Have you ever wondered what the differences between superchargers and turbochargers are? You are not alone. Thousands of mechanics, car owners, and dealers work with their cars everyday not knowing the exact differences between the two. If you are one of these people this article will benefit you by giving you the knowledge to make the right decision for your car, and the upper hand at the local bar when the conversation turns to performance enhancements.
To increase horsepower in an engine, two ingredients are needed: an increase in fuel combined with an increase in air. Because fuel flow is controlled by the carburetor (or fuel injection), increasing it is simple. Add a larger carburetor or increase the size of your fuel injectors and this problem is solved. However, because air is usually passively passed to the engine (the engine takes what it can from the breather), increasing the air flow requires some effort. This is where your turbochargers and superchargers come into play.
Both superchargers and turbochargers perform the same basic function: force more air into the engine. They both change the way air is introduced by providing a method to actively force air into the engine. However, the difference between the two is how this is accomplished.
A supercharger is driven directly off of the crankshaft. The disadvantage to this method is that it provides more strain on the engine and therefore reduces the potential horsepower output. Regardless, the supercharger has an advantage in that it doesn’t experience the “lag” (time between pressing the accelerator and receiving the horsepower increase) that a turbocharger endures. Additionally, the horsepower increase received from a supercharger more than overcomes the strain that it places on the engine.
A turbocharger uses exhaust gases to spin impellers that increase the air into the cylinders. This difference gives the turbocharger a disadvantage because the delay the turbocharger experiences to get the required exhaust gases to the impellers causes the engine to experience a lag time.
These differences and the advantages provided by the supercharger is the main reason for it’s popularity in the performance market. The turbocharger also remains popular because it has the most flexibility when it comes to placement in the engine compartment. It is much easier to stuff a turbocharger under the hood of a small import with any serious modifications.
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