Does the turbo adversely affect the life of the engine?

 

Not enough to be worried about at all.

 

I would think not as it comes from the factory with it. If you were to add it to a justacooper I think it could hurt some of the internals. Just like those guys that slap a turbo kit on a civic and call it a day.

 

A turbo engine is, in general, more stressed than the non-turbo, even factory units. Nobody knows how it will affect a MINI long term, since none of these engines have been around long enough to get good data.

Really though, what can you do? If you want a MINI and you want the extra power, you get the S.

 

No, it does not.

As long as the engine is running properly, and you keep up your maintenance (tighter intervals than NA) , the car will last for just as long.

The benefit is the turbocharged engine is more efficient, no matter how you look at it.

 

"NA" ?

 

"Naturally Aspirated" ?

 

To give some perspective, I had a '93 Mitsubishi GSX with the 4G93T boosted to within an inch of its life. Still going after 189,000 miles. I sold it to a drag racer who still tracks the thing.

 

With a "S" you need less revs/gear change to overtake cars/emerge into hwy.

 

BMW has a pretty good idea how long these will last. All auto manufacturers do engine durability testing to predict failure of the drivetrains under various conditions. Below is a an example of a Ford test on a turbo motor.

To validate their water-cooled design choice, the EcoBoost V-6 engine was put through intense testing, well beyond normal test protocols. In an engine dynamometer ‘torture chamber’, Ford engineers ran EcoBoost at maximum boost flat out for a 10-minute period. This meant the turbos went beyond red-hot, to the more extreme orange-hot. Then the engine and all cooling were abruptly shut down and the turbo was left to “bake” after this high-speed operation. Test engineers repeated this cycle 1,500 times without an oil change. The turbos were cut open for detailed technical inspections and passed the severe tests with flying colors.

Then onto durability testing. Back in the dynamometer lab, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 went back up to full revs – and maximum turbo boost – for a real endurance test. This time the duration was a bit longer – 362 hours at full throttle. That’s the equivalent of running the 24 Hours of Daytona for more than 15 days straight.

 

The turbos on these cars are tiny. And the engine is built to handle them. Don't worry about it..

 

The same question could be asked for any car from the factory with a turbo. Look at how many cars are coming out of the factory that way. And I'm not just talking about imports. The chevy Cobalt/HHR SS, PT Cruiser, and ford is coming out with the new SHO that is a turbo v-6. And from what I have heard the mustang is getting the same treatment. But like I said earlier if you take a honda civic bolt a turbo on it with everythig needed like an intercooler and whatnot. The life of the engine is going to take a steep drop. MINI/BMW has most likely taken the measures to make sure these new cars last for plenty of miles if you take care of it. Plus the 3-series is turboed now. It's the way to get the best power out of an engine. I know the first gen guys will not agree with that statement but oh well

So if you have an S stop questioning it and go find a nice curve filled road and tear it up. Hell do that even if you have a justacooper. Drive it like you stole it!!!!!!

 

Adversely? No.

I think it enhances it.

Alot!

 

Increasing power on any engine will always reduce the engine life! More power = more pressure = more stress on internal components!

However, the R56 Prince engine is still probably a LONG time away from failing even if you are running current tune from RMW netting around 220hp. You're probably still looking well over 150K miles!

In other words... enjoy your Mini!

 

If you are increasing power on an engine then yes. If you are talking about a factory turbo'd engine then you're talking apples an oranges.

Bottom line. The MINI S has a totally different engine than the justacooper. It's is designed to handle the turbo. There is more power, more pressure, and more stress but there's also better pistons, different timing, more cooling, etc, etc.

This is what many of the posters were getting at when they said that adding a turbo to a car that wasn't designed for it can and does shorten the life of the engine.

You can expect to get a normal cycle of life out of the S just like you would a justacooper or any other car, assuming you do regular maintenace of course.

 

I put a lot of miles on a car before trading...my Acura which the Mini might replace has 208,000 miles on it. In all that time I've replaced the timing belt twice and the radiator...that's about it. And the timing belt is more of a maintainance item than a repair.
Anyway, thanks for the responses...I will go with the "S"

 

It will not break before you get tired of the car.

 

The NA MINI's are under higher compression in the engine whereas the super/turbo charged models run lower compression. So if you put a turbo on an engine under high compression, you run greater risks of damage. Point being, the engines are engineered to handle the additional power and are not identical so no, the turbo won't harm the engine. I'm sure your turbo will fail long before your engine does, lol.

 

Would the boost forced into the cylinder not effectively raise the compression? Would boost fluctuations (+/-) not cause more wear and tear over a non-boosted application?

Engine life is only as good as its regular maintenance. Important in both motors but more so in boosted applications.

 

How about we start with; does running your engine harm it? It would last much longer it you just put it on the shelf and let it sit, no?

Ok now that I have gotten the sarcasm out of the way; as someone pointed out your turbo will most likely fail way before anything happens to the engine, unless of course there's some freak accident or lack of maintenance on your part.

 

True, boost raises the compression, that's why they run lower compression to begin with and boosting a high compression engine isn't smart for longevity.

re: boost fluctuations
sure...if all things were equal internally I suppose.

Consider that BMW engineers their engines with lots of leeway for more power. The MINI engines aren't operating anywhere near their maximum capability, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get 300 hp from an engine that comes with 163hp from the factory, atleast not for any length of time.

Richard

 

SARCASTIC REPLY: Yeah, like running a five minute mile harms your heart.

You TRAIN to run that five minute mile. The Mini S engine was BUILT to run that turbo. It's called ENGINEERING. Do enjoy!