Why Superchargers Aren't As Good as Turbos

Superchargers are a reliable way of adding more power, so why the hell is no one using them? Turbochargers have a huge monopoly over the forced induction scene both with manufacturers and the aftermarket.

But it still stands that if your car is going to come with some sort of spinny thing that creates more power - it’s more likely than not a turbo-charger - NOT a supercharger.

So why is it that Superchargers always get forgotten about?

Maybe, (and hear me out on this), it’s because superchargers aren’t very good

⭕ Porsche's Genius Turbo Design

⭕ Why Moving Rear Wings Won't Catch On

#Superchargers #KindaSuck #Cars

[OVERDRIVE.studios]

Would you buy a car with a supercharger? Or would you go Turbo?

[chrishernandez]

For anyone who doesn't know, turbochargers being "neatly tucked away" actually translates to "major pain in the ass to work on" compared to a positive displacement supercharger

[Dominik]

It is absolute nonsense that a supercharger has to be on top of the engine. That's only a case for V engines. On inline engines they're much more commonly placed on the side.

[namenamename]

"They used the term 'Kompressor' with a 'K' because that's just better"
Or because Mercedes, based in Germany, used the german spelling.

[NicoBiturbo]

Your second try on "Gottlieb" was absolutely flawless. I'm not kidding. It was perfect.

[dariolinder]

Fun fact: although it's way less than super chargers, turbos also produce some paracidic loss.
A turbo makes it harder for an engine to push out exhaust gases, creating a tiny amount of extra resistance in the exhaust stroke.

OFC it's far less than the power increase you gain, but it just shows that you never get energy for free. A perpetomobile is still impossible.

[eddiepFW]

I feel like I learned more by reading the comments than watching the actual video.

[heiko]

Turbo is actually short for "Turbine supercharger", which hasn't changed. The terms weren't separated at all, because the correct name of a supercharger always comes with what type it is, i.e. a positive displacement supercharger etc. Turbo is just neat and short.

Cool video though!

[chrisperceval]

I read somewhere that the supercharger on a top fuel or funnycar costs about 700 hp in parasitic loss, runs at about 50psi and delivers about an extra 3, 000 hp! That and the instant power make them a must in those categories of drag racing where 0 to 100 mph in about a second is where you want to be. Fitting one to your Dodge Charger (other 70's muscle cars are available...) is just street terrorism...

[BigUriel]

Superchargers don't suck, the main reasons why you don't see many stock cars with them are really 1) they cost more than turbos, quite a bit more for the OEMs in fact and 2) it's harder to fudge fuel consumption homologation tests with them (you know what I mean, all those "downsized" turbo engines that supposedly get 45mpg but in the real world you can't get more than 25 out of them).

The idea that a supercharger is a waste of engine power while a turbo is "free" power is also not really true. The turbo gets some of its energy from the expansion of exhaust gases, but how much exactly depends on operating conditions and in many situations a turbo can get much or even most of its power from the *flow* of the exhaust gases (not their expansion) which creates backpressure on the engine which creates a breaking torque (just like superchargers), plus turbos heat up intake air far more and turbocharged engines are more limited in terms of compression ratio.

In light throttle conditions turbocharged engines are often very efficient, but at full power they are usually less efficient than naturally aspirated engines, sometimes even less than supercharged ones too.

[dy]

3:38
Actually the Twin Screw rotates inwards unlike Roots that rotates outwards, and this reduces the friction experienced by the air, thus reducing heat and power required. This is why Twin-screws are more common on "newer" charged v8s like the Hellcat or the LS9. However, due to reliability issues and higher production cost as the lobes aren't identical and the female should rotate faster than the male, this solution is very rarely used. Most modern roots blower are heavily twisted anyways, so it's similar in workings to the twin screw without the need of a female rotor.

[jimihendrix]

Having owned vehicles with both, I found the supercharger to be better as it had no lag and also much more linear power delivery. The turbocharger seemed to be much harder to modulate power, it was very peaky, sort of an all or none kind of power delivery. Nonetheless, both vehicles were very different, one was a supercharged 5.4 V8 and the other a turbocharged 2.5 flat 4 so it’s not a balanced comparison.

[marcos]

I think Superchargers make more sense for performance and sport cars, precisely because of the no lag thing, and because of the linearity too, it kind of keeps the N/A feeling of an engine while increasing its power, that´s his beauty IMHO

[JakkeJakobsen]

From what I remember from physics class, increase in pressure in the same amount of volume increases temperature, so not sure why intercoolers are mentioned specifically in certain parts of the video. All types of forced induction benefits from intercoolers, air or water cooled.

[budyeddi]

One area the supercharger will always win over a turbo is *exhaust note*

[sirloin]

Cadillac also has the 4.2 TT blackwing v8. I think superchargers will always have a place in this world. Turbo and superchargers both have pros and cons and both have there place as long as ICE engines are around.

[lorenzhartl]

1:45 as an Austrian i can say that the second "Gottlieb" was absolutely correct.

[Chimera]

fun fact: superchargers do actually suck. literally

[panzerveps]

Turbochargers do cause a parasitic power loss on the engine, but it's way smaller than with superchargers.

[ImmortanDan]

No, it's really easy to "fight the supercharger's corner" - as you said, lack of lag is one thing, and less obvious upsides like less maintenance and easy access are others. What you have from an engineering standpoint is a set of upsides and a set of downsides. You present that to your managers and executives, they see "EASIER TO APPEASE THE EPA" on the turbo's pros list and pick that. You know, unless they actually drive performance cars and know how a supercharger's behaviors and traits help.