Self parking, self-driving autonomous driving is something you may have seen in films like ‘total recall’ featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger or remember Will Smith in ‘I, Robot’ ?  These films have given us the impression you can sit back, watch TV, make video calls or surf the internet, all displayed on a full screen displayed on the window screen, while letting the car drive its self.  Let see how far from the truth Hollywood are?! 

Have the days of large CC engines been pushed out and replaced with smaller turbo charged engines producing the same if not more power. Come with us as we look at the evolution of the Ford Mustang V8 to the 2016 2.3 turbocharged ecoboost engine. 

Technology is changing every aspect of our lives faster than ever before, and the automotive industry is no exception.

It’s an exciting time for car tech, as companies compete to integrate the latest developments into their models. Discover the cars of the future, today, with our round up of the 6 most exciting pieces of automotive tech set to hit the market in the coming years.

Over the past decade, turbocharging has truly entered the mainstream of motoring. Once reserved for high performance models, you’re now just as likely to find a turbo fitted to a standard family hatchback as you are a sports car.

With virtually every major automotive manufacturer having now turned to the turbo, we take a look at the reasons behind the trend, and examine exactly why your next car is likely to be fitted with a turbo.

In this post, we take a look at ECU remapping and tuning boxes in detail, looking at the cost, performance and safety of both options.

Here we’re looking at the turbo actuator (also known as a wastegate actuator), showing you what it is, what it does, and why you need one, before looking at when you might need to consider upgrading and fitting a new one.

That’s right, spring is here! With the weather improving, it’s got everyone at AET dreaming about a barbecue summer.

Whilst the British summer might be hit and miss weather wise, there’s little better than driving down an open road in a fast, 2 seater convertible, with the wind rushing through your hair on a hot summers day.

This month, we’re getting our tops down, with a list of 5 of our favourite turbocharged roadsters available in 2015, guaranteed to raise a smile when the sun is shining.

With turbocharging now firmly at the forefront of automotive development, the technology behind it is moving forward at a faster rate than ever before.

We’ve already taken a look at the rise in electric turbocharging on the blog, and previewed some exciting future developments, and now, we’re going to be looking at the concept behind it. 

In this post, we explore electric turbo compounding, examining what it is, how it works, and why the technology looks set to transform turbocharging as we know it in the near future.
 

Winter weather can make for some seriously difficult driving conditions, and with forecasts for lots of snow, ice and heavy winds over the coming month, it’s vital to take extra precautions to ensure you’re safe on the roads.

Prepare for the testing conditions and keep yourself on the road in the worst weather with our top 10 winter driving tips.

Prevention is always better than the cure, and looking after your vehicle and keeping it well maintained is the best way to avoid costly repairs.

With more components and a more complex design, turbocharged engines are a little different to their naturally aspirated cousins – which means they benefit from a bit of special treatment when it comes to driving and everyday care.

This month, we take a look at 5 driving and maintenance tips designed to help you keep your turbocharged car in tip-top condition.

From early pioneers like the Oldsmobile Jetfire, to modern classics like the Toyota Supra Turbo, there have been some truly fantastic turbocharged cars – but which are the best?

This month, we’re looking at some of our favourite iconic turbocharged cars from the past 50 years, and after a fair amount of debate, we’ve managed to whittle it down to our top 5!

Looking to buy a new car, but worried about the running costs? This month, we take a look at some seriously frugal motors, with our list of the top 5 most fuel-efficient cars of 2014, perfect for if you do a lot of miles, are concerned about your carbon emissions, or just want to keep running costs down.

As we’re going for frugal motors, we’ve discounted more expensive hybrid and electric cars, and only looked at those fitted with conventional engines.

Cold, wet, and windy – sadly, the British winter is here again!

In addition to creating hazardous driving conditions, cold weather can also put some serious strain on your vehicle, which is why it’s so important to be prepared.

Batten down the hatches, and ensure you’re ready for the worst of the winter weather with our top tips, designed to keep you on the road, and ensure you’re not left stranded now the cold weather has set in.

Last month, we launched Turbo tech 101 – a series of posts designed to provide some basic information about different turbocharging components.

In part one, we kicked things off by looking at the intercooler, and this month, we’ll be looking at turbo wastegates – finding out what they are, what they do and how they work.

AT AET, we’re always looking out for the latest developments in turbo tech – and earlier this month, French company Valeo has announced the development of a new electric turbocharger that promises to completely eliminate turbo lag.

In this post, we examine the new turbo technology, and look at the future of electric turbocharging as a whole, examining its benefits, downsides, and some near-future applications.

At AET, we love the sound a turbocharger makes – but we understand that when your car starts making noises, you want to know exactly what’s happening, and why!

In this guide we examine the turbo whistle, a noise made by turbochargers when in operation – you’ll learn what it sounds like, what causes it, and when you need to have it checked out.

How to get more out of a vehicle’s engine is always at the centre of the true performance enthusiast’s thinking. Whilst there are many ways to measure vehicle performance, in the world of the petrol-head – BHP is the undisputed king!

Thankfully, if your current turbocharged car isn’t satisfying your need for speed, there are plenty of things you can do to remedy it! In this guide, we look at 5 relatively easy methods you can use to drive the BHP up, and maximise engine performance.

At AET, we’re serious about turbo tech, but we understand that not everyone is quite so passionate about turbocharger components!

Whilst there’s nothing wrong with not knowing your wastegate from your turbine, a little knowledge about components and what they do can be really helpful! Whether you’re looking to improve the performance or power of your engine, or just want to ensure you don’t have the wool pulled over your eyes by an unscrupulous mechanic when things go wrong, getting clued up is the way to go.

In this post, we’re looking at the intercooler, examining what it is, what it does and how it works, as well as providing some additional information about the different types of intercooler available.

If you’re looking to maximise the power and performance of your vehicle, then changing your stock turbocharger for a bigger or better model can be an effective part of the process.

In this guide, we take a look at some of the reasons for upgrading, what you can expect to achieve, and the considerations you need to take for the process to be completed safely and in the most efficient way possible.

Before looking at this guide, you might want to look at our beginners guide to turbocharging, which offers a brief overview of how turbocharging works!

If you think having your vehicle ‘chipped’ is strictly for the performance enthusiast, then think again – ECU remapping is suitable for everyone, and can provide huge benefits to businesses running fleets of vehicles.

In this post, we explore ECU remapping and the benefits of re-flashing for economy, and outline the realistic savings businesses with fleet vehicles could expect to achieve.

Whilst we’ve already explored some of the most common causes of turbocharger damage on the blog before, like oil problems, foreign objects and over-speeding, these aren’t the only things that can cause expensive problems!

In this post, we look at how overheating and excessive exhaust gas temperatures can damage turbochargers, and the kind of damage they cause, before looking at the symptoms, and what can be done to protect your vehicle.

At one time, turbochargers on passenger vehicles were the reserve of the performance enthusiast, designed to help eek out extra power to improve acceleration and top speed – but today, things have changed completely.

With rising fuel prices and increasing concern about the environment, manufacturers have turned to the turbo to help solve the problem, in an effort to improve engine efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of driving.

In this article, we look at the principles behind turbocharging for economy, how things are changing, and what the future holds.

Customers often ask us questions about the differences between turbochargers on diesel and petrol engines, in terms of how they work, and what they are used for.

In this post, we explore the topic, looking at the principles behind turbocharging, the basic differences between diesel and petrol engines, and how this affects the design of turbochargers for each application.

Oil problems, debris, overspeeding, wear and tear…there are a number of different things that can cause a turbocharger to fail, but catching a problem early can save you a lot of time, money and hassle in the long run.

At AET, we’ve been helping customers with their turbochargers since 1974, and in this post, we explore some of the tell tale signs that your turbo might be on the way out, or in need of urgent repairs/maintenance by one of our turbocharging experts.

One common question that we often get from customers is why turbochargers perform differently depending on the time of year, temperature and weather. Generally, these customers have noticed a significant drop in performance on hot summer days when compared to cooler spring and autumn nights.

Whilst this is a common trait amongst all turbocharged vehicles, and isn’t anything to worry too much about – in this post, we take a look at why turbochargers produce less power in hot weather, and what you can do about it.

Last month on the blog, we looked at where big automotive brands get their turbochargers, and learnt that the vast majority of the big car companies actually buy in their turbos from other companies.

In this month’s post, we’re going to look at some of these specialist turbocharging companies in a little more detail, exploring the kind of turbos they make, and why they are trusted by the major automotive brands.

At AET, we’re really passionate about turbocharging – but we understand that not everyone feels the same way, and that lots of people simply aren’t interested in the technical side of motoring.

To some, cars are a necessity, designed to take them from A to B, and they have no interest in how they work, as long as they are working properly – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!

However, when things go wrong, having a little bit of knowledge can help to ensure that you get the right, cost-effective fix for your engine, and don’t have the wool pulled in front of your eyes by unscrupulous mechanics.

In this brief, introductory guide, we take a look at some of the ways you can tell whether your vehicle’s engine has a turbocharger fitted to it.

Last month, we took a brief look into the risks of purchasing poor quality turbochargers and components – and learned why it’s always better and more cost-effective in the long run to opt for high quality parts.

This month, we take a closer look at some of the key differences between quality turbochargers manufactured by reputable, specialist companies, and cheap, sup-par turbos available from some online retailers.

At AET, we know that prevention is always better than the cure, and whilst we’re always here to help when things go wrong with your turbocharger, we understand you’d rather not have to use our services!

As the title suggests, when it comes to turbocharging maintenance, oil has a big part to play.

In this guide, we take a look at the importance of oil when it comes to looking after your turbocharger, and provide some handy maintenance tips designed to prolong the life of your turbo and keep it running at tip-top condition.

At AET, we do a lot of work with franchise car and commercial vehicle dealers, handling their out of warranty turbocharger repairs and replacements.

Naturally, dealers want to ensure that they get the right, high quality components for their vehicles, and sometimes ask if we use “official” or “branded” turbochargers in our repair work, which we do.

However, dealers are used to receiving components from their parent brand, supplied in branded packaging that clearly states that it’s manufactured specifically for their vehicle – and when it comes to turbocharging, things are a little different!

At AET, we’ve been working with turbochargers for 40 years – and in that time, we’ve developed a pretty comprehensive understanding about what makes a good turbocharger!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of poor quality turbochargers and components available, and it can be tempting for customers to opt for the cheapest product out there – but this is almost always false economy.

In this post, we take a look at the issue of poor quality components, and why it’s always better (and cheaper!) in the long run to opt for high quality parts.

Whatever vehicle you own, chances are that you want to get the most out of it when it comes to fuel economy and performance – but the reality is that the vast majority of vehicles on the road simply aren’t reaching their full potential.

In this post, we look at ECU remapping, and how making some simple changes to your engine software can be the most cost-effective way to improve the fuel economy and power of your vehicle.

There are a huge number of different turbochargers in use on diesel and petrol engines across a wide range of industries and applications. Whilst all these turbochargers are slightly different in terms of their size, shape and configuration, they all work in the same way, and share the same basic parts.

In this post, you’ll learn more about the different parts and components that make up a turbocharger, and find out what it is they do.

A couple of months ago, we published part two of our history of turbocharging, where we covered the rise of the commercial diesel engines, turbocharging’s impact on motorsport, and its arrival in the passenger vehicle market during the 70s and 80s.

In this post, we’ll be taking a look at the modern era, from the increase in turbocharged passenger vehicles during the 1980s, through the development of the technology during the 90s, and on to the turbocharged revolution that’s happening right now.

For 2014, Formula One is ripping up the current rulebook, and introducing some revolutionary changes designed to really shake up the sport.

Whilst there are new rules covering the chassis and fuel consumption, the biggest change (in our book at least!) lies with the engine. Next year, they’re ditching the naturally aspirated V8s, and replacing them with a smaller, turbocharged V6.

In this post, we take a closer look at the changes to the 2014 F1 engine, before analysing why they’ve done it, and giving our predictions about performance, standings and competition for the year ahead.

The temperatures have dropped and winter is most definitely here – and there’s nothing worse than your car breaking down and leaving you stranded in the cold weather.

All vehicle engines need to be looked after during the winter months, but there are some special steps you should take to help protect and prolong the life of your turbocharger.

Follow our handy guide to winter turbo maintenance, and make sure you don’t get left out in the cold this winter.

A few weeks ago, we posted ‘Turbocharged beginnings’ – the first part in a series of posts outlining the history of turbocharging. We covered the early years of the technology, from invention, through early aviation use, and up to the first turbocharged passenger vehicles.

This post starts where that one left off, and this week, we’ll be looking at the rise of turbocharging in commercial diesel engines, and the increase in popularity of the technology throughout the 70s and into the 80s.