Will I Ever Be Able To Go Back To a "Normal" Naturally Aspirated Engine?

[SchnellFowVay]

My last car was a modified 2007 GTI putting out ~280hp. My current car is an N55 putting out ~400hp and ~500lbs of torque.

BUt more imortant than the power is the "rubberband" feel of the turbocharger. Sometimes I think I miss the smoothness of an N/A engine (such as when I almost bought an S2000 last month), but then I drive most N/A engines, and they simply do not feel "fast" at all. It feels like the car is actually stuck in mollases around 2,500-3,000 RPMS where a normal turbocharged car starts building serious boost.

Case in point: My wife's 128i 6-speed. The car goes 0-60 in about 6 seconds (fairly fast), but to me it feels legitimately slow. I am currently driving a loaner 328i M-Sport while my car is at the dealer, and even in sport mode with the gas floored, the car feels really, really slow.

I remember how much I used to love unwinding my cammed VR6 back in the day.

Has anyone here successfully transitioned from a high-power turbo car back to a more "sedate" naturally aspirated engine and been able to enjoy it again?

[GTE77]

This thread will be all kind of greatness

[SchnellFowVay]

This thread will be all kind of greatness

That was the goal.

But it's also a serious question.

[Nateblizzy]

I will be doing this shortly, most likely switching to a M3 or something similar. Turbochargers are fun when you are in the right rev range, but I prefer a smoother powerband. Albeit with less power, but for daily driving it makes more sense.

Now that I've experienced a high-power car, I want a more balanced or handling-focused machine.

[Louie Bricants]

If you want a NA vehicle that will make a 400HP Turbo car feel slow then buy a 2007 up Z06.

[Sir UNBANNED_GERBIL M.B.]

I went from a modded MKV GTI to my NA A4. The A4 atleast has 90% of max torks at 1800rpm with the 3.2 V6. It feels every bit as quick

[SchnellFowVay]

If you want a NA vehicle that will make a 400HP Turbo car feel slow then buy a 2007 up Z06.

I drove a standard C6 (NON-Z06) and it certainly felt fast. But again, it was lacking the "woosh" sensation you get in a T/C'ed car.

I don't doubt that at a high enough power level (Z06, Gallardo, 458), it just feels ridiculously fast no matter what.

But I am curious if, for example, somehow on here has gone from a WRX to an S2000 and enjoyed it?

[Saintor]

Adapt your butt-o-meter and be done.

[Louie Bricants]

Adapt your butt-o-meter and be done.

Or drive around in reverse for a few thousand miles to get rid of the boost brain.

[Dave Zero]

I drove a standard C6 (NON-Z06) and it certainly felt fast. But again, it was lacking the "woosh" sensation you get in a T/C'ed car.

I don't doubt that at a high enough power level (Z06, Gallardo, 458), it just feels ridiculously fast no matter what.

But I am curious if, for example, somehow on here has gone from a WRX to an S2000 and enjoyed it?

WRX to S2000 is no comparison. The WRX takes a split second to deliver power everywhere in the powerband, with no real final squirt at the top.

The S2000 feels like a dud on the little camshaft, but in the upper reaches, it responds instantly.

I have not driven a turbo car that I have fallen in love with, mainly because it seems to me the power on turbo cars from the factory levels off at the top=boring to me.

One drive in the laggy, understeering WRX was enough for me to know that it wasn't even close to the pureness of the S2000.

[MFactor]

I drove a standard C6 (NON-Z06) and it certainly felt fast. But again, it was lacking the "woosh" sensation you get in a T/C'ed car.

I don't doubt that at a high enough power level (Z06, Gallardo, 458), it just feels ridiculously fast no matter what.

But I am curious if, for example, somehow on here has gone from a WRX to an S2000 and enjoyed it?

I did. Had a 300whp WRX and had an S2000 after. At the End of the day, I found the S2000 to be the most enjoyable. I think James May said it best web he stated that the most fun you will have in a car is when you're pushing it to its limits. You will rarely find yourself pushing your high powered car to its limits simply because you will most likely run out of road. It's not all about power. It's about everything that makes a car enjoyable and have all of that work cohesively. I have to say that some people are all about power and speed. I respect that but for me, I'll take a slower but more enjoyable car than one with gobs of power any day.

[Ross1013]

I did. Had a 300whp WRX and had an S2000 after. At the End of the day, I found the S2000 to be the most enjoyable. I think James May said it best web he stated that the most fun you will have in a car is when you're pushing it to its limits. You will rarely find yourself pushing your high powered car to its limits simply because you will most likely run out of road. It's not all about power. It's about everything that makes a car enjoyable and have all of that work cohesively. I have to say that some people are all about power and speed. I respect that but for me, I'll take a slower but more enjoyable car than one with gobs of power any day.

This is exactly my opinion as well

[NOTORIOUS VR]

I did. Had a 300whp WRX and had an S2000 after. At the End of the day, I found the S2000 to be the most enjoyable. I think James May said it best web he stated that the most fun you will have in a car is when you're pushing it to its limits. You will rarely find yourself pushing your high powered car to its limits simply because you will most likely run out of road. It's not all about power. It's about everything that makes a car enjoyable and have all of that work cohesively. I have to say that some people are all about power and speed. I respect that but for me, I'll take a slower but more enjoyable car than one with gobs of power any day.

I don't get this logic at all. You're saying the slower car will be more enjoyable. I'm sorry but slow cars for me are well, boring AND slow.

It is all about power to a point, and going from a decently quick car to a fairly slow car is working backwards IMO.

If you have a decently quick car or a fast car, you need to do what you need to it to make it fun for you in all situations. You saying you will run out of road with a fast car, well I say you're not driving it right or to it's potential then because basically you're saying anything faster then a S2k (which are balls slow) is too fast for the road. That's just crazy talk

[cabzilla]

But I am curious if, for example, somehow on here has gone from a WRX to an S2000 and enjoyed it?

I have a 500whp gti vr6 and a near-stock s2000. the s2000 is vastly more fun

[NoXenons]

You need the low-end torque that V8 M3's and V10 M5's are deficient in. I prescribe a C63 AMG

[Audi Addict]

INBthisgoesdownhillrapidly

But I have gone the other way. I feel that turbo cars are nice and can be faster, but the increase in complexity has pushed me toward NA cars.

That being said, all of my turbo cars were pretty old. Audi 5000, Merkur Xr4ti, FC3s, etc.

[King]

I own a 400+hp B5 S4. It's a lot of fun, and quite addictive. As far as I was concerned, it was more than enough car for me. I say "was", because I've had an E46 M3 in my possession for about 4 days now.

Although it is supposed to be making less power, I LOVE the way this thing moves. For the first time ever, I am contemplating switching to a BMW. I've never been head over heels for any of them, mainly because of the typical 3 series drivers douchy superiority complex most of them seem to have.....decisions, decisions......

[flytech78]

yes
My 964 feels like a turbo in many ways as in the power bad really jumps when i get into the 5k's. When i jam on it in the 3,4's and the rpm's rise to around 5 there is a big acceleration sensation that reminds me of the spooled up turbo feel. I have to be careful on wet days because it can get out from under me.

[Fritz27]

I own a 400+hp B5 S4. It's a lot of fun, and quite addictive. As far as I was concerned, it was more than enough car for me. I say "was", because I've had an E46 M3 in my possession for about 4 days now.

Although it is supposed to be making less power, I LOVE the way this thing moves. For the first time ever, I am contemplating switching to a BMW. I've never been head over heels for any of them, mainly because of the typical 3 series drivers douchy superiority complex most of them seem to have.....decisions, decisions......

You're worried about douchey owners and you drive a B5 S4.

Not sure if serious...

[Ben010783]

I've wondered the same thing since my GTI is fairly quick and I think I'm getting spoiled. I think my next car will be more focused, like a Miata or BRZ, on the driving experience. Basically, what MFactor said.

[CTdubbin7]

I have and always will be a forced induction guy. Even the ls motors which can be downright nasty n/a ,I LOVE to see with a blower or turbo. call me crazy

[landstuhltaylor]

I've gone from a ~350whp Camaro to a 240whp Jetta, and now just this past weekend to an E46 M3. I do miss the rush when the turbo spooled, but I do not miss the lag when shifting. It's also nice to put my foot down at less than 2400rpm and actually go somewhere. Turbo cars out of their power band can be very frustrating at times and you don't have to deal with that in an NA car.

[Mathdiesel]

Turbo's are laggy, no response...turbo's come on early and fall on their face...

How about a right sized turbo for your application?
The way they behave is a matter of sizing and compromise. You can't expect to get 600hp out of a 2L engine and have instant torque. Same as a small and fast spooling turbo won't make the huge power of a bigger turbo. Size your turbo(s) according to your engine and desired powerband and you won't look back.

Of course, most stock turbo'ed car aren't build with same intent as high strung n/a, but that doesn't mean you can't have a snappy high revving machine with forced induction.

[kiznarsh]

I think the answer for me is no.

Having that low-end torque is becoming a requirement for me since brisk city driving is what I do the most. Going from a turbo to a supercharger has been pretty fun since I don't have to wait till 4k RPMs yet don't have to deal with the lag either. Win win.

[rains]

Well, I have 2 turbo charged cars.

My 2000 GTI has a tiny turbo, and even with the stage II software and supporting hardware, it has very little top end power. Don't get me wrong, it's great for booting around town, as it spools pretty quickly and delivers relatively instant torque. But it just doesn't 'wow' me.

My 93 Jetta, ABA-T with a t3/t04e, on the other hand, is a different beast. It doesn't spool until 4k rpms, but when it does, it goes like stink, and pulls hard to redline. Not great for a daily driver, but hilarious when it spools.

Now, to compare either of these two to my previous car, a 95 Passat, with the Vr6 ... it's a different feeling. The Vr6 was torquey enough to make me laugh. But, it delivered instant power. So, to compare that to the GTI with the k03, I'd rather have the Vr6, but compared to the ABA-T, I'd rather have that, simply for the fun factor when it spools.

I guess it really depends on what size/ style of turbocharged vehicle you are switching from back to NA ... is it tiny, or big?

[SchnellFowVay]

How on earth are you pulling 400hp/500tq out of an N55? I'm pretty sure this isn't possible yet.

Crank hp/tq.

[Dubai Vol]

Horsepower is for people who can't drive.

[Dandbest]

Crank hp/tq.

can we see a dyno graph? Or are you just guesstimating, cause it sure sounds that way.

Anyway, to answer the question, I went from a 2011 135i to a 2012 Mustang GT 5.0. Haven't looked back.

[justanotherusername]

can we see a dyno graph? Or are you just guesstimating, cause it sure sounds that way.

.

About all it takes for a 135i to hit those numbers is a tune or piggyback and a set of catless downpipes. There are tens of thousands of them out there putting down 350wHp +. It's not a stretch at all.

This is just a tune:

[turbinepowered]

Good point, let me be more specific - the OP had a 2.0T VW and an E92 3-series, they build torque early and often

Oh I know, it was just amusing given my memory of my introduction to turbocharging.

Sent from the future via Google Skynet

[turbinepowered]

OP, ride a sportbike, and you'll know what a true naturally aspirated engine is supposed to feel like.

Our really any modern bike save the big cube cruisers.

Hell, some of the sport touring bikes have vtec. He could dead.

Sent from the future via Google Skynet

[karl_1052]

My last car was a modified 2007 GTI putting out ~280hp. My current car is an N55 putting out ~400hp and ~500lbs of torque.

BUt more imortant than the power is the "rubberband" feel of the turbocharger. Sometimes I think I miss the smoothness of an N/A engine (such as when I almost bought an S2000 last month), but then I drive most N/A engines, and they simply do not feel "fast" at all. It feels like the car is actually stuck in mollases around 2,500-3,000 RPMS where a normal turbocharged car starts building serious boost.

Case in point: My wife's 128i 6-speed. The car goes 0-60 in about 6 seconds (fairly fast), but to me it feels legitimately slow. I am currently driving a loaner 328i M-Sport while my car is at the dealer, and even in sport mode with the gas floored, the car feels really, really slow.

I remember how much I used to love unwinding my cammed VR6 back in the day.

Has anyone here successfully transitioned from a high-power turbo car back to a more "sedate" naturally aspirated engine and been able to enjoy it again?

Well, I would probably think your 135 is slow. It is all relative.

[FlashRedGLS1.8T]

Has anyone here successfully transitioned from a high-power turbo car back to a more "sedate" naturally aspirated engine and been able to enjoy it again?

I have, but I wouldn't call it successful.

[NightTrain EX]

Actually, asshat, I do run either 100 octane or a 45% E85 mix most of the time, even for daily driving. I am running catless, and I also occassionally run meth-injection (although I have it disable now for the E85 fueling wires).


:

I think the "asshat" is the guy who runs 100 octane in a daily driver while not at the track. Are you prepping for RaceWars?

[SchnellFowVay]

I think the "asshat" is the guy who runs 100 octane in a daily driver while not at the track. Are you prepping for RaceWars?

As of recently, I run E85 mixtures, which are cheaper than straight 91-octane fillups, and allow me close to the boost levels of 100 octane.

I used to run straigh 100 octane, or 100 octaine mixtures for a while. Why? Because it was fun. I have a gas station down the street that charges $6.85/gallon for 100 octane. When regular gas was over $4/gallon, it wasn't a huge expense.

I have a unique 100-octane tune. My car takes full advantage of it.