Ecoboost minus the turbo?

[rcereghino]

Hey everyone,

Just out of curiosity, is it possible to "turn off" the turbo in the EB engine?

I was playing around with Eco mode (unlocked) and it tends to avoid turbo (< 2k revs).

2 liters is still a decent engine size without the turbo (which I love to use).

Would a "turboless mode" be more fuel efficient? (better MPG, KPL)

Cheers from Chile!

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[todd92]

I think you meant to buy a Hybrid?

 

[Snox801]

More than likely it would not change the mileage at all maybe even less. Here is my experience. Many tuners offer a eco tune which backs off boost a lot. But none ever seem to match the fuel mileage of the performance tunes. I have Livernois tunes in all my ecoboost stuff. If I can stay out of the throttle and drive normal. It gains 2-3mpg on average.

 

[colinl]

eco drive mode closes the intercooler active shutter and remaps the throttle so that the first ~50% pedal movement gives less throttle input.

there is not much point in doing anything beyond that and even this has a minimal impact on fuel economy.

 

[Cherokee]

I’d not drive a 4 banger without an eight speed and a turbo.
It would be a dog, like the 4 cylinders of the 80’s all dogs getting 23 mpg’s at best.
Put some cargo in it or try and pull a trailer it would suck.
The Mavbrid motor is aided by the electric motors.

I worked a 2.7 Ltr normally aspirated 4 cylinder Tacoma to death, loads and all. I couldn’t use fifth gear unless I was on level ground and doing 70 mph
My trailer only weighed a ton loaded.

Turbo’s help mpg’s in a big way. Faster spool ups and more low end grunt.

 

[Snox801]

I’d not drive a 4 banger without an eight speed and a turbo.
It would be a dog, like the 4 cylinders of the 80’s all dogs getting 23 mpg’s at best.
Put some cargo in it or try and pull a trailer it would suck.
The Mavbrid motor is aided by the electric motors.

I worked a 2.7 Ltr normally aspirated Tacoma to death, loads and all. I couldn’t use fifth gear unless I was on level ground and doing 70 mph
My trailer only weighed a ton loaded.

Turbo’s help mpg’s in a big way. Faster spool ups and more low end grunt.

Blasphemy, you sir forgot about the legendary Ford Ranger with the 2.3 good sir.

 

[rcereghino]

Guys, thanks for replies and insights. Very useful.

 

[grumpyunk]

"The fule mileage of a four with the power of a V8 when you need it."
Well... OK, I don't think using the turbo beyond a minimal amount will help fuel mileage. You add more fuel when you add compressed air to the cylinder. You get more power per piston stroke. You added fuel to do so. The turbo is not going to increase fuel mileage except under particular situations where you would have your throttle wide open without the turbo boost.
Driving a Penske truck with a carbureted 454 over the mountains to CA from CO, I found that WOT got me nothing climbing some of the grades. If I backed off the throttle I found I could maintain the same speed without having the throttle floored. The carburetor was not getting any more power no matter how much fuel:air it was allowed to inhale. If there had been a turbo available, I likely could have gotten more power, climbed at a faster rate, and gotten worse fuel economy.
If you want to achieve the best mpg, use the turbo sparingly.
The Lima 2.3 can be made to produce several hundred hp, and lots of torque. But it will not be suited to hauling around a Ranger in traffic, and will not use the power cruising down the I-state. I think the 2.3 ecoboost can be made to produce more, but at the cost of becoming more finicky about fuel and being more peaky. FWIW.

 

[CaReviews]

There is no way to "turn off" the turbocharger on these engines. They spool up super quick thanks to the integrated exhaust manifold into the cylinder head. Plus a turbocharger runs off of exhaust gases so it literally is impossible to run it without one without doing A TON of modifications to make it run anyways. I swear everyday we stray further and further...

 

[Solaryellow]

You serious Clark?

Ever drive a turbo charged vehicle that stops making boost? Good luck with that one.

 

[Propane Burning Man]

There is so much misinformation out there about turbo engines. People think they get better MPG than the SAME engine without a turbo. Nope. When you pump more air into the combustion chamber you have to inject more fuel too. More fuel = less MPG. The auto manufacturers clearly market small turbo versions of autos "as much power as a V8 with better MPG than the V8". They don't claim it gets better MPG than the same non-turbo engine. Another fact that gets over looked is turbo engines are built with less compression. So they build an engine with less power and then stick a turbo on it to make more power. And little turbo engines are working a lot harder then the V8 normally aspirated engine. So they run hotter. Heat is the worst enemy of an engine. If you get the impression I am not a fan of turbos you are correct. I come from the old school: you can't beat Cubic Inches.

 

[DrEvil]

There is so much misinformation out there about turbo engines. People think they get better MPG than the SAME engine without a turbo. Nope. When you pump more air into the combustion chamber you have to inject more fuel too. More fuel = less MPG. The auto manufacturers clearly market small turbo versions of autos "as much power as a V8 with better MPG than the V8". They don't claim it gets better MPG than the same non-turbo engine. Another fact that gets over looked is turbo engines are built with less compression. So they build an engine with less power and then stick a turbo on it to make more power. And little turbo engines are working a lot harder then the V8 normally aspirated engine. So they run hotter. Heat is the worst enemy of an engine. If you get the impression I am not a fan of turbos you are correct. I come from the old school: you can't beat Cubic Inches.

 

[DrEvil]

And some of are not prius fans either.

 

[Tbone289]

I own a Focus with the Duratec 20 (or Mazda L), which is the normally-aspirated engine that is the basis for the 2.0 Ecoboost. It's a great engine and gets good gas mileage, but has 90 less horsepower and 131 less lb-ft of torque than the Ecoboost. The Duratec 20 isn't by any means a "dog", but keep in mind that the Focus weighs about 600-700 lbs less than the Maverick. As has already been mentioned though, "turning off" the turbo in a 2.0 Ecoboost doesn't give you a Duratec 20 as it is tuned differently, with lower compression.

 

[Tiger Dude]

An EB engine with the turbo removed would drive like a dog, but if you drove with low revs it would get better mileage because you're going slower. Going slow means better mpg. That said, it will be less efficient than an equivalent engine designed as naturally aspirated, because turbo engines have lower compression ratios, which are less efficient. Turbochargers overcome this by stuffing air into the engine.

Heat is not the enemy of engines, new engines are more thermodynamically efficient because they run hotter. You can't beat cubic inches if all you want is raw power, but if you want power and efficiency and a decent car form factor turbos rule. These Mavericks have more power than 80s Corvettes, with 35% the displacement and thus without the engine bay of an 80s Corvette.

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