tsxgoogs

witch would be better for the tsx

Dan Martin

Different strokes for different folks. There are positives and negatives for both. Soon both will be available and you'll be able to get opinions from buyers.

My dad has both a turbocharged car and a supercharged car and I can say that I prefer the turbo.

NJtsx

what kind of power are you looking for? As of right now, their is no turbo for the tsx. But i think a few companies are in development. I know this is you second thread about power. My advice along with about 99 percent of the owners here would say:
1. CAI (Injen or K&N)
2. headers (DC's quality has imporoved)
3. Comptech exhaust
4. Hondata Reflash
5. Better tire and lighter wheel combo(keep to 17 ")


thats a good start

NickR

this is funny. i was just talking about the pro/cons of each today with a car buddy of mine at work. we both agreed that a turbo was better. it sounds cool and seems to have better power since it comes on stronger. i'm anxious to see some of these new products coming out.

jmathew34

keep it N/A it's more fun that way!!!

madmanmax3000

oh no, i saw this kid's last post

don't do anything to your car, you are 17 you don't need to spend 4 grand on modding a car you didn't pay for and that is absolutely fine as is. Get some more experience before you go forced induction, you're just gonna crash it anyway


and yes...I am 17 and plan to get FI, but i just wanted to be part of the group i got a similar response on my first few posts about modding

JTso

iTrader: (2)

It's a never ending debate. Each side will defend their choice to death.





<----- my choice.

Dan Martin

The comptech supercharger kit has been available for the RSX for a little while now and it's pretty impressive. You get instant performance off the line with no lag. The power increase is pretty well linear throughout the rev band. The downside is they consume a little power to spin the rotors, plus they have belts that need to be maintained.

Turbos need a little time to spool because they're not directly connected to the engine. This means that there will be minimal power increase while it's spooling but once it's spooled, hold on.

NJtsx

in turn ...a supercharger puts more stress on your engine. Turbo is more of stand alone item with a nice boost in power at a given moment.

madmanmax3000

i know nothing about turbos and superchargers, but...

from what it sounds like a turbo would be better suited for our car..if the power comes a bit late that should give less torque steer than a supercharger. Also, since it isnt constantly active one would probably average better gas mileage, right?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If not tuned correctly, they both can do bad things to an engine.

tsxgoogs

eitherway do you need to modify the exhaust

Howard911s

i say do not get either one till you research and determined acura transmission can handle it......dont let your engine be a strong muscle that break the bone...

Dan Martin

The TSX transmission is practically the same unit as in the RSX. There are several 300+hp daily driven RSXs with no problems.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The clutch however, could use an upgrade.

Dan Martin

tsxgoogs

does anyone know the diference in 0 to 60 between MT and AT, AT using the sport shift

rmpage

Usually.

With a Roots or Whipple supercharger, whenever the engine is running, it is always under boost. Even at idle there is a little bit, but right around 1500 RPM boost goes high and stays high all the way to redline (unless you're using a centrifugal supercharger, which is a lot like a turbo in terms of a boost curve). This means that a supercharger will always encumber the engine with a small amount of parasitic load, mostly while revving, but some even at idle. The tradeoff is that the more of a load the S/C puts on the engine, the more boost it is developing, so the more power the engine is producing. In the end, a S/C's boost yields far more power than the compressor itself consumes while pumping the intake charge. There is a net gain, which is why we put them on our cars.

The reason why supercharging* produces power is because it increases its volumetric efficiency, which, in effect, is the same thing as increasing your engine's displacement. This is why a boosted engine will always use more fuel than an engine running at atmospheric pressure - because a 2.0L engine boosted to 15 psi (one atmosphere = 14.7 psi) has a virtual displacement of 4.0L and consumes as much fuel provided the mixture is the same. Now, remember: a supercharged engine is always under boost, while a turbocharged engine has a more varied boost curve, with very little boost appearing down in the low RPM range and none at idle. This means that when you don't rev your engine high as much, it won't be under boost as often, so you won't use as much fuel. It is easier to drive economically with a turbo by keeping engine RPMs lower, whereas with a S/C you can't do that.

Also, I know everybody wants to be MAD TYTE JUST LIEK PAUL WALKER VROOM PSSHH but superchargers have a pretty distinct sound to them too (up to you if you like it or not). Check out the video of this guy's RSX with the Jackson Racing SC posted here: https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/video-my-buddys-rsx-s-305126/

*This includes turbocharging. A turbo is a type of supercharger, but they are referred to as turbos by convention because they are turbine-driven rather than directly by the crank pulley. Different names are an easy way to tell which is directly driven and which is driven by the proxy of engine exhaust.

Canyonball

There isn't exactly a "better suited to our car" mod when talking Turbo or SC. If the turbo is a small 16G or so you can have boost @ about 2500rpm. A hybrid T3 or so can have the top-end pull of a bigger turbo and spool @ about 3k rpm. The supercharger on the other hand will give instant boost @ throttle tip-in. Given that it's a daily driver, it comes down to driving style and taste.

As far as mpg is concerned, when upgrading to a mod like this, that's usually not the biggest concern and more spent fuel is part of the territory.

With most turbo kits, the ECU program and/or piggyback will make the car run richer to help cool things down and less prone to ping'ing/knock. Even if the turbo isn't active, you might be running rich even when off boost.

Turbo's will naturally run hotter because they're run off the exhaust manifold.

The fact that the Comptech SC willl have an aftercooler is also a plus. Most roots-type blowers don't have room for aftercoolers which is a downside, especially on hot days/climate.

Personally I don't know which route I'll take in my TSX. There's nothing like the whistle of a turbo and the purge of the blow-off valve, but on the flipside, there's nothing like the burbled whine of a SC.

If only TODA would come out with the Sports Injection kit (individual throttle bodies and velocity stacks) for our car... that would throw a big monkey wrench in the works...

tsxgoogs

thanks for the good info

Canyonball

With my JR blower, you could infact have better than stock milage in some cases. The engine wouldn't have to work as hard to suck air in and it would also have a bleeder valve to bleed boost when not really on the throttle...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Actually, the rooter type SC is not always under boost. It usually incorporates a boost bypass valve which disables boost from building up until vacuum is close to atmosphere level. At which time, the bypass valve closes and boost begins to build. The bypass valve is connected to the intake manifold via a vaccum line.

Comptech SC with bypass valve on top where the yellow label is.



JR SC with the bypass valve located on the front side.

ITR#203

As mentioned before, it is mostly personal preference.

Personally, I think turboing, while more difficult to engineer a complete, perfect kit for, is the better method to go with.

Superchargers no matter what will always have parasitic losses (using power to make power). Turbos take wasted energy aka exhaust gases to turn a turbine and force fresh air in. Also, remember that the belts that run Roots type superchargers (which I assume we are talking about since the Comptech is) are wearable parts and are also parts that can slip/ snap etc. A turbo does not have such a drawback.

A roots type supercharger does have near instantanious boost (there is a milisecond of lag), but realistically more torque from 1500-4000 rpms WILL not make you faster when at full acceleration cause rpms should never fall that much anyway.

Turbos also tend to make the more power with the same PSI of boost- note that PSI is merely pressure and does not totally dictate the amount of air that is forcefed. A bigger turbo at 10 psi may be pushing more air than another turbo at 13 psi.

Finally, I think Turbos are more fun to drive- the non-linear buildup of power gets our attention more readily (we feel jumps in power more than increases in power).

Another alternative would be a centrifugal supercharger; however, these have more lag than a turbo (boost is exponential to rpm; 1/4 boost is made at 1/2 rpms, full boost does not come until redline) and still have parasitic loss, albeit less than a roots type.

Canyonball

I hear that, I was changing belts like I did oil changes almost. Basically every 5k miles. Sometimes it (the belt) would shred up and fray into pieces all over my engine bay. Most of the time it would just slip though...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

As a former SC owner, I was a member of a few FI forums where many SC and TC owners discuss FI topics in general, as well as debates. For what it's worth, during the course as a member for a few years, I've noticed more and more SC owners switched to become TC owners. On the other hand, I have not seen a single TC owner switch to become a SC owner.

Canyonball

lol... good point. What about FI to NA? I'm in the process of making that change with my Integra. As with any, I just need the $$$...

drunkenbuda

a friend of mine had a turbo h22 del sol, went Jackson SC Civic Si.....that thing is fast as hell!