Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

  • 🚗 Your People Are Here. Get In.

    The internet is full of car content. This is the community.

    Cheers & Gears has been bringing enthusiasts together since 2001. Join the conversation, show off your garage, and find your people.

  • Blake Noble
    Blake Noble

    By Blake Noble •

    Rumorpile: Subaru Considering Electric Turbocharging for Next WRX

    Blake Noble

    Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

    May 4th, 2012

    “Turbocharging” isn’t quite the dirty word it used to be these days. With strict fuel economy standards looming in the near horizon and the price of a gallon of gas unstable, automakers have turned to building and selling smaller turbo-powered engines to increase fuel economy without losing power. Buyers also seem to be responding favorably to turbo engines — for example, Ford's EcoBoost F-150 is enjoying better sales than comparable V8 models.

    While it seems like a win-win situation on spec sheets and in sales, in the real word modern turbocharged engines still sometimes suffer from turbo lag and require additional, sometimes complicated piping. And although something like Chrysler’s 1.4 liter turbo four will undoubtedly be more reliable than its primitive ancestors from the 1980s, automakers are still constantly looking at ways to improve and reduce the drawbacks associated with turbocharged engines.

    Enter Subaru then, who is considering replacing the exhaust-gas driven turbocharger on its WRX performance model for an electric-powered design. According to Australia’s Drive magazine, Subaru’s electric turbo would operate on heat generated from the exhaust which would be converted into electricity that would power the turbine. Such a design could eliminate most, if not all of the associated piping and drastically reduce turbo lag.

    The electric turbo is just one of the many rumors circulating about the next WRX. Expected to bow sometime around 2014, there are whispers that the new WRX will be available as a two-door coupe and have distinct styling that will borrow nothing from the related Impreza. Subaru Australia representative David Rowley spoke to Drive and agreed with the latter rumor, saying that it would “look considerably different.”

    The engine for the next WRX is expected to be a 1.6 liter boxer four, just in case you were wondering what that neat electric turbo could show up attached to. Only one question remains, though. How much power will this whiz-bang turbo setup be good for?

    Source: Drive

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Drew Dowdell

    I'm not sure it would eliminate turbo lag, but it would probably reduce it. It still has momentum to overcome spinning up and down. The faster you want the reaction to be, the more powerful you'd need the electric motor to be.

    that said: *buys stock in Honeywell.... and Hoover*

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    G. David Felt

    Yea Hoover does suck well ;)

    I agree Olds, it will reduce lag, but not eliminate it. I think we will see a ton of new technology over the next 5-10 years.

    I still think we need to move to CNG poweredvehicles.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    G. David Felt

    wouldn't that just technically be a supercharger?

    Turbojett, I think this is getting close to being a supercharger, I wonder just how much difference it will truly be.

    Electric driven versus belt driven?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Drew Dowdell

    What is interesting to me is how well this could work with a light hybrid system and a small displacement engine. You could end up with 1 liter engines that get 200 hp at full boost/assist yet be fuel misers on the highway.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×



  • Support Independent Automotive Journalism

    25 years of honest automotive coverage — because someone has to do it.

    Cheers & Gears has never been filtered by manufacturer relationships or driven by algorithm. Just real people, real opinions, and a genuine love of cars. Subscribers keep the lights on and get an ad-light experience starting at $2.25/month.*

    View subscription options

    *A small number of ads feature member-exclusive coupon deals and will still appear.

  • Posts

    • G. David Felt
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Having looked at all the images online, I have to say that the interior and exterior other than the color which I like is a let down and I would even say for a Luxury brand looks cheap.
    • G. David Felt
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Due to my tradeshow season, do not have the time till June to do any writeups, but Lexus has released their Luxury version 3 row SUV EV that Toyota released as the Highlander and Subaru also has. Clearly not connected to the ICE Spindale grill or as many of us called the Predator mouth. https://pressroom.lexus.com/all-electric-three-row-luxury-the-all-new-2027-lexus-tz/ The press release says 300 miles of range on Select Grade. Look at the fine print, this is a sea level level road, anything else is 250 to 280 miles of range. FAILURE Lexus / Toyota along with the 400V system.
    • ccap41
      Discussion:Ultium Twins to hit the market soon from Honda / Acura

      By ccap41 · Posted

      After doing a bunch of research on this, it isn't so much Honda/Acura are limiting charging speeds as it is the battery pack total size directly correlates to the rate of charge they can accept. The Prologue and non-SS Blazer EV have 85kWh batteries at 288 total volts and the ZDX/Lyriq/Blazer EV SS all have the larger 102kWh battery at 345 total volts.  Because of the way the Ultium platforms have multiple pack sizes that can and are linked together to make larger or smaller packs, the total pack volts varies based on the application and why the Hummer/Silverado/Sierra EVs can charge at 800v when they're still on 400v architecture.  Because kW = amps * volts, the bigger packs have more nominal volts because they have more cells.  Below is a Prologue example and change the 288v for the Prologue to 345v for the larger packs of the Lyriq, ZDX, or Blazer EV SS and you get 190kW for the maximum (or do the math for the other chargers, as well)
    • crvette_guy
      Serious TBI Question

      By crvette_guy · Posted

      Is there a good 4150 four barrel TBI with DBW compatibility?
    • crvette_guy
      Intake Manifold

      By crvette_guy · Posted

      Is it possible to fit a Holley Dual Plane Intake on an '09 lacrosse super?

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search