Turbochargers VS Superchargers | Which is Better?

Superchargers vs Turbos, a question as old as time.... if time was as old as forced induction. We show you how superchargers and turbos work, and why one could be better than the other.

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When you say super or turbo charged to a regular person, they may not know why its good, but they know it’s good.... real good. The words have become so synonymous with more power that they are being used on cars that don’t even have turbos..... or engines.

Whether you are looking to buy a car that already has one, or you want to upgrade your naturally aspirated car, the age-old question remains. Which one is better?

A normal engine has 4 strokes, suck, squeeze, bang and blow. Individually these sound your late-night search history, but when you combine them the tell you how an engine works. First you suck the air into the engine, then the piston comes back up and squeezes the air fuel mixture, then you spark plug ignites the mixture and bang, your piston is sent back down only to return up and blow out the spent gases into the exhaust.

To get more power out of an engine you need more air and fuel to make a bigger bang. This is where forced induction like turbos and superchargers come in. Superchargers and turbos both operate under the same principle, force in more air make bigger bang. The difference between the 2 is how they accomplish said forcing.

A turbo charger uses a shaft with 2 spiny wheels attached to it. These spiny wheels are separate by the hot and cold side of the turbo. The hot side of the turbo is attached the exhaust and the cold side to the intake. Turbos use the spent exhaust gas from the combustion process to spin the turbo which allows it to force more air into the engine

A supercharger in our case uses 2 twisty shafts that are attached to a pulley. That pulley is belt driven and spins the 2 twisty shafts together forcing more air into the engine.

Let’s talk about advantages and disadvantages
Turbos are more efficient since they use exhaust gases that are already a byproduct of combustion to drive them. The down side of this is that it takes time for a turbo to spool since the exhaust gas at low RPM are not moving fast enough to create boost. This efficiency gives them more power potential, but has a down side of turbo lag. Also, they make cool noises

Superchargers have instant power, the second you mash your foot the the floor its go time, but that instant power comes at the cost of efficiency. Since superchargers are belt driven you robbing HP from the engine to drive the supercharger. An while the supercharger is a giver its a giver and a taker. Also it makes cool noises like whaaaaa

When it comes to upgrading naturally aspirated engines with one of these things get pretty distant. Turbos are much more widely used in general, are easier to retrofit and make more power. While superchargers are not very wide spread, more challenging to retrofit and make less power. This generally gives turbos the edge for cost and power potential.

When it comes to buying a car just pick the car that’s best overall vehicle for you. The advantages of one over the other don’t warrant avoiding either. But its probably going to be a turbo car, since there are not a ton of supercharged cars on the market. Orrrr Why not both?

[Deutscheautoparts]

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[Kiss__Kiss]

"While these sound like your late night internet history search" LMAO!!!

[malcolml]

I like my supercharge it's the Gift that keep's on giving 👍

[TheCraziiboi]

That instant torque nothing to be messed with

[roebbiej]

Mayor difference that you didn't mention: torque with a supercharger is linear, it increases simultaneously with the rpm when you are accelerating. Turbochargers have a mostly flat toque band, usually starting from 1500-2500 rpm all the way to redline, or it's tapers of at the end because the turbo is too small for adequate boost at the end.

[constantineb]

Seriously. A supercharger is way quicker to install than a turbocharger. Reason being less components. There are many Mercedes models with Kompressors.

[malcolmabram]

Thank you for this. I always knew the difference in how they work, but not their advantages and disadvantages. The turbo revolutionised the diesel engine both in terms of torque and reduced fuel consumption. Also they are more reliable on diesels as they run at much lower revs (due to the higher compression ratio) and hence are cooler.

[DemonicBalt]

Higher end Twin Screw Superchargers negate the efficiency loss and in select applications outperform turbo applications. Superchargers are also much much cooler than Turbos, and because they have boost on full the bypass is essential. Engine pulley Lso improves stability so superchargers tend to be a lifelong engine's friend. Turbochargers also more negatively affect low end because engine fights wheel spin up where a supercharger force clears.

Now turbochargers are easier to jump fast swathes of power and switch over power it is not hard to do that with supercharger. Sizing is essential for both, turbo is certainly king of the top end however do not disregard supercharger on boost loss on top, this is because cfm need and processing of motor is more efficient than available output.

In summary think of supercharger as a bar that raises with pulley selection, initial size of motor vs literage of engine is only real dilemma, unmodified engines pay heavy penalties with supercharger. Turbo is a exponential slide, add tons of boost pay for it only on the low rpms, above about 2, 200 rpm for most engines is usually enough to rotate even 76mm wheels pretty well, 80mm up you need exhaust manifolds and an engine that has spunk on its own.

Few notes, for supercharger nearly all stock superchargers are roots and TVS type, which are trash efficiency of about 40-70% versus TwinScrew and Centrifugal types which start over 80% and often exceed 90%. Centrifugal sc's are nearly completely louder than most would would like on street not often a pleasant noise, though some gearing and shrouds mitigate that not a great time, usually legal outcry if you have heavy police watch. Turbochargers operate somewhere between 76%(Ebay special) and 88%(IHI and most modern turbos) with some well selected ball bearing ceramics pushing 92+ on case by case at specific boost and operation routines.

Issues with supercharging maintenance is far easier and install and removal usually basic. SC intercooler of fixed displacement (not centrifugal tube's with belts) are water to air, run risk of loss if damaged, limping is not usually risky. Superchargers run their own oil.

Turbo and Centrifugal SC share risks and advantages with exception of heat. Lose the oil and/or water lines and it is a nearly certain fatality for the system.

Tuning a fixed displacement supercharger like B8 is super steady consistent. Turbos can vary wildly based on temps and fuel output mapping errors or bad sensor readings.

Research options both are fun for their own functions. Both operate almost same on street mileage if you pedal right below boost, but epic shifts in smiles are not exclusive to either.

[jnicksnewstart]

I think supercharger and turbochargers are both good. I think it depends more on what the purpose you are using the vehicle for. In my case, I want more response in everyday driving. I'm less interested with peak HP. If it was all about power, I'd probably go with turbo.

[Snowmunkee]

Don't forget the audi superchargers have bypass valves, which allow for much better efficiency at low rpms.

Also I approve of the use of the terms twisty thing and spinny wheels

[stangtrax]

Turbo hit the gas and wait, supercharger hit the gas and go.

[ThePaulv]

There are some other things worth mentioning.
The free spooling turbocharger allows for altitude compensation. A supercharger is slaved to the crankshaft so as elevation and temperature increases (esp a combination of both) then the power adding the supercharger gives is lost as in an NA engine (albeit from a higher power potential). A turbocharger has a key advantage here as it can maintain manifold pressure automatically.
A turbocharger also costs power in the form of pumping losses esp when it is on high boost but blower pumping loss is always there esp when cruising - whereas the turbo during cruise has little or no pumping loss sice it's off boost.
Back to superchargers, in aviation some general aviation had a pilot selectable 2sp gearbox to compensate for altitude gain. As you can imagine it is problematic and turbochargers are simpler and lighter.
So as you mentioned a turbo has a clear benefit. It can maintain rated power most of the time and doesn't cost fuel during cruise - however I still want a blower lol.

[von]

Make a video next about different types of turbos and different superchargers! Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each!

[shahrukhsiddiqui]

After 1 year, this video is still giving nice information. Thanks man 👍

[amauta]

This was actually very informative. Thank you.

[tp]

Having a supercharged car makes even the smallest journey super memorable even in stop start traffic

[pierreduplessis]

I prefer superchargers over turbos : reason its quicker too install and has instant power. Turbo motors needs more maintance.

[brianbrigg]

In Australia we have the locally made Ford "Barra" inline six 4 liter with a factory turbo and no discernible lag with the factory turbo. The long stroke 4 liter 4-valve engine makes excellent torque from low revs which helps. There are some heavily modified Barra engines making over 2, 000HP at the wheels. We also have the Holden, GM in Australia, Commodore which was exported to the USA as the Chevy SS running the LS3 V8 and a number of supercharger kits are available with efficient twin screw superchargers from the Magnuson 2300 to the Whipple based 2900. Best of both worlds really.
The only problem is that both were discontinued in 2017 but there are plenty available used.

[Kiwiriderandcarnut]

I've always been a huge proponent of a supercharger, and the sound, especially in a S4 w/ dual pulley and cai, is amazing. In saying that, I own a turbo 5cyl Volvo and I'm absolutely enamoured with turbos now! Honestly could not give an answer to the question of super or turbo, they're both so goddamn wicked!

[JR_GAMING_]

Literally the best explanation thank you- although I knew all this already I do now know which I prefer