Turbocharger or supercharger?

Supercharging and turbocharging suit different

car builders and car designs:

-

 Installing a supercharger (if there’s space

for it) is much easier than adding a turbo.

There are fewer components, and the pack-

aging (although bulky) is less complicated.

It takes less time to install, and it’s also

easier to remove the supercharger and

return the car to factory stock condition if

you want to either recertify the car for emis-

sions or sell it.

-

 A turbocharger is more easily tuned and

altered than a supercharger. With a simple

boost controller, a turbocharger can gener-

ate anywhere from just a few psi of boost to

30 psi or more (if the compressor is physi-

cally capable of producing that much

boost). Changing trim sizes (on the com-

pressor wheel) on turbo compressors is

inherently easier than on a supercharger.

Many popular hybrid turbos offer easy mix-

and-match, ready-to-go wheel trims and

compressor size variations for common

configurations. As your car is upgraded to

handle more power, the turbo can be modi-

fied to deliver more power.

The only way to get dramatically different

results with a supercharger is to swap the

compressor unit — no small feat. An exist-

ing supercharger’s boost characteristics

can be altered by swapping pulleys and

belts for larger and smaller diameters,

respectively, to achieve the target boost.

This range is a relatively narrow range of

adjustment — only a few psi.

The choice between supercharging and tur-

bocharging can come down to what you drive

and how you drive:

-

 A supercharger may be an attractive solu-

tion to your cravings for more power if you

are sticking with 6 to 10 psi of boost (a mod-

erate power increase). It’s especially good

if you have a larger displacement engine,

like a traditional American V-8

-

 A turbocharger is probably the better option

if you want to add more boost as you build

your engine’s ability to cope with the added

pressure, or if you have a smaller displace-

ment engine that would be sapped by any

parasitic loss.

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