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Superchargers and turbochargers are basically air pumps that force air into the engine (Forced Induction). With that, you also have to add more fuel. More fuel and air adds up to more horsepower.
Turbos are centrifigal pumps powered by the exhaust gases. Sort of a fan powered by the escaping exhaust attached to another fan forcing air to the intake.
Superchargers are belt driven. There are three types. Two are positive displacement...the roots type and the screw type. The third type is a centrifigal...sort of a belt driven turbo.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but I'll not go into that at the moment as it may start a Turbo vs. Supercharger war.
Turbos are centrifigal pumps powered by the exhaust gases. Sort of a fan powered by the escaping exhaust attached to another fan forcing air to the intake.
Superchargers are belt driven. There are three types. Two are positive displacement...the roots type and the screw type. The third type is a centrifigal...sort of a belt driven turbo.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but I'll not go into that at the moment as it may start a Turbo vs. Supercharger war.
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I'm glad youaskedthis question as it has been a topic that has interested me since I got involvedwith cars in college.
A turbo charger, in the most simple terms is two turbines. One turbine is inserted into the exhaust system near the manifold and the other to the intake. As exhaust gases pass by the turbine it spins at very high revolutions acting on the opposing turbine. The two turbines are of varying sizes depending on how the engineers have designed the car. Anyway, as the exhaust turbine is spinning, the turbine set into the intake manifold is also spinning at the same speed. This causes a vacuum at the intake and in fact charges the cylinders with more dense air. The whole idea behind this system is to force as much air as possible into the cylinders as denser air burns more efficiently.
Superchargers are like turbos in that they are attempting to do the same thing to the engine, force more air into a smaller space. However, in the case of the supercharger it is set into the intake manifold and looks like to long gears. It is a positive displacment pump, so when the engine is turning at any given RPM the supercharger must turn with it. The way inwhich it is different from a turbo is that it is driven by a belt from the crankshaft.
The thing to remember is that both super and turbocharged engines opperate at a lower compression ratio than naturally asperated engines. So if the turbo isn'toperating efficantly the engine will have a dramitic loss in power. Also, the turbines in turbo systems are set in the casing with bearings which spin at veryhigh revolutions. I believe the rating for most carsis around 5000RPM for the turbine bearings per every 1000 RPM ofthe engine cycle. Someof these bearings are sealed and some are lubricated with the engine oil.
A turbo charger, in the most simple terms is two turbines. One turbine is inserted into the exhaust system near the manifold and the other to the intake. As exhaust gases pass by the turbine it spins at very high revolutions acting on the opposing turbine. The two turbines are of varying sizes depending on how the engineers have designed the car. Anyway, as the exhaust turbine is spinning, the turbine set into the intake manifold is also spinning at the same speed. This causes a vacuum at the intake and in fact charges the cylinders with more dense air. The whole idea behind this system is to force as much air as possible into the cylinders as denser air burns more efficiently.
Superchargers are like turbos in that they are attempting to do the same thing to the engine, force more air into a smaller space. However, in the case of the supercharger it is set into the intake manifold and looks like to long gears. It is a positive displacment pump, so when the engine is turning at any given RPM the supercharger must turn with it. The way inwhich it is different from a turbo is that it is driven by a belt from the crankshaft.
The thing to remember is that both super and turbocharged engines opperate at a lower compression ratio than naturally asperated engines. So if the turbo isn'toperating efficantly the engine will have a dramitic loss in power. Also, the turbines in turbo systems are set in the casing with bearings which spin at veryhigh revolutions. I believe the rating for most carsis around 5000RPM for the turbine bearings per every 1000 RPM ofthe engine cycle. Someof these bearings are sealed and some are lubricated with the engine oil.
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Actually the supercharger is the intake manifold. It replaces the intake manifold. What your describing is a roots style blower.mykngdom4avvti said:
Theres also centrifigual blowers. Its basicly half of a turbo (compressor side). The difference is that its driven by the crank instead of exhaust like a turbo.
a little insite on making cars go fast.
to make a car go fast, you want power to push it.... torque to get it moving...
to produce torque is easy... it comes with power and power with torque
anyway, BASICALLY, take soem air, take some fuel, blow it up... correct?
now fuel... meh, always have enough, injectors can be replaced to allow more, a surge pump Just incase etc.
the key to making a car efficent and powerful is air.
more air you get, the WAYYYYYY better it is...
this is why superchargers and turbos faring own, if you can force air into the engine, it means that the suction on the intake stroke is reduced, or put into negitives, (aka boost).
only thing that makes turbos make cars go fast, is air.... push air in quick, car go quick.
thats it...
air..
make your car go fast, get more air... cold air has more dense oxygen... so cold... air..
lots and lots of it... thats it... what about nos? yeh.... thats basically oxygen... more air.... helps it burn...
get the picture? more air.... MORE AIR (why quad throttle bodies own... allows more oxygen to enter the inlet manifold). and 20v helps because more air can pass through into the combustion chamber...
AIR!
to make a car go fast, you want power to push it.... torque to get it moving...
to produce torque is easy... it comes with power and power with torque
anyway, BASICALLY, take soem air, take some fuel, blow it up... correct?
now fuel... meh, always have enough, injectors can be replaced to allow more, a surge pump Just incase etc.
the key to making a car efficent and powerful is air.
more air you get, the WAYYYYYY better it is...
this is why superchargers and turbos faring own, if you can force air into the engine, it means that the suction on the intake stroke is reduced, or put into negitives, (aka boost).
only thing that makes turbos make cars go fast, is air.... push air in quick, car go quick.
thats it...
air..
make your car go fast, get more air... cold air has more dense oxygen... so cold... air..
lots and lots of it... thats it... what about nos? yeh.... thats basically oxygen... more air.... helps it burn...
get the picture? more air.... MORE AIR (why quad throttle bodies own... allows more oxygen to enter the inlet manifold). and 20v helps because more air can pass through into the combustion chamber...
AIR!
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^^thats quite the understatement.....to make power u need a combo of air and fuel (and spark/ignition of course) to create combustion to make power....if u feed it lots of air and starve the motor from fuel....what do u get??....detonation......both rely on one another......
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^ I think he's trying to say that adding more fuel is the easy part. It's getting more air in there thats the bigger trick. Very simplified, yes, but essentially true.
Remeber that each system has their pros and cons so if you are considering one, consider what you want from the car and be prepared to give up a little bit... Eg. Turbo Lag/no "boost" control
Adding air and fuel is the easiest part. Making the air and fuel burn properly and controllably is the hardest part.alltrac165 said:
Sure we can all ram 1000 CFM of air and tons of fuel into the engine. But can the engine digest it and make use of it? Head design, quench, cam and cam timing, cams in general, tuning, etc... Those are the hardest things. It is about making all these things work together.
Gawd,
If you think using explosions to move your piston is the way - that shit is called detonation. That is what kills your engine.
Edited to add better answer..
Supercharging is a method to artificially increase the amount of fuel/air (aka CHARGE) mixture on induction. The length of the downward stroke x the size of the piston is the maximum amount that can be flowed on a normally aspirated engine. Bigger charge gives a bigger burn for larger expansion, moving the piston with more force.
Supercharger is a compressor typically running off the crank cramming a larger charge than is normally possible. Turbos use exhaust gas to spin an impeller to do same thing.
If you think using explosions to move your piston is the way - that shit is called detonation. That is what kills your engine.
Edited to add better answer..
Supercharging is a method to artificially increase the amount of fuel/air (aka CHARGE) mixture on induction. The length of the downward stroke x the size of the piston is the maximum amount that can be flowed on a normally aspirated engine. Bigger charge gives a bigger burn for larger expansion, moving the piston with more force.
Supercharger is a compressor typically running off the crank cramming a larger charge than is normally possible. Turbos use exhaust gas to spin an impeller to do same thing.
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