Thread: Supercharger vs Turbocharger

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O.K. This subject is probably old and there's probably not a black & white answer, but here goes.

What are the upsides and downsides to supercharging and or turbocharging? Any info. you find on the internet seems to be bias to whatever system they are pushing. Looking for power ranges, reliability, longevity, witch is more versatile, stuff like that. My guess is they both will get about the same horsepower out of a given OCTANE in similar engines??? I''ve already got a 1071 BDS blower and an EFI converted Enderle injection hat. So, I'm just wondering. There would have to be some real compelling evidence that a twin turbo set up is superior to a blower for me to change directions now. But, I figure it doesn't hurt to keep my options open.

Blower looks Cool...............I suppose a turbo would too if done right

Blower has good bottom end torque............. Turbo good top end???

Blower uses up power to turn the blower......... Turbo uses up power blowing exhaust through the turbo.

Turbo boost adjusted with a dial............ Blower boost adjusted by changing belts & pulleys

Turbo would be lower profile ............. Blower looks cool

Turbo is said ''by salespeerson'' to last longer than a blower ????

If it backfires ........ bad news for blower vs. turbo

i can say these few things

1 super chargers are good for instant responce they are reliable and good for either tranny manual or automatic

2 superchargers have one downfall they will only produce so much power you can only get about 20lbs of boost max and then you run the risk of detonation if you get an air leak in between the carb and supercharger

3 turbos on the other hand have unlimited capabilitys if installed correctly, you need a intercooler but the most important thing you need is an oil cooling system because the turbo unit is cooled by the engine oil and because the exhaust is used to power the turbo it gets the oil temprature up very quickly and needs to be cooled

me im going run my oil through a new air conditioner condencer to keep my oil temp down

but you can have up to 50lbs of boost with out no problem
im going to say thin you may beleave me on not but there is a mustang in georgia that has a 351 windsor with twin turbos running about 40 lbs of boost and he is getting 2200hp and ill say it again 2200hp at the rear wheels i didnt beleave it untill i saw the dyno reedout from a few runs, months apart

you can run turbos on a daily basis and can have decent fuel milage if you drive it normally and have the power when you need it, but for launching the car with turbos you definatly need a stall converter or manual but with a manual you have to be carefull when shifting because when boosted the engine revs much quicker than a blower or as normal engine

just make sure with either way you decide you must have a real good strong bottom end with lots of fuel and ignition but i didnt have to tell you that thats a given

also beleave it or not turbos dont really take away power from the engine because it doesnt restrict the exhaust as much as you would think and it doesnt cause idle problems

"Turbo lag" is a bit of a problem -- the turbos have to come up to speed to build boost so there's a bit of a delay. Blowers build pressure immediatly.

That's why turbos are so good for more "steady state" engines like tractors and industrials and less attractive to drag racers.

Question is-- what do you want? Torque, top end, acceleration, mileage?

Originally posted by jeffrey leonard
i

2 superchargers have one downfall they will only produce so much power you can only get about 20lbs of boost max and then you run the risk of detonation if you get an air leak in between the carb and supercharger

20 lbs. of boost on my set-up would be about 18:1 compression which is beyond pump gas anyway, so that's not realy a negative. I may be wrong, but boost is boost no matter how you acheive it. I don't think I want to run a street engine much past 13:1 or so.
I have toyed with the idea of adding a shot of nitrous to the blower, where does one stop??
I do like the idea of a turbo being lower profile than a blower.

Originally posted by Wild Turkey


Question is-- what do you want? Torque, top end, acceleration, mileage?

YES

Interesting disucssion, Pro. I have run a blower on the street, worked great, killer looks. I also have run a turbo on the street, but that was on the toter used to pull the trailer. Both did the job I expected them to do. I'm a street guy, and have found it is very easy to overpower the amount of hook I can get. The 1000 horse monsters work good on the drag strip, but on the street they seem better suited to long, smokey burnouts then actually making the car go fast and straight. Look at what the guys are doing in IHRA with twin (and now quad) turbo set ups, deep in the 6's. Buddy Ingersoll has been goin fast with turbos for years. I would choose a blower over a turbo for the main reason that I understand blowers more than turbos. Which is actually better??? Dunno, man!!!

http://members.aol.com/TurboHonda/info.html

Good article, Vince. But it pertains to sport compacts not mega inch V-8's. Not sure it's the same for big motors. Like I said, I'm not an expert, though.

Originally posted by Streets
Pro ZZZZ.. Stay with the Blower.. it looks better than a Turbo and will give ya no problems on the street.. 2200 HP?? Oh yeah, sureeee just like that other poster with a 4 banger gettin' 3500 HP on the street.. THEY really fly now??

Think I'd like to be under a canpoy or sumpin' when that pig went flyin' by.....

*QUOTE*
Pro ZZZZ.. Stay with the Blower.. it looks better than a Turbo and will give ya no problems on the street.. 2200 HP?? Oh yeah, sureeee just like that other poster with a 4 banger gettin' 3500 HP on the street.. THEY really fly now??





ok geezer i guess its back to me just being young and dumb
but like i said i didnt beleave that the car had 2200hp untill i saw the readout from the dyno results from several runs, months apart
i also think that 3500hp in a 4banger is imposible unless its resting in a cruse ship which are 4 bangers with 10,000hp

but i guess young people still get no respect no matter who they are, maybe it would different if my ride was a 57 chevy with 454 but then wait id be like a million other people i was just giving my 2 cents about the topic and thats what i know if my statements were found to be false im truly sorry but untill im proven wrong THATS MY STORY AND IM STICKIN TO IT

Originally posted by jeffrey leonard
i
but you can have up to 50lbs of boost with out no problem
im going to say thin you may beleave me on not but there is a mustang in georgia that has a 351 windsor with twin turbos running about 40 lbs of boost and he is getting 2200hp and ill say it again 2200hp at the rear wheels i didnt beleave it untill i saw the dyno reedout from a few runs, months apart
n

I maybe should have mentioned in my origianl post, I'm talkin' about a street application on pump gas. Any extreme laboratory results woulkd not apply to my situation. I won't be able to run 40 psi of boost on a blower or a turbo on 92 octane. So far, it looks like supercharger has it.

ok this is something else i havn't been to the race track in years untill lately and i was impressed with the 4 bangers at the track running 9s in the quarter mile some in the 7s and the 8s so dont tell me that turbos are inferior to blowers blowers are good for v8s but i think that turbos are way more supirior if installed corectly with all components oh by the way im not a ricer i like V8s by the way this is dad, that is typing this an im 43 years of age but no matter what you think of my son he is right in what he has told you about the blowers vs turbos, and i have been going the track for last 4 months and i think alot of you old people need to go too and experence the same you need to over look the beginners at the sport who just have euro mufflers and a bunch of stickers , you need to focus on the more profesional ricers as you like to call them

your set up you could have about 700 or 800hp with a twin turbo set up on 92 octane and run it every day without a problem but like i said it needs to be set up right and grant it that there is more to setting up a twin turbo than a blower

the engine needs to have a max of 9 to 1 compression
you need an intercooler
and you need to have an oil cooling system


this is my opinion i think that a twin set up is way more impressive than a blower (no offence) because there is more to it than bolting on an accessory

also have you ever seen a belt fall off of a turbo?
more components but less to go wrong
because if your blowoff fails the rubber fittings in between the connecting tubes its a fail safe system and if yur fittings do come appart you still can drive it home or simpally fix the problem on site

Originally posted by jeffrey leonard
ok this is something else i havn't been to the race track in years untill lately and i was impressed with the 4 bangers at the track running 9s in the quarter mile some in the 7s and the 8s so dont tell me that turbos are inferior to blowers blowers are good for v8s but i think that turbos are way more supirior if installed corectly with all components oh by the way im not a ricer i like V8s by the way this is dad, that is typing this an im 43 years of age but no matter what you think of my son he is right in what he has told you about the blowers vs turbos, and i have been going the track for last 4 months and i think alot of you old people need to go too and experence the same you need to over look the beginners at the sport who just have euro mufflers and a bunch of stickers , you need to focus on the more profesional ricers as you like to call them

I think you should revisit my first post. I'm not putting turbos down. I was just asking for an apples to apples comparison of superchargers vs turbo chargers. Also note in the FIRST post that I already have a blower set up and I'm just keeping my options open. Since I already have a blower set up I said there would have to be COMPELLING evidence that a turbo is way better "for my application" to sell what I have and start over with a turbo.
Soooo, unless someone has OVERWHELMING evidence I'll keep building what I have. From the reaserch I've done, peolpe I've talked to 1, 000 H.P. should be doable with a blower.

Just for the record here. This is JUST a fun hobby for me. I asked the question to get an objective comparison. I'm not putting down turbos, nor do I think it's nessesary to be put down for my buying a blower. I'm just looking for an intelligent open minded discussion on the subject. NO my dog is bigger than your dog stuff. That takes the fun out of the hobby. If the fun is gone I"ll just sell it cuz. at that point it would no longer worth it to me.