Turbochargers Vs. Superchargers.

Introduction

We are all aware of the naturally aspirated engines that we have been seeing since the starting of automotive industry but in the later times came the forced induction systems which brought a completely new power and changed the scenario, as forced induction system increased the performance as well as the efficiency of the internal combustion engines.
The Turbocharger and supercharger both are different type of forced induction systems and also both are the best examples of forced induction system.
The mechanism of the Turbocharger and Supercharger is quite different but they both use process of compression of air into the engine.
The use of Turbocharger and Supercharger is nothing but to increase the performance and efficiency (in case of the turbocharger).

What is a Turbocharger?

It is a turbine driven Forced Induction device.
Turbocharger is being used in about 95% of the diesel vehicles today and is the most popular Forced Induction system. Popular simply because it is responsible for the betterment of the performance as well as the efficiency of the engine.
                                               
How does a Turbocharger work?

The exhaust gases are flown through the turbine and it makes the turbocharger to suck air from the outside ( making it forcefully induced) and throws it into the throttle body and then further to the piston (engine) and throws it into the throttle body and then further to the piston(engine) and therefore it becomes more and more efficient as it using the waste gases to perform it's whole process.
What it does is that it gives 8-10 PSI of boost to normal cars and even up to 15-17 PSI in nicer cars. When you have more air inside your piston , it means the amount of oxygen has also increased inside the piston which means that an even greater explosion than before. The piston is connected to the crankshaft which is going to be forced down with a greater force when there is a larger explosion. The engine crankshaft is connected to the transmission which is further connected the propeller shaft after a differential to each of the wheels. So effectively, by increasing the amount of explosion inside the piston , we are giving a greater force for the tyres to rotate.

Purpose of a Turbocharger 

As told above , what the turbocharger does is, it uses the exhaust gases from the engine to spin a turbine which will then suck in air from the outside and force this air into your combustion chamber.
When you think about it , the purpose of a turbocharger isn't just to increase the performance of the engine after a certain RPM but the main purpose of a turbocharger engine is to increase efficiency as the end of the day the turbocharger is effectively running on waste material that is the exhaust gases.

The temperature in the whole process is quite high and the turbo or the engine can easily get overheated that is the reason in a turbocharged engine , the amount of coolant is quite higher than that of a naturally aspirated engine. Most turbocharged cars these days have intercooler in them, resulting in drastic cooling down of the turbo and the engine.

Turbo Lag

The Turbo Lag is a problem with the turbocharged engines that when you press on the throttle, there isn't any throttle response and it takes a bit of time ( certain RPM ) for the engine to produce power and give that extra power to you.
The exhaust gases go through the exhaust turbine , they also spool the intake turbine and this pulls in air , send to through the intercooler and further to the throttle body and at last into the cylinder, with more you are going to create more power.
The whole process of air getting transferred from the exhaust turbine and finally into the throttle body takes a significant amount of time and this time is termed as Turbo Lag.

What is a Supercharger?

Supercharger is basically a device which helps in the process of the compression of the additional air to get the maximum efficiency possible. When you compress the air, it gives you an advantage that it makes the engine stuff more and more air into a particular piston. When you are at a higher altitude and you are going fast , there is quite a shortage of air at the intake manifold and it can further lead to incomplete combustion which gives quite a loss of power in the engine and this is where the Supercharger comes into play and spools.

Types of  Superchargers:

The goal of a supercharger is to increase the power by increasing air during combustion. Basically , there are 3 types of Superchargers:

1. Roots (Positive Displacement)

2. Twin Screw (Positive Displacement)

3. Centrifugal (looks like a Turbocharger)

How do they work?

The positive displacement superchargers sits on the top of the engine. They will run off a drive belt, as the belt turns the pulley , you will be turning shafts which will be turning rotors to produce more amount of pressure known as boost. And with more air pressure going into the engine , we can create more horsepower by adding more fuel.
A Centrifugal Supercharger on the other hand , is used to increase the volumetric efficiency of the engine. It gets its drive directly from the crankshaft through a belt drive or a gear drive. RPM of 5k to 6k. When it gets a drive from the engine the impellers rotate and the air comes into the center with a high velocity and low pressure and it further travels to the diffuser. As the diffuser is stationary , the pressure of the air increases and the velocity decreases and further that air pushed out towards the inlet manifold and the power is provided.

Pros:

  • Good Low RPM Boost (Unlike the Turbo).
  • Reliable and fairly inexpensive (Specially Root)
  • Do not use engine oil
Cons:

  • Creates a lot of heat
  • Parasitic Drag (More Load to the Engine)
  • High weight placement.
Turbochargers Vs. Superchargers (Showdown)

                                                            Turbochargers

Pros:
  1. Surge of power
  2. Turbo can be installed in engines with smaller displacements which allows them to have a much more power output
  3. When turbochargers are installed in smaller engines, it results in better fuel economy.
  4. The efficiency is quite higher as turbochargers use waste material (exhaust gases).
Cons:
  1. Turbos can sometimes take a lot of time to spool which results in a phenomenon commonly known as the Turbo Lag.
  2. Turbos require a certain RPM  where they can use the exhaust gases but till then there is virtually no power only Torque.
  3. In larger turbo chargers, they can give an instantaneous surge of power which can be dangerous.
Superchargers

Pros:
  1. When you add a supercharger to an engine , you get the fastest solution , you get the fastest solution to increase power.
  2. The biggest advantage of a supercharger over the Turbo is that there is no lag.
  3. You get the linear power delivery even at low RPMs.
  4. Adding a Supercharger is quite a cheap way to increase horsepower.
Cons:
  1. Superchargers are not as efficient as the Turbochargers.
  2. Superchargers tend to lessen the life of an engine, hence reliability issues.
What one should Prefer?

We cannot neglect the big advantage of efficiency in Turbochargers therefore Turbochargers will win the battle here. But when it comes to just being a petrolhead, hands down to Supercharged engines.






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