turbocharger vs. supercharger

dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
i know we are all tgtt members for the mere fact that we've experienced the thrill of turbo boosting.. :cool: just wondering though, how many of us have also had the chance to drive a supercharged vehicle.. &.. what's the difference in thrill..?

i'd imagine our nippy pocket rockets are a little hard to throttle control since a slip of the right foot usually sends you propelling past anything and everything.. :D
from what i've read around, i'd imagine supercharged cars are more civilized when it comes to throttle response..
can anyone back this..? :)
 
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glanzachris09

Member +
Superchargers run on belts which for me is a big NO NO and i belive there more eco running car's then performers. Never drove one but from what iv seen im not impressed. Turbo all the way every day.
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
superchargers have different characteristics to turbochargers. you dont get any lag and you dont get any heat related problems as one side isnt attached to the exhaust.

the turbo also restricts the exhaust to a degree, whereas a supercharger does not. it tends to suit larger cars more, but has been used on smaller engines/cars
 
dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
i understand the tech aspect of it, i was just wondering more about the driver experience.. :)
i've heard that superchargers give you insta-response.. unlike us turbo heads who have to wait out the lag, superchargers are instant..? how about the engine grunt..? deceleration etc..? that's the kinda feedback i'm looking for.. :)
 
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GlanzaMarvin

Member +
As turbo's work with exhaust gases, you get lag. And the supercharger, being driven by a belt, doesn't. So the response is 'better' than with a turbo car, but you don't get the big power hikes you get with turbos.

So, for big big power outputs, you're bound to go down the turbo road.

A supercharger makes a car very easy to live with as it gives you additional power and torque (the latter being great when you SC a V-tec oder T-Vis, see MR2 AW11 with 4AGZE engine). Also, as was mentioned before, a SC doesn't heat up like a turbo (which can reach 900°C).

And while it is true that a SC can help you run more economically (as max boost is achieved fairly early so you won't need to step hard on the gas pedal as much as with an NA or TC engine), it's also a lot of fun, especially if you go for a twin-screw SC where you get that fantastic super charger whine that Keiichi Tsuchiya once described as 'a cat under the bonnet' (meeeaaaaaoooow).

VW has taken the middle route and fitted both an DC and TC to their TFSI engines, so you get 1.4 displacement with 180hp easily, while they are torquey from the start until the redline. Good compromise IMO.
 
dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
i agree on the vw engine approach. if i was to choose between the supercharger whine and the turbocharger whistle, i think i like the turbo whistle more.. :D
i only currently have a ct9 but can imagine the whoosh the bigger turbos make, esp if you have a short-route intake setup.. :D awesome!
 
corofin12345

corofin12345

Member +
my experience with these was fun.. first in a nissan micra (march) super turbo which was supercharged and turbo charged.. fun little 1litre... next was a nissan 350z with a vortech supercharger touching 500bhp.. was fun but it was all over the road plus it needed 90bhp just the run the charger...now heres my mad idea.. what if i was to strap on a heavily modified ct9b setup on the where the aircon pump used to be and run it off the the orignal a/c belt.. of course the exhaust housing would be replaced by a pully and maybe upgrade the bearings to ball bearings.. mad but would it work?
 
dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
@corofin12345: i like the way you are thinking.. :D :) and just for that.. repped.. :D
now, let's think about it some more.. would you be talking of running both turbo and supercharger..? or just supercharger at the air-con pump location..?
if supercharger only, i guess the only thing you'd have to deal with is positioning and intake plumbing. a fmic would work best but still trying to picture how exactly it would sit.. :D i highly doubt it would be efficient though.. hehehe
 
corofin12345

corofin12345

Member +
again, mad thought.. both setups.. maybe a bigger turbo run off the exhaust and a ct9 off the belt.. obviously the ct9 will spool with instant boost then the bigger turbo would surpass the ct9's flow and take over up the revs.. pipework would be a bit off hassle but then again whats stopping me welding on another inlet onto the core of the fmic and run a direct route off charger.. only ideas :)
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
corofin12345 said:
again, mad thought.. both setups.. maybe a bigger turbo run off the exhaust and a ct9 off the belt.. obviously the ct9 will spool with instant boost then the bigger turbo would surpass the ct9's flow and take over up the revs.. pipework would be a bit off hassle but then again whats stopping me welding on another inlet onto the core of the fmic and run a direct route off charger.. only ideas :)
Click to expand...

you wouldnt want to run a turbo off a belt. the tolerances of a supercharger are tighter so running a turbo off a belt wouldnt be half as efficient as a proper supercharger.
 
corofin12345

corofin12345

Member +
dac69er said:
you wouldnt want to run a turbo off a belt. the tolerances of a supercharger are tighter so running a turbo off a belt wouldnt be half as efficient as a proper supercharger.
Click to expand...

mad thought as i said.. just the hands talking again ;).. im sure you could get a small supercharger to fit there.. that one in the link is i screw type im think.. theres much less complicated ones out there and smaller.. the vortech charger that was on the 350z i drove was as simple as a compressor housing with a pully on the back.. im sure id run into trouble but it wouldnt be fun if i didnt
 
richglanzav

richglanzav

Member +
i think its just one of those things that if u got the money to do it, u could create something with a super powerband right across the rev range, and have a ridiculous turbo for top end...great idea but expensive to do. but im sure a 5e cud take a fairly decent sized supercharger.

ive seen a swift gti with a supercharged g13b im sure that made well over 200bhp, and had no lag. so decent idea
 
R

Rev

Member +
Definitely small super charger for instant low end torque and tune the turbo to top end but they have to be plumbed so they don't interfere with each others air flow and pressures as said the micra has solved this. For a single super charger I read higher voltage electric engines are needed to get sufficient revolutions/ air flow and a lot of battery/alternator power that puts huge load on the engine.
 
Gord R

Gord R

Member +
corofin12345 said:
again, mad thought.. both setups.. maybe a bigger turbo run off the exhaust and a ct9 off the belt.. obviously the ct9 will spool with instant boost then the bigger turbo would surpass the ct9's flow and take over up the revs.. pipework would be a bit off hassle but then again whats stopping me welding on another inlet onto the core of the fmic and run a direct route off charger.. only ideas :)
Click to expand...

Compound charge the two. Watch this space ;)
 
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