THE GIST: Stellantis’ SRT performance division is testing a new technology it calls eBoost Air that uses an electrically powered air compressor to reduce turbo lag by spooling up a turbocharger as exhaust gas pressure builds.
Turbochargers are some of the world’s fastest machines, but they need time to get up to speed.
The engine exhaust gas that spins them has to accelerate itself before there’s enough pressure to turn the turbine, which leads to the dreaded turbo lag.
The bigger the turbo, the worse it is. Automakers have tried to address the issue in various ways, including using staggered size turbos and eTurbos with electric motors mounted to the turbine shafts, but SRT is trying something different.
The Stellantis performance division has unveiled a Jeep Grand Cherokee equipped with a Hurricane turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six engine equipped with a technology it called eBoost Air.
The setup adds an electric compressor with its own induction system that’s switched on at low RPMs to fill the gap as exhaust pressure builds. SRT says it can get the engine cranking out 90% of its maximum torque in .685 seconds before a bypass valve switches to the standard induction system.
“The SRT division is leveraging rapid development and cross-functional engineering to evaluate emerging performance technologies,” Tom Sacoman, head of SRT operations, said in a news release. “In this case, by electromechanically pre-spooling the turbochargers before exhaust energy is available, we’re able to significantly improve boost response and drivability.”
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SRT said the response is more like a supercharged engine’s. it hasn’t revealed if it is working with any outside companies on the eBoost Air system, but Borg Warner revealed a eBooster a decade ago with a similar design and performance characteristics. Torque curves show that the eBooster increased pressure by more than 50% at one second compared to a standard turbocharged engine, which needed about 2.5 seconds of throttle application to surpass the eBooster engine.
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The eBooster results were close to those of an eTurbo. The eBooster’s main advantage is that it is easier to incorporate into an existing turbocharged engine design as an add-on component compared to the complexity of an eTurbo.
SRT built the prototype in less than two months, but hasn’t yet confirmed any plans to put it into a production vehicle that uses the Hurricane, which is currently featured in Jeep, Dodge and Ram products.
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