Which is better a 25 psi turbocharger or 25 psi supercharger?

(2010-05-30 19:04:01)

1. Karla Says: Also is it true that superchargers are less harmful to engines compared to turbo chargers because I heard of many car's engine giving up due to the powerful turbo and I heard powerful superchargers will most likely not do that. So is it true? Thanks!

2. Thomas Says: Understand that both systems push huge amounts of air into the cylinders, there is little difference between the two. 25 psi is way too much for a street engine, most run 7 to 15 psi (that's the equivalent of forcing 7 to 15 atmospheres of air into the cylinder). The added air gives better combustion (explosions) and there are differences between turbo and supercharger.

Turbo operates off the exhaust, so it takes time to "spool up" to force in the air. But the faster you go the faster it pumps in air (sometimes 40k rpms) up to the maximum setting when a BOV (blow off valve) will release excess pressure to keep the engine from exploding.

By the way, I've seen superchargers fly more than 100 feet in the air after going through the hood of a race car at the drags, and I've seen heads that have broken in two that were on turbo motors. So they both can have dramatic displays of power gone bad.

Superchargers usually work off the crank shaft so they start driving in the air as fast as the motor turns, but are limited to the spins of the motor (red line on most engines is between 6k to 7.5k rpms), so it can only pump in air to that point. You can change pulleys to drive it faster, but that is still limited by the engine revs.

Superchargers input air directly based on the engine, turbos input air based on the exhaust. SCs are faster at the beginning, but turbos put in more in the long run.

Not much difference between the two, as too many other things will affect overall performance and can be installed to make a performance or speed difference.

3. ken k Says: either one is too much for regular engine/thats a lotta blow at 25/maybe 13 is good