Car & Truck Turbos, Superchargers & Intercoolers

Car and Truck Turbos, Nitrous and Superchargers

Superchargers and turbochargers are an important piece of technology when it comes to engines, more specifically, cars and trucks. These air compressors are vital to how a motor runs and performs. However, they are quite different.

While a supercharger and a turbo both have the same jobs and serve the same purpose, the work very differently. Both are air compressors; however, a supercharger is driven with the motor’s crankshaft. They are generally connected together with a special belt. On the other hand, a turbocharger is given its drive by an exhaust turbine. This is the most notable difference between the two air compressors. Engine power is needed for a supercharger to work and a turbocharger simply needs the waste energy from the motor to run. Since the latter is powered by the motor’s waste gases, it is considered to be energy efficient.

In order to decide which charger type is right for you, you must consider the benefits of each. The benefits of a supercharger include:

• More horsepower
• A quick way to boost power to your motor with immediate delivery because the supercharger is not dependent upon the crankshaft of the motor
• No lag, which many consider to be the biggest advantage compared to turbochargers
• Reliable power at low RPM and a wide range of RPMs when compared to turbochargers
• No motor oil requirement, which means less plumbing

The benefits of a turbocharger include:

• Increased power
• Allows smaller engines to give off more power in relation to their size
• Increased fuel efficiency due to the use of a smaller motor
• Highly efficient since they use energy that would otherwise be exhaust gas
• More reliable than supercharges because the motor is not exposed to increased pressures and temperatures

You may be thinking that there are benefits of both charger types that would be useful for your vehicle, which then makes you unsure of which type to choose. The good news is that you do have the option of choosing both. This is called twincharging. This technology is older than you might think, but it is not commonplace. With twincharging, a smaller-sized supercharger provides the motor with a boost of power while the large turbo spools. Once the boost of power is complete, the supercharger is skipped over and not used in order to reduce energy loss. Twincharging allows you to have your cake and eat it too. You get a big boost of efficient power, with an almost immediate response in addition to a flat torque curve from a smaller-sized motor.