Supercharger vs. Turbocharger
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Supercharger vs. Turbocharger
i would like to know what the difference is between these two. LIke the pros and cons of each and what is better. Im considering buying by may or june of next year for my TL-S 2002 thanks...
#2
Purchased: April 28, 2001
Re: Supercharger vs. Turbocharger
Originally posted by TL260power
i would like to know what the difference is between these two. LIke the pros and cons of each and what is better. Im considering buying by may or june of next year for my TL-S 2002 thanks...
i would like to know what the difference is between these two. LIke the pros and cons of each and what is better. Im considering buying by may or june of next year for my TL-S 2002 thanks...
What is the difference between a turbocharger and a supercharger on a car's engine?
Read up.
#5
The axeman Cometh
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Here in a nutshell:
Both superchargers and turbochargers are correctly classified as
superchargers. Turbos are just a special type and are sometimes called turbo-superchargers. Both are devices that force the fuel-air mixture into the combustion chamber at higher than atmospheric pressures. This super-atmospheric pressure is referred to as "boost."
A common supercharger is essentially an air pump driven directly by the engine, either by belts or gears. The ratio of supercharger speed to engine speed is fixed. A turbocharger is driven by the exhaust flow being forced through a turbine on its way to the atmosphere. The turbine shares its axis with a supercharging pump which dumps its output back into the intake tract. The speed of the turbo is related to the volume and speed of the exhaust but, because there is no mechanical coupling, the speeds of the engine and turbo do not maintain a fixed ratio.
The great advantage of a supercharger is fast response. The instant the engine RPMs increase, the boost increases. A turbo must "spin up" as the volume of exhaust gasses increases. Because of the time lag between a throttle position change and the exhaust change, there is often a very noticeable wait for power to come on after you ask for it. Good modern
turbo systems do a very good job of minimizing lag, but, by the very nature of the differences between them, a turbo can never deliver boost as quickly as a normal supercharger.
Both superchargers and turbochargers are correctly classified as
superchargers. Turbos are just a special type and are sometimes called turbo-superchargers. Both are devices that force the fuel-air mixture into the combustion chamber at higher than atmospheric pressures. This super-atmospheric pressure is referred to as "boost."
A common supercharger is essentially an air pump driven directly by the engine, either by belts or gears. The ratio of supercharger speed to engine speed is fixed. A turbocharger is driven by the exhaust flow being forced through a turbine on its way to the atmosphere. The turbine shares its axis with a supercharging pump which dumps its output back into the intake tract. The speed of the turbo is related to the volume and speed of the exhaust but, because there is no mechanical coupling, the speeds of the engine and turbo do not maintain a fixed ratio.
The great advantage of a supercharger is fast response. The instant the engine RPMs increase, the boost increases. A turbo must "spin up" as the volume of exhaust gasses increases. Because of the time lag between a throttle position change and the exhaust change, there is often a very noticeable wait for power to come on after you ask for it. Good modern
turbo systems do a very good job of minimizing lag, but, by the very nature of the differences between them, a turbo can never deliver boost as quickly as a normal supercharger.
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#10
it is neither...Nitrous is a third form of force induction. It is instanteous power. Nitrous is the cheapest of the three and if abuse can be the most damaging, in my opinion. Well, but yeah I don't think it would fall under neither a supercharger or turbocharger.
turbo and supercharger = boost
Nitrous = juice. hahahah you guess the rest. just my two cents on it all.
turbo and supercharger = boost
Nitrous = juice. hahahah you guess the rest. just my two cents on it all.
#12
Burning Brakes
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The all-of-a-sudden rush of the outside world when the "NOS" button is pushed is hollywood gimmickry, if you watched the movie(s) where they glorified force induced 4 cylinders seem to have 1,000+ HPs at a push of a button.
IMO highly aspirated engines don't last as long as normally aspirated engines with pure power.
IMO highly aspirated engines don't last as long as normally aspirated engines with pure power.
#17
Instructor
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Turbos of both types were originally developed during WWII for aircraft engines to address the issue of reduced power at altitude due to less dense air. Today by far the most prevalent use of turbochargers on land vehicles is with diesel truck engines where throttle response is not critical. You can hear them whistling around most anywhere. The achilles heel of turbochargers is "turbo lag", the condition of having to wait until the engine develops enough exhaust pressure to spin the turbo sufficiently to generate boost. Some cars like Porsche employ "twin turbos" using a pair of units of different sizes. The smaller one starts working immediately and hands over to the larger one at a higher speed.
While superchargers do not suffer "turbo lag", there are nevertheless parasitic losses due to their engine driven nature. They are most commonly found on drag racers. Honda has always shied away from using turbos (except of course in racing venues like IRL that dictate their use) due to these compromises. Arguably the most exotic Honda engines are the naturally aspirated F1 motors that produce around 800 HP from a 3 litre V-10.
rw
While superchargers do not suffer "turbo lag", there are nevertheless parasitic losses due to their engine driven nature. They are most commonly found on drag racers. Honda has always shied away from using turbos (except of course in racing venues like IRL that dictate their use) due to these compromises. Arguably the most exotic Honda engines are the naturally aspirated F1 motors that produce around 800 HP from a 3 litre V-10.
rw
#18
i
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I have an '03 TL and know that the comptech supercharger applies to the Type-S, but does anyone know of a supercharger for the base TL...or does the comptech supercharger apply for all? or not?
#19
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I have a problem with forced induction on an engine that already has relatively high compression (10-10.5), Generally, to get the most out of your charger you should have a lower static compression, and also to avoid damaging the engine (head gaskets, detonation, etc.). If you are going through the expense of a Twin Turbo setup, it might be worthwhile to have a set of custom pistons made to drop the static compression. I am working on a carbureated (spelling???) 377 twin turbo vette right now, it will get knocked back from 9.3:1 to 8.5 by using a bigger chamber head.
So make sure you do some reasearch... and if you arent familiar with the stuff then ask someone you can trust to help familiarize you with the different options you have. This will get you the most for your money.
Just my 2 cents...
Good Luck,
Mark
So make sure you do some reasearch... and if you arent familiar with the stuff then ask someone you can trust to help familiarize you with the different options you have. This will get you the most for your money.
Just my 2 cents...
Good Luck,
Mark
#20
6th Gear
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ok, personaly i LOVE turbo with a passion
i have my tl because i traded my old 2000 turbo prelude 5-speed
i would ALWAYS suggest turbo for any car. EXCEPT for a tl, turbo is VERY loud when the wastegate opens and it just take away the luxury of a tl....it is just one car that is not ment to be turboed. i would go with the comptech supercharger cause of the direct bolt-on. plus a custom fabricated turbo kit is a very complicated and expensive task
just my 2cent
i have my tl because i traded my old 2000 turbo prelude 5-speed
i would ALWAYS suggest turbo for any car. EXCEPT for a tl, turbo is VERY loud when the wastegate opens and it just take away the luxury of a tl....it is just one car that is not ment to be turboed. i would go with the comptech supercharger cause of the direct bolt-on. plus a custom fabricated turbo kit is a very complicated and expensive task
just my 2cent
#21
I too am a turbo guy ('98 Eclipse Spyder), so I prefer them over belt driven blowers. A turbo is essentially an efficiency gain (reclaiming power from exhaust heat) and ultimately capable of making more power than positive displacement blowers, but for our applications that doesn't matter much.
That being said, a supercharger setup is much easier on a V-type engine, and will make all the horsepower you'd ever want on a FWD car.
Good luck and happy boosting!
That being said, a supercharger setup is much easier on a V-type engine, and will make all the horsepower you'd ever want on a FWD car.
Good luck and happy boosting!
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