be shorter of course. As Matty said, turbo cars tend not to be plug and play projects, but instead need a little more TLC and pro-active maintence... Usually if you wait until something fails, you are in bigger doo-doo than usual...

-C

mikek6789

how often should we change the oil, and what kind of oil do we need?!!!?!

matty-tC

3k miles depending upon the setup. some lower quality turbo's won't seal and actually burn up oil. you really just have to keep a good eye on your car.

GoSwim

Matt pretty much explained everything. The most important thing is to just make sure you properly tune your car. It would also be a good idea to switch to synthetic oil, and add a turbo timer. As far as Georgia's smog test I don't think a car requires it until it's at least three years old, but I don't live in Georgia so I don't really know.

KINGxOFxSKA

you wont have to worry about CARB (california air resources board) if your in georgia

JSVH

Thanks for the responses. I am already running synthetic, so I guess I will change it more often. What exactly does a turbo timer do? Also, Are the rest of you planning on turboing your daily driver, or just use it as a weekend car?

kungpaosamuraiii

Turbo timers let the car idle for a little while after turning the car off in order to circulate oil and coolant.


Edit: What matty-tc said (below) plus prolong the engine's life too as a bonus. Just like it's bad to excersize and sit down it's bad to run hot and stop. The engine (hotter now because of the turbo) will basically cook itself.

matty-tC

what he said. basically it circulates the oil which cools it down. helps prolong the life of the turbo.

unseen

is a turbo timer essential? could you not let your car idle by just having it parked and on for the 2-3 minutes needed for the circulation of oil?

BOXMAN

Turbo timers are only like 50 bucks for a good name brand one. So if sitting around waiting on your car to cool down till you can get your house key off and get inside sounds like fun you can go without.

matty-tC

they are not essential by any means

apexjr

Chamberlin,

Just wanted to chime in a bit. Not all turbos exhibit that kick you feel. Infact most are more smooth, which is usually easier to drive and so forth. The stock mr2 doesnt have that much of a kick. But when you turn the boost up the kick starts to happen because if a MBC is used it will spool harder and quicker before stopping at it's set limit. If instead you have a EBC like a Greddy Profec B you can adjust that 'kick' and make it come on more smooth. Yes this will be a great deal of power coming on all of a sudden, but it can be dialed in so as to no produce a head snap. I've dialed the kick out of my car because I would rather it not 'kick' while I exit a corner.

Apexjr

HKSpeed

you need to talk to someone who's turbocharged a NA vehicle, not someone who's experience is with factory turbo'd cars. whether its a honda, toyota, or whatever, see what kind of experience they've had. there's a world of difference in maintainance and reliability. i could go on about my experience owning a mr2 turbo and sr20det powered 240sx, but its very different from my friends' experience owning a turbocharged: integra ls, civic si, and golf gl.

factory turbo cars come with lower compression, higher flowing injectors/fuel rail/fuel pumps, cast iron blocks, etc. which makes them better prepared for boost.

every person I know thats turbocharged a NA vehicle as spent alot more money down the road in repairs and additional parts to keep the vehicle's behavior in check. i would only turbocharge a NA vehicle if I had some disposible income and a separate daily driver/beater.

turbo timers arent essential (or they would come stock on factory turbo cars), but they are a tremendous convenience accessory.

edited because i have crappy spelling.

chamberlin

Thanks for the insight Apexjr, I can certainly understand not wanting the peaky boost when taking turns in the MR2.... it is a tail-happy car to begin with... ;)
So, it is cool that you tune out the turbo's tendency to peak quick, but the bummer is that with the SuperCharger, you don't have the option of tuning that kick in if you really want it, can you? I also gotta agree with HKSpeed on the potentially 'mo' money down the road' scenario that would likely play out with a turbo car... I have enough 'turbo' friends to attest to that....maybe that's why I am a little more mentally prepared than the next guy for such an adventure (plus I am surrounded by Toyota guys that know more than their share of the custom turbo motor hobby). All in all though, I don't think I am quite ready for full on guinea pig status just yet....would like to see how some more daily driver style turbo cars are holding up...

-C

turbocivic

I drive a 350 hp on pump gas b18a every day, anywhere I want to go. It did however cost me nearly 12 grand to make this happen...

forged pistons, big rods, sleeved block, AEM EMS stand-alone, lots and lots of tuning...

JSVH

how much worse is a turbo then the TRD supercharger? will there be any after market turbos that will put less stress then the TRD S/C on your car?

KRZY1

JSVH...

I would say no. They are both going to affect the longevity of the engine. Turbos dont drag on the engine but the exhaust gas sits under the hood for extended periods of time heating everthing up.

While the supercharger exhaust gases are routed out of the engine bay quicker. The problem is that the super does add more drag to the engine which would in the long run affect the engine but thats like saying if you use your AC all the time your car wont last a long.

I would say that under a simular load say 5 psi both could and would last a long time with the correct tuning. Problem is a turbo makes it much easier to be like well 5 is good 6 is better, if 6 is better 7 is great... See what I am saying all it takes is a manual or electric boost controller or a wastegate accuator change to make this happen.

SpaldingSpeed

Any substantial power adder will eventually decrease the longevity of your engine IF USED ALL THE TIME, now the key with a turbo is that it does not always have to be in use...if you keep the RPMs down, and keep a large load off the engine then your car is essentially running as a normal 4 cylinder......I know of one person who drives his Turbo Tc daily (TurboCustomz w/ a ZPI kit) on pump gas. For a daily, I prefer a turbo to a s/c any day of the week.

Also, if you like that kick of a turbo, you WILL NOT acheive that with ANY supercharger......see a turbo reaches full boost before redline, most s/c's increase boost with engine RPM...