Turbocharger vs. Supercharger Thread
This is a thread SPECIFICALLY to discuss the differences between turbos and superchargers, and to discuss the applications of both. You can post your turbo vs supercharger questions in here, such as which to buy for your car, what size to buy, etc, etc...but NO OFF TOPIC POSTS WILL BE PERMITTED! I hope to have a moderator be watching this sticky closely...maybe even 00GTZ00 or myself could be allowed to delete posts in this thread (and only in this thread!)?
Keep it clean, non-personal, and professional. Turbos vs. supers...Let's go!
Turbocharger:
Advantages: Efficiency, Higher Final HP numbers, no parasitic drag, Lag (see below for explanation)
Disadvantages: Non-instant power, Heat buildup
Supercharger:
Adavantages: Instant power, less heat build up
Disadvantages: Less max hp, parasitic drag, less efficient.
My take on the matter is this:
Turbos are for small engined, low displacement, torque-less imports. The supercharger pulley takes a lot of energy to spin, and a small displacement motor lacks this torque that is required to spin the pulley. Upping the boost on a supercharger saps more power away, as switching to a smaller pulley that is even harder to turn is necessary. Turbos are much more efficient, as well...A supercharger is approx 40-50% efficient, while a turbo is 70% or more efficient. There is almost no parasitic loss, except in the form of lower exhaust gas velocities until the turbo is spooled, or close to being spooled. The off-the-line power presented by a supercharger is more than enough to spin the wheels like mad on a launch, because the weight transfer at launch takes traction off the drive wheels of a FWD car, and is more than enough to overpower almost anything but slicks. With a turbo, lag actually becomes your friend! Once you are moving, the weight transfer effect is almost negligible. You are unlikely to spin once the turbo kicks in, unless you are running massive boost. In import racing, you can play catch-up. You may not have the fastest 60' time, but you can still win the race. Muscle cars, however, just play kick-your-ass. There's no time to catch up if you don't have power off the line. Plus, they have more than enough torque to spin the supercharger, making the power losses insignificant in light of the incredible power put out by their motor.
In import racing, a turbo's: Lag, Efficiency, and Lack of Parasitic Drag outweigh the disadvantages of: Non-instant power and High-torque.
Lag allows you to get off the line without spinning.
Efficienct design allows you to gain more horsepower out of a motor.
Lack of Parasitic Drag: see above.
Non-instant power: Lag is a bad thing, however, once you get off the line and are moving. However, in most turbochargers, by the time you are off the line, you are already spooled and ready to go.
High-torque: no small displacement engine has "high torque." We live for tire-melting horsepower and 7k redlines, not 350ft lbs of torque at 4500 RPM's. Besides, we have time to play catch up https://www.thegalantcenter.org/styl...lt/biggrin.gif
In domestic racing, a superchargers: Instant power and High torque
outweigh the disadvantages of: lower final hp numbers, Efficiency, Lag, and parasitic drag.
10 second quarters are all about the launch and subsequent acceleration. There is no catch up time. If you are not off the line instantly, you will lose to someone who is. How many NHRA dragsters have you seen get off the line slower and get moving, but still win the race? Not many. That's because a 10 second quarter is over so damn fast. There's no time to playt catch up. The domestic guys need power, and they need it instantly. There's no time to wait for the turbo to spool. In this case, the speed and torque off the launch outweighs the disadvantages of max final hp numbers and efficiency.
OK...Discuss!!!! 8)