Superchargers, Turbochargers, and Performance

[ticopowell]

From what I've looked at you guys have the basic understanding.
I did hours/days/weeks of research on turbos and superchargers so I think I have a decent understanding of the differences and benefits.

Turbo, uses exhaust gas to spin a compressor blade to increase the quantity of the air entering an engine.
Pros:
scavenges "free" energy from the exhaust
can have fairly simple plumbing
sounds cool when the blow-off valve goes psssssssssst
popular with manufacturers, so they are easy to find and fix
"efficient"... aka Eco boost.

Cons:
Heat (most do have an intercooler, especially stock ones in a factory car)
varied power output
"lag"



Supercharger, uses a belt from the engine's crank shaft to spin a "blower" of some sort, can have multiple styles, most common are roots and one that looks like a turbo with a belt attachment.
Pros:
power is stable, 1500rpm always makes the same power (assuming the blow-off valve hasn't reduced the pressure)
more low end power, aka torque

Cons:
can have complicated plumbing, wiring, belt routing, etc...
Heat (Most have an intercooler, either pumping coolant between the blower and the intake, or routing it up front like a turbo)
Takes engine power to run, don't quote me but Ive heard a 500rwhp car with a supercharger is making 600+ at the engine, but uses 100+hp just to run the blower.


Personally I prefer a supercharger. I used to have good reasons but I've forgotten those hahahaha. If I am going to drag race the supercharger makes sense because of the low end power and the predictability. I am not saying they don't exist, but I don't ever remember ever seeing a top fuel dragster with a turbo, just superchargers. The quicker you get to speed the faster you will cover the 1/4 mile (or 1000', or 1/8 mile, etc...).

My truck has 2 turbos, and i don't really like the power delivery, but that's partially because it can't decide which of the 10 gears to use. It definitely has a whistle under load, so that's fun to listen to, but it's so quiet I doubt my wife even hears it.

I also assume Diesel trucks (and gas ones too) have turbos because of the simplicity of the plumbing and the potential reliability improvement. If a supercharger is taking up 100+hp then you are stressing the engine that much more, and it's better for the bean counters at ford if the warranty claims are fewer because they used a turbo vs a supercharger. Most cars/trucks with superchargers (hellcats and shelbys come to mind) are built for specific things like racing. Otherwise they seem to favor turbos.

That's all I got for now. What do you guys think?

[Longshot270]

I did get to drive an ecoboost expedition from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and back one weekend to help following a backflow incident. I don't remember what the mileage was but it was better than my jeep at the time. The motor had good pep, the whistle was fun and I spent all my city driving with the radio off to listen. The passenger I had couldn't hear it and was irritated by the lack of music. Lol