Turbo vs. Supercharger
Thread Starter
4th Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,491
From: TEXAS
Turbo vs. Supercharger
Hey folks, I’ve read some conflicting information on the web recently (not unexpectedly) about the reliability of supercharges vs. turbos and their effects on engine life/durability. I should have my GT a week from tomorrow (fingers crossed) and I have been considering going with one or the other. My issue is that it will be my daily driver and I don’t want to hurt engine life as I generally hang on to cars for 7-9 years… so it needs to last. I’m not lead footed, but I do enjoy the occasional hard blast from a stoplight. So I guess my questions would be:
Is one sort of setup (turbo vs. sc) better for engine life/durability than the other?
Provided I drive the car in a responsible fashion and don’t ‘beat’ on it, will a turbo or sc hurt engine life?
Thanks in advance!
Is one sort of setup (turbo vs. sc) better for engine life/durability than the other?
Provided I drive the car in a responsible fashion and don’t ‘beat’ on it, will a turbo or sc hurt engine life?
Thanks in advance!
5th Gear Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,276
From: Orlando, FL
RE: Turbo vs. Supercharger
Well my first suggestion is to use the search. This has been discussed 100's of times and always gets ugly. That is why you see the posts above. The search tool here stinks IMO but see what you can get.
The short answer to your question is no. Putting a turbo or s/c will not cut your engine life if you stay conservative. That is under 10psi with a conservative street tune. Have fun ocassionaly on the street and all is well.
Start to abuse the car or get greedy for more power and pop goes the engine.
As far is which is best, etc. The answer is none. Every kit out there and each type has plus's and minus's. There is plenty of information out their to help you make a good decision.
Once you have it narrowed done to 2-3 choices, post again and talk to people that own one. If a Whipple makes your list feel free to PM me.
Good luck.
The short answer to your question is no. Putting a turbo or s/c will not cut your engine life if you stay conservative. That is under 10psi with a conservative street tune. Have fun ocassionaly on the street and all is well.
Start to abuse the car or get greedy for more power and pop goes the engine.
As far is which is best, etc. The answer is none. Every kit out there and each type has plus's and minus's. There is plenty of information out their to help you make a good decision.
Once you have it narrowed done to 2-3 choices, post again and talk to people that own one. If a Whipple makes your list feel free to PM me.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
4th Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,491
From: TEXAS
RE: Turbo vs. Supercharger
ORIGINAL: howarmat
there is a great chance im going to lock this thread....probably around 90%.....
there is a great chance im going to lock this thread....probably around 90%.....
As mentioned the search function here isn't that great and I wasn't able to find what I was looking for on my searches... so I made a new post.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,268
From:
RE: Turbo vs. Supercharger
Heres the correct answer, then the thread can be locked.
No one type of power adder is better or worse. Why? Because thereare several other variables involved with every FI installation. The first is the TUNE, andthe second is the amount of boost you are running, and the third is how hard you push your car (i.e. do you reallyrun high RPM's all the time).
These three additional variables, in addition to the variable of which blower type you pick, MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. PERIOD. Anybody who claims they can, has no idea what they are talking about, so ignore them.
If you have a good tune and run a reasonable boost level, your engine will last as long whether you run a roots, a centri or turbos.
If you have a bad tune, you can blow up your engine at any power level, no matter what type of blower you have.
If you push the boost to rediculous levels, then even with a "safe" tune that inhibits detonation, you will eventually break something, because at extremely high boost, the internal pressures eventually induce metallurgical failures. Stress and strain eventually create failures.
If you absolutely push your car to redline at every shift, every time you drive, even with low boost and a safe tune, something will eventually stress and could break. Not for sure, but could.
SOOOOO..... if you buy ANY TYPE of power adder and get a safe tune, run a safe boost level and then don't beat the living hell out of the car, your engine will last just as long as it would have without a power adder.
That's the only real answer that can be given to your question.
No one type of power adder is better or worse. Why? Because thereare several other variables involved with every FI installation. The first is the TUNE, andthe second is the amount of boost you are running, and the third is how hard you push your car (i.e. do you reallyrun high RPM's all the time).
These three additional variables, in addition to the variable of which blower type you pick, MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. PERIOD. Anybody who claims they can, has no idea what they are talking about, so ignore them.
If you have a good tune and run a reasonable boost level, your engine will last as long whether you run a roots, a centri or turbos.
If you have a bad tune, you can blow up your engine at any power level, no matter what type of blower you have.
If you push the boost to rediculous levels, then even with a "safe" tune that inhibits detonation, you will eventually break something, because at extremely high boost, the internal pressures eventually induce metallurgical failures. Stress and strain eventually create failures.
If you absolutely push your car to redline at every shift, every time you drive, even with low boost and a safe tune, something will eventually stress and could break. Not for sure, but could.
SOOOOO..... if you buy ANY TYPE of power adder and get a safe tune, run a safe boost level and then don't beat the living hell out of the car, your engine will last just as long as it would have without a power adder.
That's the only real answer that can be given to your question.
Thread Starter
4th Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,491
From: TEXAS
RE: Turbo vs. Supercharger
ORIGINAL: LX200
Heres the correct answer, then the thread can be locked.
No one type of power adder is better or worse. Why? Because thereare several other variables involved with every FI installation. The first is the TUNE, andthe second is the amount of boost you are running, and the third is how hard you push your car (i.e. do you reallyrun high RPM's all the time).
These three additional variables, in addition to the variable of which blower type you pick, MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. PERIOD. Anybody who claims they can, has no idea what they are talking about, so ignore them.
If you have a good tune and run a reasonable boost level, your engine will last as long whether you run a roots, a centri or turbos.
If you have a bad tune, you can blow up your engine at any power level, no matter what type of blower you have.
If you push the boost to rediculous levels, then even with a "safe" tune that inhibits detonation, you will eventually break something, because at extremely high boost, the internal pressures eventually induce metallurgical failures. Stress and strain eventually create failures.
If you absolutely push your car to redline at every shift, every time you drive, even with low boost and a safe tune, something will eventually stress and could break. Not for sure, but could.
SOOOOO..... if you buy ANY TYPE of power adder and get a safe tune, run a safe boost level and then don't beat the living hell out of the car, your engine will last just as long as it would have without a power adder.
That's the only real answer that can be given to your question.
Heres the correct answer, then the thread can be locked.
No one type of power adder is better or worse. Why? Because thereare several other variables involved with every FI installation. The first is the TUNE, andthe second is the amount of boost you are running, and the third is how hard you push your car (i.e. do you reallyrun high RPM's all the time).
These three additional variables, in addition to the variable of which blower type you pick, MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO EVER ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. PERIOD. Anybody who claims they can, has no idea what they are talking about, so ignore them.
If you have a good tune and run a reasonable boost level, your engine will last as long whether you run a roots, a centri or turbos.
If you have a bad tune, you can blow up your engine at any power level, no matter what type of blower you have.
If you push the boost to rediculous levels, then even with a "safe" tune that inhibits detonation, you will eventually break something, because at extremely high boost, the internal pressures eventually induce metallurgical failures. Stress and strain eventually create failures.
If you absolutely push your car to redline at every shift, every time you drive, even with low boost and a safe tune, something will eventually stress and could break. Not for sure, but could.
SOOOOO..... if you buy ANY TYPE of power adder and get a safe tune, run a safe boost level and then don't beat the living hell out of the car, your engine will last just as long as it would have without a power adder.
That's the only real answer that can be given to your question.
Howarmart, feel free to lock/delete this thread, whatever you want to do...
s197 Junkie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 16,088
From: IN
RE: Turbo vs. Supercharger
i wouldnt lock it unless it gets bad.....but the title could be better stated, many people will not click on a title since there are so many titled the same......"FI longevity questions" would get more people looking and responding with great knowledge.