Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site gatech.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!pesnta!amd!gatech!partha From: partha@gatech.UUCP (Partha Dasgupta) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: Turbo, or not Turbo? Message-ID: <11933@gatech.UUCP> Date: Thu, 7-Feb-85 23:57:36 EST Article-I.D.: gatech.11933 Posted: Thu Feb 7 23:57:36 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 8-Feb-85 15:25:50 EST Distribution: na Organization: School of ICS, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Lines: 56 I recently test drove a Mitshubishi Tredia Turbo. To say I was impressed is an understatement. If I had the money I would have bought it on the spot. Not only does the car have phenomenal power for something that looks like a econobox, but the handling and general feel is very good. Looks well made too. Since then I have had several questions regarding Turbo equipped cars: 1) Is using premium octane fuel mandatory? (The price of that stuff is scary). Would the use of regular gas cause the engine to bite the dust? What about moth balls? Do they work? Are they safe? (This is in reference to an article which claimed moth balls in gas improves octane rating) 2) The dealer (and a sticker on the door) were emphatic about the great importance of changing oil every 3000 miles. That is okay, but can I use the synthetic stuff? Does the recommended oil change interval remain the same for synthetic oil? (I am worried about its effect on this elusive turbo gizmo.) 3) Does the turbo have any effect on the life of the engine. I noticed that the ordinary Tredia has a 2.0 liter engine, rated at about 85 h.p., but the Turbo model comes with a 1.8 rated at about 110 h.p. (I am quoting the h.p. rating from memory, and may be a bit off.) Which implies that the turbo really packs a lot of power into a small engine. Doesn't that in any way affect its longevity? (Increased wear, torture etc.) 4) How reliable are turbo's in general? What are its failure modes? It seems to me (logically) that the failure of the turbo unit should should not make the car undrivable (except for a loss of power). Am I right? Can the turbo be disconnected? 5) Last (but not least) does anyone on the net have any experience with the '85 Tredia/Cordia line from Mitshubishi? Also any information regarding prices and dealer markups will be appreciated. Please send me mail. I will post a summary if I get requests to post the information. Thanks in advance. Partha Dasgupta UUCP: {allgra, akgua, .. }!gatech!partha CSNET: partha@gatech -- Partha Dasgupta School of Information & Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332 CSNet: partha @ GATech ARPA: Partha%GATech.CSNet @ CSNet-Relay.ARPA uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,masscomp,ut-ngp}!gatech!partha