What Does NA Mean In Cars?
NA in cars is generally used for engines as there are so many types of engines, and NA is one of a kind. The older cars and trucks usually have NA or naturally aspirated engines because of their ease of maintenance, low cost, and reliability. These engines typically run with lower horsepower, but they are known for their simplicity, durability, and lightweight.
The carburetor is a simple device that allows easy control of the airflow into the engine with a minimum number of moving parts.
The traditional NA engines do not require any external intake force like a supercharger or turbocharger for better performance.
That’s why they are called Naturally aspirated engines, hence the NA engine. The most common NA engines are the inline four-cylinder engine, six-cylinder engine, and the V6 engine.
Table of Contents
- What Does NA Engine Stand For?
- What Is A Turbocharger Engine?
- Which is better, turbo Or Naturally Aspirated?
- Is a naturally aspirated engine good?
What Does NA Engine Stand For?
NA engine stands for natural or Normal aspirated engine. So what does naturally aspirated mean, and how are they different from others? NA engines are named this because they are engines dependent upon the atmospheric pressure for the air intake for combustion.
They do not use any external power for air intake; therefore, they are called the Naturally aspirated or naturally breathing engine.
Most of the NA engines can be seen in older trucks and cars. The most popular naturally aspirated engine is the Ford four-cylinder engine. The engines are usually equipped with a carburetor, which, when opened, makes a mixing chamber of air and fuel.
The air comes in through the intake manifold or air box, and it mixes with fuel or vaporized vapor mixture of fuel with air.
This mixture is then allowed to enter the combustion chamber, which is ignited by spark plugs or direct injection into the combustion chambers.
The fuel and air arrive from the carburetor in a controlled quantity and pressure, thus maintaining a correct ratio between these two ingredients for proper engine operation.
What Is A Turbocharger Engine?
The turbocharger is comprised of small turbines run by exhaust and fresh air. They force more air into the combustion chamber for fuel combustion. This causes the engine to work more efficiently.
A turbocharger is an exhaust gas-driven turbine connected to the engine’s crankshaft and compressor. Through this, a force is generated at the point of use and not at a remote power plant as in traditional turbines.
As air is forced into an engine, it provides oxygen, which allows greater fuel combustion with greater power output. In other words, a turbocharger can be considered an extra “pumping effect” that enables your vehicle to take in more air than it would otherwise be able to without having one installed.
A turbocharger also helps to increase an engine’s overall efficiency by forcing more air into an engine’s cylinder.
The extra air is taken in through an intake piping system and has a more immediate effect on performance than in a normally aspirated engine. This way, it can greatly improve power output without increasing the fuel needed to operate the engine.
Since most turbochargers are connected directly to the exhaust stream, they do not behave like a traditional supercharger, which boosts airflow into the cylinders outside the cylinder.
A turbocharger’s most important advantage over supercharging technology is that it does not require any additional energy source.
engine diary
Which is better, turbo Or Naturally Aspirated?
This is one of the most common queries when choosing the engine of the car, whether a turbo or naturally aspirated engine is better. If you too wonder the same question, do not worry, as below is a brief comparison of both.
- Fuel Efficiency
It is one of the most common deciding factors in choosing the car’s engine. So here Turbo engine will be best in fuel efficiency as turbo on the smaller engine than NA provides the same power in less fuel, so you can say that it has a better fuel efficiency when used with smaller fuel engines.
- Acceleration
Most people think acceleration comes with more power, but they are wrong. Despite providing a greater boost, the turbo engines have less acceleration than the NA engine. NA engines do not lag when you start the car and will give you a steady rise in power.
- Performance
Turbo engines provide more performance, so you can say that in terms of performance, turbo engines will be better.
- Noise
But turbo engine produces a lot of noise so you can say that it is unsuitable for car owners with children or elders. It will disturb your sleep, which is unsuitable for a car owner with a child.
- Cost
Yes, both are expensive, but there is a big difference between the prices.
The turbo engines cost more than naturally aspirated engines as naturally aspirated engines are cheaper than Turbo engines due to their less power, making them comparatively cheap engines.
There is not much difference in normal driving, but when you run in the city and the long drives turbo engine is better as they do not lag, but if you are a casual driver and drive a short distance, you can go with a naturally aspirated engine.
Regarding performance, turbo engines are best as they give more power than NA.
Can You Put A Turbo On An Automatic Car?
engine diary
Is a naturally aspirated engine good?
Nowadays, it seems that most car manufacturers in the automobile industry substitute naturally aspirated engines with turbocharged engines, one of the kind where you have to wait for a few seconds before you get a response on the throttle.
The turbocharged gasoline engines have the advantage that they will improve fuel economy and performance without having to use more horsepower than usual.
Yes, NA or the naturally aspirated engine still is one of the best engine types in the world despite the introduction of new and advanced engines in the automobile industry.
The NA engine offers a low maintenance cost and excellent throttle response without the lag. It also has less development and production cost as compared to other engines.
It also eliminates the issue of overheating the engine in the car. As the years go by, the technology and advancement of the engine have been made, but still, the NA engine stands as one of the most popular engine types in the automobile industry.
Most of them won’t use NA engines because, with naturally aspirated engines, you need a 6-8 liter gas tank for 400 horsepower, but with a turbocharged one, you can get the same output as a 3-4 liter gas tank which is a big advantage in fuel economy.
