Ok folks, I've looked through the forum to see if anyone had an answer to reduce the turbo lag an the twinair, didn't find a real answer so I'm asking the question again.

Thanks all.

I ran mine for 6 years and never found turbo lag an issue. Not found many posts on here about it either, so that probably accounts for the lack of replies.

Had ours for three years.
85bhp TA.

The turbo lag is a bit of a problem. Not a big problem, but a bit of a problem.
If I'm behind a vehicle and I want to overtake, there's a pause before the power comes in. Maybe a second or so delay after flooring the throttle, and it sort of dies just before the power comes.

I'm sort of ready for it now, but I think it's normal for a turbo engine, so I just live with it.

Mick.

Yes, I'd call it a characteristic, rather than a problem. When preparing to overtake, I'd drop a gear which minimises the lag. The surge of torque and subsequent acceleration more than compensate for any slight delay, which is why I said I didn't find it an issue.

That's the " get yourself comfortable lag " then !!

I've been driving our 1.6 16v Clio quite a bit recently.

The performance of the car is similar to our Fiat500TA, but the ability to overtake and/or accelerate hard is very much easier in the Clio because there's no lag and hesitation.

It pulls brilliantly in higher gears with lower revs. I order to get the same grunt out of the TA, you have to drop a gear or two and wait for the power to come in.

Regards,
Mick.

Ok thanks for that, wanted to make sure all of them did it and not just mine.
Thought a different recirculating/dump valve might have improved it a bit.

sharpandroid said:

Ok thanks for that, wanted to make sure all of them did it and not just mine.
Thought a different recirculating/dump valve might have improved it a bit.

Click to expand...

Someone on here once said that Fiat spent millions of pounds in the design and the look of the Fiat500, but pennies on the actual hardware.

............ or words to that effect.

Mick.

I sometimes wonder if the Ford Ka suffers the same way given its built on the same platform?

John202020 said:

I sometimes wonder if the Ford Ka suffers the same way given its built on the same platform?

Click to expand...

The Ka was never offered with the twinair engine. Chrysler Ypsilson was though. Personally I don't find the twinair laggy in my 500 and would rather be planning an overtaking manoeuvre in this than my previous 1.2.

gazz_bee said:

....... Personally I don't find the twinair laggy in my 500 ........

Click to expand...

I wonder if yours is a later model and has been improved?

Mine is a 85hp Sept 2011 61plate.

Mick.

Mick F said:

I wonder if yours is a later model and has been improved?

Mine is a 85hp Sept 2011 61plate.

Mick.

Click to expand...

Maybe, mine is a 85hp Euro 6, 16 plate 16 months old or so. My other car is a 15 plate 1 Series BMW so I do have a reference for modern turbo charged petrol engines.


I wouldn't describe either car as laggy (the BMW definitely not!) but you are occasionally aware in both that the throttle pedal isn't directly connected to anything mechanical.

Mick, I'm guessing your Clio has the same 115bhp 1.6 engine that my Megane of a few years ago had. If so, it's a bit of an unfair comparison, given the extra power of the 1.6. I'm not sure how the torque figures compare. When I had my TA I had a 1.2 n/a Clio hire car for a couple of days, and that was a slug in comparison. Again, unfair as it only had 75bhp.
I never found the lag a problem, but perhaps I just got used to it and drove around it.

Don't find mine particularly laggy either, not a lot different to having a NA car 'on cam' for optimum performance. Anything above about 1500 rpm and mine pulls in a fairly linear fashion. I do recall though when the engine was new seeking out the boost to keep things smooth but now it's really flexible and reasonably responsive for a small 2 cylinder.

Yes, I found, with some revs on, that any lag virtually disappeared. My 500X Multiair is similar, but with 140bhp really shifts in Sport mode!

TrevC said:

Mick, I'm guessing your Clio has the same 115bhp 1.6 engine that my Megane of a few years ago had. If so, it's a bit of an unfair comparison, given the extra power of the 1.6. I'm not sure how the torque figures compare. When I had my TA I had a 1.2 n/a Clio hire car for a couple of days, and that was a slug in comparison. Again, unfair as it only had 75bhp.
I never found the lag a problem, but perhaps I just got used to it and drove around it.

Click to expand...

I wasn't really comparing, just illustrating that the two cars have similar performance, but the Clio is easier to drive. The engine is way more flexible and forgiving than the TA.

We were lent a courtesy Clio some years ago and it was a 1.2 8v or something.
A complete slug to drive, and it died on the hills.

Our Clio is indeed the same engine as your Megane though ours is rated at 110bhp, but I reckon the 0 to 60 times are similar to the TA. Our Clio weighs 1535Kg and the TA weighs 1370Kg (according to the VIN plates)

Someone do the maths please!
Too early in the morning for me! :worship:

Using my rudimentary arithmetic ........... correct me if I'm wrong.
Clio is about 70bhp per tonne
TA is about 65bhp per tonne
Not a great deal in it?

Regards,
Mick.

Yeah, with you on the flexibility, that's the downside of only having only 2 cylinders. I think those weights must be maximum laden, I seem to recall the 500 being under 1 tonne unladen.