Monte Carlo Forum - Monte Carlo Enthusiast Forums - Will a Turbo increase or descrease gas mileage?

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Will a Turbo increase or descrease gas mileage?

I am probably not going to put one on but I was curious if you all have had a decrease or increase in fuel efficiency after putting on a turbo? I know that a supercharger will decrease fuel efficiency. Also how does it tie into the PCM? Any other recommendations to increase power without loosing fuel efficiency? Any and all opinions welcome

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Originally Posted by Monte#3 (Post 713980)

I am probably not going to put one on but I was curious if you all have had a decrease or increase in fuel efficiency after putting on a turbo?

Depends how you drive it. The more you're in boost, the worse it'll get. If youre just doing light driving and never getting into boost, you can get stock gas mileage no problem. As for an increase in gas mileage, I wouldn't count on it.

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Also how does it tie into the PCM?

Not sure what you're asking here. There are no electrical plugs on a turbo that have to be plugged into the pcm. It will have to be tuned though.

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Any other recommendations to increase power without loosing fuel efficiency?

IMO if fuel economy is a main consideration, I wouldn't bother with mods. The hundreds or thousands spent on mods can buy a lot of fuel.

With that said, there are mods that will increase power and not hurt mileage - typically anything done to improve the airflow efficiency through the engine will fall into this category as they'll reduce pumping losses.

I know it's not increasing power, but reducing weight has the same effect, can actually improve mileage, and is often free for most of the starter stuff (other than labor).

thanks much for your reply and info that was exactly the info I was looking for... just curious how the tuning happens now... since its not directly connected to the PCM I wonder how it could handle the major change in air flow and back pressure? Do you need to put in a performance chip? sorry I have no idea with mods

I agree loosing weight would be the simplest solution to increasing efficiency maybe I should lose the tool box in the trunk! :)
I have noticed the amazing efficiency of some of the stock turbos but then again they put them on smaller engines so that would explain it
I also agree though that you can pay for a lot of fuel with any amount of mods... I guess I like having power in reserve but don't always use it. I also want the efficiency though not just the power. That's why I have always liked V6 vs V8 especially the 3500 super efficient on the highway and still powerful. I would like to put a 3.6 in it but I have heard they stretch timing chains. thanks again

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Originally Posted by Monte#3 (Post 713989)

just curious how the tuning happens now... since its not directly connected to the PCM I wonder how it could handle the major change in air flow and back pressure? Do you need to put in a performance chip? sorry I have no idea with mods

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I have noticed the amazing efficiency of some of the stock turbos but then again they put them on smaller engines so that would explain it

Its hard to compare to a factory turbo offering, especially a modern DI engine. Just don't want you to think dropping a turbo on your engine will give any sort of notable fuel economy gains. With the waste gate open (as it will be much of the time), the engine will genrally operate exactly as it does now since most of the exhaust is bypassing the turbo.

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I also agree though that you can pay for a lot of fuel with any amount of mods... I guess I like having power in reserve but don't always use it. I also want the efficiency though not just the power.

The upside is that most mods won't hurt fuel economy, many improve it as they're improving the efficiency of the engine. Just have to stay away from a big cam, big stalls, and stuff like that and it'll keep near stock mileage as long as you're not getting on it.

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Originally Posted by bumpin96monte (Post 713993)

With modern GM stuff, there is no chip - you plug in a laptop, modify the tune, then reflash it back to the computer. I'm not familiar with the 3500, so I'm not sure which tuner is used most with them. The 3800s use either DHP Powrtuner or HPTuners. The other option is to just pay someone else to tune it as there is as pretty steep learning curve to tuning.

Ah ok so you need to reprogram the PCM that makes sense. That sounds like expensive software I'm sure. Yeah and I wouldn't want to mess that up.

Its hard to compare to a factory turbo offering, especially a modern DI engine. Just don't want you to think dropping a turbo on your engine will give any sort of notable fuel economy gains. With the waste gate open (as it will be much of the time), the engine will generally operate exactly as it does now since most of the exhaust is bypassing the turbo.

This actually sounds good to me since I am not constantly stepping into it but I like to have the power available. Most likely I would never put one on as I don't like adding any complication but I appreciate the info and am getting a better understanding now.

The upside is that most mods won't hurt fuel economy, many improve it as they're improving the efficiency of the engine. Just have to stay away from a big cam, big stalls, and stuff like that and it'll keep near stock mileage as long as you're not getting on it.

I always thought that most all mods would kill economy so its good to hear this... thanks again for all your info I have definitely learned a bit