Superchargers VS Turbochargers

Turbochargers and Supercharges are frequently referred to in articles about all types of cars, but are rarely defined or distinguished from the other. Both use Forced Induction, which means they push more air into the cylinders then would normally be there which allows each cylinder to produce more power then it normally would. Thats about where the similarities end. Both have their benefits and downsides, so it is difficult to say which one is "better".

Turbochargers get their power from the exhaust stream that the engine produces. Exhaust propels the turbines inside the Turbo. The Turbocharger compresses the air and pushes it into the cylinders, there by forcing more in then would normally be there. The major downside to turbocharging an engine is something called "turbo lag". Because the turbo is powered by exhaust, the engine must complete a full cycle to produce the exhaust to power the turbo. Cars with turbochargers should be allowed to warm up before driving because if you start it and immediately slam on the gas, you could blow your turbo very easily. The benefit of driving a turbocharged car is once you get past that initial lag, it can be very fast in 3rd or 4th gear. Thats where they trump Superchargers.

Superchargers run off of a belt instead of exhaust. They are directly bolted onto the engine and a belt or chain is hooked up to the compressor which does the same thing as a Turbocharger compressor. They both force more air in then would normally be there. A Superchargers strength is also its weakness. Superchargers produce massive amounts of low end torque. This means that as soon as you slam on the gas, the cars going to move, and fast. The problem is that the torque curve (a graph of where the car produces the most power) is very high through gears 1-3 but goes down rapidly through 4-5. Chances are the nine times out of ten, a supercharged car will beat a turbocharged car off the line because of that turbo lag. However once that torque starts to ease off, your turbocharged competitor's turbos will be spinning at full speed and you might get caught.

There are benefits and downsides to both S uperchargers and Turbochargers, but hopefully the next time you read about them, you will know exactly what the article is talking about.