After having test driven a few 2 litre turbos throughout this year, I am lamenting the demise of the twincharger. Let's face it, I spend 80% of my time in Sydney suburban stop-start traffic where the speed limits are 50km/h to 70km/h with a few 80 "freeways" (Gore Hill, Centenary Drive).
My thoughts & reviews below only relate to suburban low speed driving, not track day driving nor out on the open roads.
The supercharger gives that urgent kick in the back acceleration in the lower rpms at the lower speeds which the GTI and R don't give. I do stick to the speed limits, so by the time the turbo has spooled up in the GTI and R, I'm already at legal speeds. The twindercharger's torque is more immediate. I must admit I was disappointed with the GTI and R in this regard in terms of low rev responsiveness at low speeds.
Of course, different story on the freeways where the GTI & R will totally eat my 1.4 litre in overtaking... but I'm in suburban streets & stop-start bumper to bumper traffic the far majority of my time.
I test drove the A4 2 litre quattro yesterday and even though the torque kicks in sooner, I still didn't feel that same take off like the twincharger. The twincharger is the only forced induction engine I've driven that feels close to the Falcon's take off from stand still and why I love the engine.
The 328i's dual vanos technology has some lag, but I do feel that take off sensation way sooner than in the GTI or R. It's not as immediate as the twincharger, but close to it. (Having said that, I do feel more low rev urgency in the Sirocco R at low speeds - presumably because it's lighter than the Golf R).
So for around town pottering on congested Sydney suburban roads, I feel there's nothing like the twincharger. Even though they've dropped it from the Golf range, I hope it still lives on in some of the other models. I suspect it will eventually die out though through a phasing in of the 1.8 turbo.
RIP twincharger!
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The local rag (The West Australian) reported today that the new engine line-up would include a 1.8L petrol version- didn't say that it would be a turbo though (ie from the Audi). Anyone know for sure? Also didn't say that Australia would get it...
I have had no problems with my 118TSI engine and like driving it still (now 29000kms), but would quite like to upgrade to a mk 7 with that Audi engine.Leave a comment:
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what ever the reasons are for dropping the engine (we could debate it for weeks). some love it, some hate it, but a engine never last for ever. it may get tweeked and changed for years or scraped for a whole new design but eventually it gets killed. even the straight six from the falcon (alltough its origin goes back to the 60's) is a completed different engine to the first one. LS1's burned more oil then fuel. they replaced rings blocks and now it is so far from the first one it should be called somthing else but you can still get brand new crete engines under the LS1 banner when its just de-stroked LS2. its not a totally bad engine. it just has 2 things against it. 1. its not really for our conditions. 2. VGA are in denial and big changes will point out there flaws. So the pasist with ****y token attempts to silences and sweep it under the rug. the dream of great performance and even better economy is not a easy target. the idea was sound but they just missed the mark little.Leave a comment:
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Well it's never pleasant to read that the manufacturer is ditching the engine you have in your car, but I won't be rushing to part with my 118 TSI DSG... in fact, even after reading that MkVI will be sans-118, I invested in the DQ200 upgrade from Guy Harding's joint in Coorparoo. Worth every cent, wish VW had programmed the 'box this way from the outset, the improvement is so noticeable. Love driving the car in city traffic again, and roundabouts no longer cause me to reach for the Xanax...Leave a comment:
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Turbocharged Supercharged Intercooled is unfortunately not the correct abbreviation (although I sometimes wish it was). Even the Golf GTI is a TSI.
The commonly suggested answer on the Internet is Turbo-Stratified Injection
Perhaps there's also a longer unpronounceable German version as well just as DSG = Direct Shift Gearbox = a type of Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (Dual Clutch Gearbox)
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It would appear that the T in TSI can either stand for turbo(charged) or twincharger/twincharged, depending on the configuration.Originally posted by iampivot View PostLeave a comment:
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Aren't the 1.4 T engines in the new Golf a major overhaul on the 1.4T (90kw) in the current Golf range? So in effect none of the 1.4L engines of the MK6 made it to the MK7.
There is a new CTHE version of the twincharger engine for the Polo GTI/Fabia VRS coming out in Sept. So it is hardly dead yet.
If you are trying to strip weight from a car you are hardly going to stick the heavy twincharger engine in it for a 15kw benefit (over the 103kw 1.4T).Leave a comment:
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I ditched my 118tsi as soon as the first engine was replaced. Paid 36k for it, got 18k back at year later. I'm probably lucky I only lost half it's value...Leave a comment:
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Check out the 6R Polo section for issues with the GTi which uses a tuned up version of the TwinCharger - compression loss and/or 2-stroke like oil consumption requiring pistons & rings or total engine replacement.
VW are ditching this design for good reasons.Leave a comment:
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All that said if it wasn't for me seeing a twincharge engine on display at Sydney airport back in 2008, it's unlikely I would have a VW now. Reliable or not, I still adore it as an engineering feat, and remains my basis for future projects!Leave a comment:
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