Turbo vs. Supercharger.

[nealtovsen at yahoo.com (Neal Tovsen)]

I never understood it myself! :)

Seriously though, an custom or home-built aftermarket
turbo install us usually easier than a supercharger
because you don't have to figure out brackets. The
only real problem is plumbing, which usually doesn't
requre   CAD drawings and milling machines, unlike a
supercharger bracket. It can also be cheaper because
used turbos are a lot easier to come by than used
superchargers.

Performance-wise, a low-boost turbo is much easier on
the engine than a supercharger because the lag and
gradual boost increase doesn't shock the system. A
high-boost turbo will produce more raw power than any
supercharger, at the cost of throttle response and
reliability.

On the other hand, a supercharger is the only true
replacement for displacement. It really feels like a
much bigger engine, with instant throttle response and
much better drivability. But the ultimate maximum
power  potential is just not as high as a turbo.

IMHO, a supercharger is a little more fun to just
drive around town...it just feels like you have a V8
in there. But a high-boost turbo would have much more
speed potential once you really get into the boost. A
turbo is much more difficult to drive in an autocross
situation, which is why I went with a supercharger on
the Scirocco.

FYI, I've been very lucky to drive a pretty diverse
range of high-horsepower FI and NA cars in the past
couple years, so I feel like I've got some good ideas
of how the different power characteristics work.

Among other things:
G60 Scirocco
Subaru WRX STi
16v Scirocco
various "normal" WRX's
SL55AMG (supercharged V8 Mercedes)
turbo-converted Corrado G60
mostly-stock Corrado G60
BMW M Coupe
Nissan 350Z
350whp Camaro
numerous Mustangs/SVT Cobras

And lots of sport-compact 4-cyl cars...Mazdas, Hondas,
etc...

All of these were on an autocross course, so they
weren't just "lazy Sunday drives" either. I got to
push them a good bit.

Every car had it's advantages/disadvantages. It's all
a  matter of what you want to do and how much money
you have. In the end, power is addictive, no matter
how you get it!

Neal

--- Mike Smith <smithma7@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> Just wondering why most poeple tend to go for the
> Turbo as opposed to the Supercharger.  Any opinions?
> 
> Mike

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