Turbocharging

Vehicle manufacturers are adding energy-efficient technologies such as turbochargers to their products to meet Canada’s increasingly stringent greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles.

Using a smaller, turbocharged engine can lower fuel consumption by 2 to 6%. This saves you money and reduces your impact on the environment.

Turbochargers boost the power of smaller engines

Turbochargers force air into an engine’s cylinders – unlike a standard engine, which draws air in at atmospheric pressure. This means that a smaller, turbocharged engine can produce the same power as a larger standard engine.

Turbochargers use the otherwise wasted energy from the exhaust to drive a turbine that is attached to a compressor.

The compressor forces air into the cylinders of the engine. This provides two benefits. First, more air and fuel means a larger combustion reaction and more power. Second, the pistons have less work to do pulling the air-fuel mixture into the combustion chamber.

How much a turbocharger can save

Over 10 years, a turbocharger can save you $240 to $1,680 in fuel costs and lower your carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 550 to 3,860 kg. At the high end, this is equivalent to

• three quarters of an Olympic-sized swimming pool of CO₂
• removing a mid-size car from Canadian roads for one year
• nearly 20% of our annual per capita emissions in Canada, which is 22.1 tonnes

*Based on an annual driving distance of 20,000 km, a fuel price of $1.00/L and a CO₂ emissions factor of 2.3 kg/L of gasoline.

Be a knowledgeable buyer

Research before you buy. Estimate how much fuel your vehicle will consume over its lifetime.