Supercharger Vs. Turbo
07-09-2008, 11:14 PM
#1
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Supercharger Vs. Turbo
Hey I'm rather new to the modifaction of cars. I have an 05 mustang GT black with silver pin stripes i bought it with a non stock exhuast which sounds awesome but my brother was saying that if iput on a supercharger or turbo i would be getting a great boost in horse power. Now i don't know much about either, besides superchargers used to be more popular on muslce cars. Can some one help me out here on which one i should go with and what it would include if i were to get either one installed. Money is really no problem on this car so any advice would help. Thank you in advance.
07-09-2008, 11:43 PM
#3
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RE: Supercharger Vs. Turbo
supercharger is instant power but limited on building for more power later if you decided to. a turbo you might have turbo lag but you can build a turbo. different turbines, housings and such. i personally would go supercharger though. they are both pricey so have the wallet ready.
07-10-2008, 12:08 AM
#5
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RE: Supercharger Vs. Turbo
A properly setup turbo for a street car won't have any lag. A race car might when driven on the street by virtue of a large turbo, but a setup that big is totally unneccessary for a street driver. Turbos are much more efficient in terms of producing power than a supercharger, can can be more difficult to set up as more stuff is involved. There are bolt on kits that pretty much solve that problem these days though.
And superchargers are not instant power either. Centrifugals don't make peak boost till peak rpm, so they suffer from little to no boost at lower rpm, so in that regard have way, WAY more lag than a turbo does. And even positive displacement superchargers have leakdown at lower rpm(usually under 2,500). You can overdrive it to get rid of the low rpm leakdown somewhat, been then it produces a crapload of boost and falls outside its island efficiency and starts losing power.
They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
And superchargers are not instant power either. Centrifugals don't make peak boost till peak rpm, so they suffer from little to no boost at lower rpm, so in that regard have way, WAY more lag than a turbo does. And even positive displacement superchargers have leakdown at lower rpm(usually under 2,500). You can overdrive it to get rid of the low rpm leakdown somewhat, been then it produces a crapload of boost and falls outside its island efficiency and starts losing power.
They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
07-10-2008, 11:53 AM
#7
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RE: Supercharger Vs. Turbo
ORIGINAL: 67mustang302
A properly setup turbo for a street car won't have any lag. A race car might when driven on the street by virtue of a large turbo, but a setup that big is totally unneccessary for a street driver. Turbos are much more efficient in terms of producing power than a supercharger, can can be more difficult to set up as more stuff is involved. There are bolt on kits that pretty much solve that problem these days though.
And superchargers are not instant power either. Centrifugals don't make peak boost till peak rpm, so they suffer from little to no boost at lower rpm, so in that regard have way, WAY more lag than a turbo does. And even positive displacement superchargers have leakdown at lower rpm(usually under 2,500). You can overdrive it to get rid of the low rpm leakdown somewhat, been then it produces a crapload of boost and falls outside its island efficiency and starts losing power.
They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
A properly setup turbo for a street car won't have any lag. A race car might when driven on the street by virtue of a large turbo, but a setup that big is totally unneccessary for a street driver. Turbos are much more efficient in terms of producing power than a supercharger, can can be more difficult to set up as more stuff is involved. There are bolt on kits that pretty much solve that problem these days though.
And superchargers are not instant power either. Centrifugals don't make peak boost till peak rpm, so they suffer from little to no boost at lower rpm, so in that regard have way, WAY more lag than a turbo does. And even positive displacement superchargers have leakdown at lower rpm(usually under 2,500). You can overdrive it to get rid of the low rpm leakdown somewhat, been then it produces a crapload of boost and falls outside its island efficiency and starts losing power.
They each have their advantages and disadvantages.
Turbos are not more efficient than superchargers and superchargers are not more efficient than turbos. It depends on what efficiency you are looking for. For example lets look at a turbo car with 450rwhp and a Twinscrewcar with 450rwhp. a TS supercharger is more efficient at lower rpms. EX. at 2500 rpm a TS will be making450rwhp horspower. A turbo will be more efficient at peak power.Or we can talk about thermal efficiency which is a whole other story.
When shopping for a supercharger or turbo look at the power curve you want.(Dyno). The TS supercharger will have a flat torque curve and a linear power curve which is ideal (usable power). The Turbo will have a steeper increasing torque and power curve for real hard pull. Hence, in my opionion turbo cars feel faster.
07-10-2008, 09:50 PM
#9
6th Gear Member
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RE: Supercharger Vs. Turbo
Thermal efficiency is efficiency. Turbos don't have gears meshing like a supercharger. That gear mesh and the movement of it, generates heat. Much more than the exhaust heat that a turbo sees on the compressor side. All things being equal, with 2 comparable blowers, the turbo will be more efficient. A properly setup turbo can produce maximum boost before the engine reaches 2,000rpm, if that's what you want. On a street setup where the engine doesn't see much if anything over 6,000rpm a turbo can produce the best boost and power from around 1,500rpm up to peak.
Supercharger setups though are usually cheaper and easier to deal with. And good supercharger setups can make excellent power as well. It comes down to what you want and what you have to spend, mixed with the knowledge you may or may not have to install the system yourself or have someone else install it.
Supercharger setups though are usually cheaper and easier to deal with. And good supercharger setups can make excellent power as well. It comes down to what you want and what you have to spend, mixed with the knowledge you may or may not have to install the system yourself or have someone else install it.
