My Fuji White 2012 became a Kaikoura Stone 2016

[manoftaste]

Both superchargers and turbochargers are basically just air pumps. How much they prevent power loss at altitude depends on how they're designed and controlled (e.g. how much air they can pump at a given altitude vs. engine rpm, and how much they'll pressurize the engine's cylinders before a bypass/waste-gate starts opening.)

My friend, who's a private pilot & flight instructor, reminded me that the British Spitfire was supercharged even back in the 1930s. That's so it would still perform at way over 10,000 feet.

Sure, but I think it had to do with how differently both systems worked. Meaning, Turbocharger operates on the principle of getting the air pressure to reach a certain level by using exhaust, so it may take it a little longer at high altitude to get to the set pressure value due to air being thin, but it eventually will. Vs a Supercharger which is connected to engine itself with a belt/chain and has its spinning mechanism/wheel size designed to reach a certain pressure at sea level. So at higher altitudes that wheel will still be spinning at the same exact speed as at sea level by virtue of its being directly connected to the engine itself, hence producing whatever pressure it can produce using the available air.

 

[Surfrider77]

A turbo's exhaust pressue is typically far more powerful than a belt driven system. The turbo system uses a wastegate to vent the extra pressure to keep a preset boost pressure from the turbo. This is completely variable on the fly adjustments to hit the desired boost pressure.. and of course to prevent overboost.

There can be lag in the time it takes a turbo to spool up. This is the old turbo stereotype, but with today's technology a hell of a lot can be overcome. BMW uses a 3 turbo system in their Diesel M, one of which is pre-spun up electronically to eliminate boost. Their V8 turbo engines in the 50i and M cars have reverse flow engines and the turbos sit on top directly in the V. There's a hell of a lot of new engineering in these systems these days. Turbos are the way forward for powerful yet efficient engines of the future. You'd be hard pressed to find a relevant manufacturer without turbos in their lineup.

The supercharger can only ever spin as fast as the engine rpm (with belt / pulley ratios factored in).

 

[ktm525]

Great 3 turbos in the middle of nowhere waiting to break down... I get that a few MPG can squeezed but for all the added complexity to me it is not worth it. The LR4 should have kept the 5.0L (In fact they should have made a 6.0L and got rid of DI and variable cam). Another nice engine would have been a 4.5L I6 with minimal tech. Won't happen I know as we live in different times.

 

[Surfrider77]

Your EAS has a far higher chance of breaking than a turbo. This isn't the 80s. The tech has come leaps and bounds. I have owned 4 BMWs over the last few years and none have been an issue, nor any forum posts about such. Ignoring the tech because of the perception of some turbo gremlins are going to leave you stranded is pretty out of touch. With the complexity in today's vehicles, there's about a million other things I would worry about first.

I do agree they should have kept the 5.0L engine in the LR4 though. If anything, because going to the SCV6 was a drop in hp / tq all for the sake of virtually 0 gas savings. (From forum members reports)

 

[ktm525]

Thats good. About 10 years ago BMW had a horrible time with the I6 TT (335,535). Failing high pressure fuel pumps and turbo issues.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/12/class-action-suit-alleges-bmw-n54-turbo-engine-unsafe-causes-un/

My point being that if we(and govt) could just accept the fact that a LR4 will get poor fuel economy we could go to a "low tech" V8 and increase the cubic inches. By ditching direct injection we could get rid of fouled intake tracks and valves and exhaust particulates. A proven design would be most welcome as the years and miles pile up considering there is not a fully equipped LR dealer on the corner... Unfortunately manufacturers are being chased be government regulations to smaller displacement forced induction power plants. All things being equal I will place my longevity bet on a large cubic inch inline 6 or V8 vs a high compression forced induction small cubic inch equivalent.

 

[Surfrider77]

If it's pure reliability you are after, just slap an old diesel in and call it a day. The upside of all these forced induction engines is gobs of torque right off the start of the revs. I will give it that.

I am curious what engines come next in the LR lineup, particularly the Defender. Because, in all honesty, there isn't a compelling choice of any of them aside from the SCV8 in the RR.

 

[iSurfvilano]

If it's pure reliability you are after, just slap an old diesel in and call it a day. The upside of all these forced induction engines is gobs of torque right off the start of the revs. I will give it that.

I am curious what engines come next in the LR lineup, particularly the Defender. Because, in all honesty, there isn't a compelling choice of any of them aside from the SCV8 in the RR.

Other than a powerful diesel option I have to agree that the most compelling engine they have in the parts bin is the 5.0L V8 Supercharged SVR engine....550hp, yeah baby! Give it 5-10 years (maybe less?) and you'll start seeing LS3's being put into used LR4s...it's only a matter of time and someone with enough time to make a conversion kit...look at the older NAS defenders that have LS motors in them. Lot's of cool conversions coming out of the Las Vegas area.

 

[iSurfvilano]

Seems like quite an upgrade to me, with just about everything except Adaptive Cruise -

Black Pack
HD Pkg (Twin Speed T-Box, Full Size Spare, Locking Rear Diff)
Meridian Surround Sound System 825 Watts
Vision Assist Pkg
Climate Comfort Pkg

The Kaikoura Stone is growing on me. Really like the blind spot monitor w/cross traffic alert. The sound system is awesome! It was used, hit 13K miles while I drove it home.

View attachment 7203

Hate the huge running boards. I'm going to do some Forum research to see if they can be replaced by side tubes without compromising crash safety.

Are those 20" rims?

 

[LR4 in CO]

The rims are 19" - part of the Black Package for 19" wheels.