SUPER CHARGERS VS TURBOCHARGERS, HOW THEY DIFFER.

turbocharger vs supercharger

  If you have heard about forced induction systems, you must have heard about superchargers and turbochargers as well, these are automotive technology terminology, these two terms are the major types of forced induction systems. Perhaps you have been wandering what these two induction systems are, why they are used or in what case are they preferred. If you are reading this post now, I'll tell you not to wonder anymore cause you're about to know whats about these two forced induction systems.

What is Forced Induction. 

Lets first understand what forced induction system is all about; Forced induction is the process of delivering compressed air to the intake of an internal combustion engine . The system uses gas compressors to increase the pressure , temperature and density of the intake air.

 In most engine designs when designers want to increase the power of an engine they often turn to forced induction so the engine can take in more compressed air to increase the engine power.This will create a considerable amount of power boost, which is about 50% more into the engine

 The two main types of forced induction systems gas compressors  are the  turbocharger and supercharger.
 The main difference between this two is that the turbocharger is an air compressor driven by the exhaust gas, while the supercharger is an air compressor driven by the engine crankshaft. In other words the turbo charger runs off the exhaust gas and the supercharger runs of the engine power.

The Turbocharger.

turbo charger

 The turbocharger is an air compressor that uses the exhaust stream as it's source of energy. The exhaust gas runs through a turbine which spins the compressor that forces the compressed air into the engine to produce a considerable amount of power boost. the turbine spins to about 15,000 RPM. The turbocharger can have a RPM up to 30 times faster than an ordinary engine.

Pros and cons

Pros.

• Increase in horse power. 
• Allows smaller engines to produce more power compared to there size.
• Better fuel economy in smaller engines.
• Higher efficiency, since turbocharger run off the wasted energy by a naturally aspirated engine. This improves the overall engine efficiency.

Cons.

• Turbo lag; most large turbocharger usually takes time before it can provide the needs power.
• Some turbocharger don't Have a wide range of RPM to produce more power unlike the supercharger, such turbocharger only produce more power at a certain engine RPM. 
• power surge: in some large turbo chargers, reaching the boost threshold can provide an almost instantaneous surge in power which could compromise tire traction and cause some instability in the car. 
• oil requirement; turbochargers usually get very hot and often tap into the engines oil supply, this calls for additional plumbing and it demands for engine oil.

The Supercharger. 

supercharger

 The supercharger gets its own energy from the engine through a drive belt connected to the engines crankshaft. The supercharger compresses the atmospheric air and forces it into the engine to produce more power boost. The supercharger can spin with speed up to 50,000 RPM, and it can produce additional power up to 46%.

Pros and Cons.

Pros.

• increased horsepower: its a quick means of adding to a engines HP.
• No lag: the supercharger does not delay before boosting since its source of energy is directly from the engines crankshaft. this is an advantage over a turbocharger.
• Low RPM boost: the supercharger is able to boost the engine power during low RPM.
• price: its an effective way to improve engines power.

Cons.

• poor efficiency: the major disadvantage of supercharger is that it uses the engine power to produce more power.
• reliability: this affects all inductions systems the engines internals is exposed to high pressure and temperature which affects the engines longevity. its better to build engines with the forced induction system right from ground so it will be able to handle the high pressure and temperature.