As the population increases so does the need for automobiles vehicle manufacturers have been searching for ways to boost the engine power from the dawn of the vehicles and they have found the ultimate solution by using more compressed air pushed into engines to achieve that they have invented the turbochargers and superchargers
in short, the turbochargers use the gases from the exhaust otherwise wasted and the superchargers connect to the engine directly.
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The Turbochargers:
It is small but a complicated part
it has two main parts the compressor fan and the turbine fan the hot build-up gases that pass through the exhaust goes into the compressor cool down a bit and are then forced into the engine this process is called a forced induction as it uses waste to give more power it reduces carbon emissions and gives your car relatively good fuel economy and more power mostly used in 4 cylinder engines but famous in other types of engines as well the turbo spools (charges) and gives a boost at rps 2000 and for larger turbos and engine the boost occurs at 3000 to 4000 rpm range thus creating the famous turbo sound we all love.
as there are advantages and disadvantages in everything our powerful little friend here is no exception.
Advantages of Turbochargers:
- it can be installed on most small engines
- gives great fuel economy
- reduces carbon emissions
Disadvantages of Turbochargers:
- heats up
- activates at a certain rpm range
- required to change after 150k to 200k miles
The Supercharger:
Unlike its small competitor supercharger is a big but a simple part installed and connected to your engine directly instead of having a turbine fan it has a belt pulley and a compressor fan and delivers the power even at lower rpm to higher rpms with no lag unlike in turbo instead it delivers power continuously because the belt or chain pulley spins with the engine crankshaft and because it compresses the air without vacuum the engine uses more fuel thus giving more power to the engine but as it uses more fuel the fuel economy is not as good as it is with the turbochargers it is designed for larger engines and with vehicles having big engine bay to support a supercharger.
Advantages of Superchargers:
- does not build up heat like the turbo
- instant power delivery
- instant power delivery
Disadvantages of Superchargers:
- lowers your fuel economy
- can’t fit into cars with small engine bay
- louder than a turbocharger
There are five different types of turbos from the original one and three different types of superchargers below are the types
Twin-turbo:
Instead of one why not two?
in twin turbos, you can use the two same size and type of turbos and even a combination of a smaller and a larger turbo to add more air into the engine than the regular one thus creating even more horsepower for your car a twin-turbo works faster and even reduces turbo lag it increases horsepower from 150 to 250 more hp than before.
Dual Scroll Turbo:
As the name suggests while normal turbos use one scroll the dual scroll setup uses two scrolls. A large single turbo will spool a bit slower than a dual scroll but the larger single gives more optimal top speed than a twin-scroll but the twin-scroll spools faster thus giving more power at lower RPMs and giving better acceleration than a single one.
Variable-Geometry Turbocharger:
The biggest difference between normal and variable-geometry turbo also known as Vtg is that regular turbo uses fixed vans gates while the Vtg turbocharger uses variable vans gates that are moveable which helps you control the exhaust airflow that a turbo takes and forces it into the engine.
Variable Twin-Scroll Turbocharger:
This turbo is a combination of both the variable geometry and dual scroll turbo and is used in most diesel-powered cars as it is expensive for petrol-powered cars as it cannot withstand the high-pressure gasses made from petrol cars and needs constant repairs thus it is more effective in diesel engine cars as its gasses temperature is lower than traditional gas-powered cars and is more useful in it.
The Electric Turbo:
Is a relatively new technology it is you can also call it its beta phase for large-scale production as for how it works unlike the traditional turbos which use exhaust gases and you have to wait for it to spool and give you boost the electric turbo uses electric intake and provides power almost instantly with no turbo lag as much as it sounds cool we don’t have enough information that it will replace the traditional turbos we all love on paper it looks great but until its mass-produced, we can’t say for sure.
The three main types of superchargers:
The Roots Supercharger:
The oldest and most powerful technology to produce more power in combustion engines it uses a mixture of air and fuel then this mixture is compressed and rapidly forces air into the engine which in turn creates bigger explosions in the piston and more powerful explosions mean more power it works with a pair of rotors that intakes air it adds up to 40 or 50% more horsepower than your stock non-supercharged engine as with supercharger it cannot give a fixed number of horsepower.
Twin-Screw Superchargers:
As the name suggests it works with screw-shaped rotors as its air intake rather than the roots supercharger style rotors. The twin-screw superchargers intake air and compress it directly this is due to the shape and style of the superchargers as screw superchargers mesh with each other rather than working like the roots.
It cannot give a specific horsepower increase number but we can measure it in percentage about
50% to 200% more horsepower than your average stock engine.
Centrifugal Supercharger:
This type of supercharger has a rather unique way of adding power to and increasing horsepower in your engine as it uses centrifugal forces to compress air and increase the explosions in the piston as the other two types
are larger this is slightly smaller in size than the roots and twin-screw superchargers.
To Conclude:
Both the superchargers and the turbochargers have their advantages and disadvantages although both go in hand to hand with the pricing they have different expenses to install and additional parts so even if your car doesn’t support them they can after the additional parts as the fuel prices are going up the main concern most people have are the fuel economy be sure to check out our post about racing fuel and if you’re looking to get an upgrade without it much effecting your economy than turbochargers are for you and if your vehicle has enough space in the engine bay and fuel economy doesn’t affect you much then superchargers are for you. You must know the difference between the various types of superchargers and turbos before spending money and not liking your purchase as supercharging or turbo tuning your vehicles is an expensive hobby.
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