Bronco sport

[181BaldEagles]

Hello,

as someone who this is there first new car I would like to know if anyone has had good performance upgrades by adding anything aftermarket?

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[Mark S.]

What kind of performance improvement are you looking for? Engine power? Fuel economy? Better handling? Better ride quality? Better off-road performance? The more specific you are the better chance you have at getting a useful answer.

 

[181BaldEagles]

Mostly more engine power but it would be nice to have better fuel economy too. I was just seeing if anyone, say put another turbo or something on it and it’s a little faster. If you know something that could get the 0-60 mph acceleration for the 1.5l a little faster for not that much $ that would be cool. Thanks!

 

[Mark S.]

Mostly more engine power but it would be nice to have better fuel economy too. I was just seeing if anyone, say put another turbo or something on it and it’s a little faster. If you know something that could get the 0-60 mph acceleration for the 1.5l a little faster for not that much $ that would be cool. Thanks!

I know of just one vendor selling power upgrades for the 1.5L: 5Star Tuning. You'll have to check on the prices at the site. I would urge caution. If your car is still under warranty you risk losing coverage with aftermarket parts and software meant to increase power output. You have a 1.5L engine that's capable of 180+ hp in stock form; you're already asking a lot of your engine. The number generally used to gauge power output capability for an engine is called specific output, which compares horsepower to displacement. The 1.5L Dragon has a specific power output of 120 HP per liter, which is quite an achievement for an OEM engine. Just a decade ago that would be supercar territory.

 

[Tigger]

Also, as a caution, if you start adding these after market power boosters you will see a significant drop in MPG. Using simple logic/physics, you understand they are inversely related (that is, you give up one for the other) but this is often accentuated in these aftermarket products as they are focused on only the one whereas the OEM has to always consider the trade-offs.

 

[M3H7363]

Mostly more engine power but it would be nice to have better fuel economy too.

Pick one or the other. Can’t have both.

 

[181BaldEagles]

Sweet, I didn’t know that Mark thanks for answering. I got the 3 year warranty but wanted to start saving for some upgrades after it ends. And I would rather it be able to race when a compass pulls up next to me at the light. Then it having good fuel economy. Could you add another turbo or supercharger or is that too much for a I3 cylinder?

 

[Mark S.]

Could you add another turbo or supercharger or is that too much for a I3 cylinder?

That's beyond my engineering knowledge. You would have to get with a specialty performance shop for that.

What I can tell you is the turbocharger installed on your engine is fairly specialized. It's made of particularly lightweight materials to reduce lag, which is one of the factors that makes a 1.5L engine powerful and responsive enough at lower RPMs for everyday driving in the city. If you add a larger turbo for more power that generally means it will take longer to spool up, and that means turbo lag. Greater horsepower is the name of the game on a race track, but race car engines remain at a high enough RPM where boost is almost instantaneous. Your engine currently makes almost all of its available torque at somewhere around 2500 RPM, due mainly to the rapid turbo spool up time. If you put a larger turbo on it you might get more power on the top end, but you would likely have to wait until 3000 or more RPM before the turbo spools up enough to make significant boost. Without boost your engine will not produce torque, and that would negatively impact driveability.

Life is full of tradeoffs...

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