Ford Taurus ST to arrive early next year

Vette Boss said:
A turbo or supercharger is still better than effectively shutting off half an engine, you don't get problems with friction or vibration. When you think of it, the idea is silly.

If a car needs a certain amount of power to go a given speed, the most efficient way is the simplest, use the lowest revs possible. For example, say you need 15hp to go 50mph, a V8 at 1,200rpm is more efficient than a smaller I4 at 2,000rpm. That's what happens with cylinder deactivation, it's just marketing nonsense.

They really need to work at reducing weight. Extra weight ruins everything.
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Oh I wasn't saying that turning off half the engine is a good idea, I was just saying that turbo isn't really all that efficient either. Especially under acceleration, where in a bigger engine you could get away with lower RPM's with a turbo before boost kicks in they tend to be pretty useless. After all boosted cars tend to have pretty low compression, which means you basically have to boost for overtakes and getting onto the highway.
 
I suppose you could bypass the turbo altogether with some active electronics and smart Y-valves, but auto manufacturers like to keep drivetrains as passive as possible... Probably for good reason.
 
prizrak said:
Oh I wasn't saying that turning off half the engine is a good idea, I was just saying that turbo isn't really all that efficient either. Especially under acceleration, where in a bigger engine you could get away with lower RPM's with a turbo before boost kicks in they tend to be pretty useless. After all boosted cars tend to have pretty low compression, which means you basically have to boost for overtakes and getting onto the highway.
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OK you keep bringing up "boosting" a lot, you do realize that when you get on the throttle to accelerate in a big engine, you're doing the exact same thing? The only difference is that if the big engine doesn't go full throttle, it's not operating quite as efficient as the boosted engine.

Blower engines tend to lose their efficiency at full throttle compared to a larger displacement N/A engine, how often does a street car spend at full throttle, especially when driven by the majority of people on the road?

petarkb said:
I suppose you could bypass the turbo altogether with some active electronics and smart Y-valves, but auto manufacturers like to keep drivetrains as passive as possible... Probably for good reason.
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Modern turbo engines already have all that stuff. The wastegate(s) are electronically controlled.
 
thedguy said:
OK you keep bringing up "boosting" a lot, you do realize that when you get on the throttle to accelerate in a big engine, you're doing the exact same thing? The only difference is that if the big engine doesn't go full throttle, it's not operating quite as efficient as the boosted engine.

Blower engines tend to lose their efficiency at full throttle compared to a larger displacement N/A engine, how often does a street car spend at full throttle, especially when driven by the majority of people on the road?
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I'm using my own experience with both turbo and N/A cars here. The bigger engines generally require less RPM's in any given gear to accelerate than small turbo's. In my personal experience when the turbo starts spooling mileage goes to complete shit even if you are far from WOT.

If I drive my car completely staying out of boost range of the turbo, something I've been doing in normal driving lately, it turns into a VERY slow 4 cylinder. Basically the point I am making is that while a turbo 4banger at WOT is probably more economical than a V6 with the same power it would not be a huge difference and the biggest advantage of a turbo comes from the fact that it doesn't have to be used all the time under normal driving.

I can't say anything about blowers as I never driven one.
 
I noticed that too in my old Volvo 850 Turbo, as soon as I hit the turbo fuel economy went right out the window.
 
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In January, Ford announced it would make the unprecedented move of redesigning its Taurus sedan, and our spy photographers have now spotted the first running prototypes of the next Taurus while undergoing testing in Michigan.

The current Ford Taurus was unveiled in early 2007 as the 2008 Ford Five Hundred. It was then renamed to Taurus in an effort to take advantage of the nameplate?s strong mindshare. The car was ?facelifted? to give it more style than the original 2005 Five Hundred. Unfortunately, the move was not enough to boost sales or public perception of the model.

As a result, Ford CEO Alan Mulally ordered a complete redesign. Less than six months ago, he told the press the 2010 Taurus would be ?the one we should have made originally.?

Ford has decided to combine elements of its ?Bold American? and European ?Kinetic? design language for the 2010 model. While this isn?t Ford?s all-new design language (which will debut in several years), it is certainly a move in the right direction.

Although the car spotted today was heavily clad in camouflage, an earlier image leak and our artist?s illustration show what the production Taurus will look like. The basic three-bar grille remains, but it has been grafted onto a trapezoidal opening. A similarly shaped inverted air intake sits below the grille. The headlights have some detailing similar to other American Ford products, but their shape is decidedly European.

Underhood, Ford is expected to equipped the Taurus with its new family of ECOboost engines, including the high-performance SHO model.

Is it a groundbreaking design? Not especially. Will it allow Ford to compete effectively against its Asian competition? Absolutely ? and that?s what counts.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-taurus-2010.html#more-8028
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prizrak said:
I'm using my own experience with both turbo and N/A cars here. The bigger engines generally require less RPM's in any given gear to accelerate than small turbo's. In my personal experience when the turbo starts spooling mileage goes to complete shit even if you are far from WOT.

If I drive my car completely staying out of boost range of the turbo, something I've been doing in normal driving lately, it turns into a VERY slow 4 cylinder. Basically the point I am making is that while a turbo 4banger at WOT is probably more economical than a V6 with the same power it would not be a huge difference and the biggest advantage of a turbo comes from the fact that it doesn't have to be used all the time under normal driving.

I can't say anything about blowers as I never driven one.
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I'm not surprised one bit by that info. A big engine CAN net decent fuel economy but you gotta keep your foot out of it.

Turbos don't magically make fuel economy better, they just allow the frugal driver to have power when they really want. In fact if you look at BSFC figures, forced induced cars are less efficient per HP made than a tuned N/A motor of equal power.*


*BSFC = Brake Specific Fuel consumption. Essentially it's how much power you're making per given amount of fuel burned.
 
Vltros said:
What is a Lincoln steering wheel doing in this proto Taurus? :?
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They used a part from the bin. This is a test vehicle and the platform is shared with Lincoln.
 
I hope they all have those spots, that would make them more entertaining
 
The dash just looks plain retarded..
 
I'm trying to see the problem.....but I can't.
 
I just hope they decide to go with a ball bearing turbo!
 
Dsemaj said:
The dash just looks plain retarded..
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Care to explain what you think is wrong with the dash? Your only looking at 1/4 of it so you really can't make any judgments right now.
 
Yes since it is most likely a fuel cutoff switch or something like that.
 
Have you never come across the phenomenon of someone telling you "What every you do, do not hit the Big Red Button!" and that is the only thing that henceforth occupies your mind? This is the visual version of that.

Right, on the interior the plastics look like an interim solution, the incorrect steering wheel jars with some and what is that sticking up in-front of the passenger, on the near side of the car - looks odd. Having said that I am sure that they are going to make the final version more integrated and where they are being innovative it will be a better part of the whole.
 
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