Supercharger On A Car example essay topic

Every person in the world sees hundreds of cars each day. Every once and a while, someone sees a car that makes their head turn and their mouth drop open. But does what's underneath the hood of those cars match the beauty of the outside of it? Speed is just as important as looks, and a good method of adding speed to an automobile is by using forced induction to pull more out of your engine and make your car faster.

Turbochargers and superchargers are the two best ways to get more from your car. The main question is which one to use. Throughout the following pages, the better choice will be explained with many details. Turbochargers are better because they turn wasted energy from the exhaust stream into power and adds a more increase in power, they are less expensive, there is no strain put on the engine, you have unlimited boost with the right set up, and because more performance car analysts and car manufacturers choose to turbo charge rather that supercharge. Turbochargers are better than superchargers because they utilize the cars wasted energy and force more out of an engines unused power.

A turbocharger's power source is a cars exhaust. "In theory a turbo is more efficient because it is using wasted energy in the exhaust stream for its power source". (Nice) That is how a turbocharger is powered. It takes the available power from the exhaust stream and runs it through a turbine, which in turn spins a compressor. (Nice) In turn, the turbocharger performs something a supercharger can never perform. When the exhaust starts to spin the compressor, or air pump, it spins at a speed that cannot be matched.

It spins at 150,000 rotations per minute and that's about 30 times faster than most car engines can go. (Nice) A supercharger is completely different in the way it is powered compared to the turbocharger. "A supercharger compresses the air / fuel mixture of an engine by forcing air into the engine under pressure. In short, supercharging makes a V-6 perform like a V-8". (Vortech marine. com) Due to the fact that it is utilizing mainly the fuel injection system, a supercharger cannot always perform up to the standards of a turbo, which is why turbos are the best choice to make street cars, Nascar's, Diesel trucks, and other types of automobiles faster and more efficient. A turbocharger adds more of an increase in power in most cases.

A basic supercharger generally adds between thirty and thirty-five percent more horsepower than a cars stock engine. "In most cases, a turbocharger will increase the engines horsepower output by fifty percent". (Nice) The level of increase in turbos and superchargers can be changed however. This increase is measured in pounds per square inch, or PSI's. When measured in PSI, a turbo putting out a rate of fifty percent more horsepower will be boosting the engine by six to eight PSI. So, obviously there is a huge gap between a turbochargers output and that of a normal supercharger.

The boost on a turbocharger can usually be turned to around twenty to twenty-two PSI, however. The normal supercharger cannot match this feat. Right off the top, turbochargers are better than superchargers because they utilize wasted energy and also have a larger power increase. Turbochargers are less expensive than a supercharger. Depending on the make and country of origin on the car, a supercharger can cost well near ten thousand dollars. In most cases, a turbocharger is projected around a thousand dollars less when compared to a supercharger that would be used to try to match its power output.

This is a huge difference. The only advantage to paying more is that superchargers are easier to install. (Nice) Turbochargers do require a few more costly items, however. An intercooler is needed to help keep the engine and turbo from detonating. (Trinituner. com) This is because temperatures are very high due to the fact that the turbo is powered from the very hot exhaust. (Nice) An intercooler can cost up to eight hundred dollars, but there is an added bonus included with it.

It adds even more horsepower, thus another way it leaves the supercharger in the dust. For all the money spent on performance parts, why waste another thousand dollars on a supercharger when the speed and power needed lies in the cheaper more efficient turbo? Turbochargers are less expensive that superchargers and perform much better. There are other ways that turbochargers are less expensive than superchargers. The costs for gas are less with that of a turbocharger because the fuel isn't forced into the cylinders as much like a supercharger. When you use a supercharger, if you drive aggressively fuel efficiency will suffer.

(Trinituner. com) Air is compressed an extensive amount with a supercharger, and with this compression more air is forced into the engines cylinders. If more air is added to a cylinder that means that more fuel will be added to it as well. You get a lot more power with more fuel. (Nice) You can avoid fewer miles per gallon and poor fuel efficiency by using a supercharger, while still getting the extra power that is obtained by the air that is forced in the cylinders with the supercharger. The turbocharger is better than the supercharger because it costs less to purchase and to maintain. Superchargers put a strain on a cars engine.

The main difference between a supercharger and a turbocharger is the way it is powered. As previously stated, the exhaust stream powers the turbocharger. However, the supercharger has a belt that connects directly to the engine. This means that a supercharger is operated by a pulley.

Because of this, there is a strain on the automobile's engine and a chance of permanently damaging the car. Turbochargers don't have that risk due to the fact that they are driven by a ball bearing that is inside the turbo, while it is still connected to the exhaust and intake manifolds not causing any damage at all to the engine. If the turbocharger on a car is put together correctly with the right supplies and other performance accessories, a turbo can be tuned to an extremely high boost. This includes all necessary performance bolt on parts to keep the engine nice and cool for the turbo to be able to run for a long period. Cold air intake is a good means of coolant, while adding ten to fifteen horsepower to your car in the process.

When installing intake, a full cat-back exhaust system should strongly be considered for better airflow to the turbo and throughout the header and exhaust manifold. However, when installing a turbo, the number one way to keep the engine cool is an intercooler. "With the use of the intercooler with the turbo setup you have the use of practically unlimited boost. You are limited to what a supercharger has to offer". (Trinituner. com) Cars that were made naturally turbo charged such as the Mazda RX-7 have been known to have several problems due to the heat of the turbo during operation. If the turbo does get too hot, it could completely destroy your engine and damage other important parts.

Superchargers do not have all of the accessories that turbochargers have available, thus it wont ever be as fast as a turbo is or as fast as it can be. "The advantage of turbo charging is the ability to increase horsepower using boost controllers and changing turbo units". (Trinituner. com) The normal setup with a supercharger is an exhaust system, intake, a header, ignition control, reprogrammed computer, and sometimes other upgrades. With a turbo, a car is usually setup with all of those upgrades along with the intercooler, intercooler piping, boost controller, blow off valves, and sometimes nitrous oxide. With the right engine, the right car, and the right setup, sometimes six hundred horsepower isn't that far away from reality. This is because with the right engine setup, a turbo is virtually untouchable.

More people and car manufacturers tend to pick turbochargers before superchargers. Almost all stock high performance cars that have high power right from the assembly line utilize turbochargers. This has been true for the upwards of ten years and before that. The new Subaru WRX utilizes a turbocharger allowing the car to get 227 horsepower. The WRX was picked as the number one car overall in 2002. The proof stands in the numbers.

For seventeen years of production in America, the very popular and legendary Toyota twin turbo Supra was and still is considered one of the most head turning cars ever produced. With horsepower ratings of almost 340 right out of the factory, it is any wonder why. Though no longer produced in America, the Supra still remains very popular and respected here, while it is still one of the top cars produced in Japan. In Japan, Nissan produces cars that Americans can only dream about.

One of these cars is the Nissan Skyline GT-R. While the non-turbo version is now available here as the Infiniti Q 35, it cannot even compare to its legendary predecessor. This is because the turbo on the Japanese GT-R gives Americans things they can only dream about. This is all due to the fact it is turbocharged. Hardly ever do people miss a supercharger on a car when they buy it. This is because not many car manufacturers utilize a supercharger on a stock machine. The Mercedes-Benz Corporation is one of the manufacturers that do.

Some of the Mercedes sportier lineup such as the SLK Kompressor has a supercharger to add more speed, but not enough when compared to that of a Supra. The stock Kompressor has 191 horsepower while the stock twin turbo Supra has 340. No comparison can even be made as in a race the person driving the Supra would have time to do their makeup or comb their hair while beating the Kompressor by 10 or more cars in only the quarter mile race. "It is any wonder more original equipment managers choose to turbo charge rather than supercharge". (Perkins-Davis, 72) When street racing fanatics want to make their car faster and better, they tend to lean towards the turbocharger to grab that final needed amount of speed.

This is because a turbocharger is more efficient in almost every way. This includes both thermally and mechanically. (Perkins-Davis, 72) More people choose the turbo for their naturally aspirated engines, which means non-turbo, because it forces more out it. Using 8 PSI of boost in an Acura Integra Type R, which is 197 stock horsepower, a person can expect around 300 horsepower. They would only get around 260 using a normal supercharger. The reason a turbo is the favorite and most respected stands in the numbers.

One of the reasons this is true is because when the chargers affect the power band in a car. A turbocharger is usually only added to a car if it is already fast and quick off the line, but just needs that added amount of power to keep the speed it uses off the line. This is because a turbocharger kicks in around the 4500-7500 (depending on the cars redline) RPM range. That gives more speed when it is needed most.

The supercharger pushes a car more in the 2000-2500 RPM range. This gives more power off the line, but lacks the power to keep up with the turbocharger at top end speed. So basically, the ideal setup for a high performance machine would be a supercharger and a turbocharger all connected to one engine. This would give amazing speed off the line and it would keep this speed as the car went high in the power band due to the turbocharger.

However, this requires a large amount of money that most people do not have to spend on a car. It also means that you must take certain parts off of a stock engine. This includes removing the air conditioner, buying a smaller radiator, and taking other parts that are not needed to run the car out. This also makes the car lighter and adds horsepower, but by just adding the turbocharger the speed that is needed can be obtained without the supercharger.

A turbocharger weighs almost nothing. It increases the boost in engines without affecting its weight. (Nice) The choice between the two isn't comparable. This is why more car manufactures and people choose to turbo charge rather than supercharge. For almost every reason a person could think of, a turbocharger is a better choice over the supercharger.

It adds more speed to an otherwise stock engine and helps the car reach the last boost over power it needs to become untouchable. When concluding how a person can obtain the better amount of speed from the details given in the preceding pages it is obvious why turbochargers are better than superchargers because they use wasted power to make the car faster, they don't hurt a cars engine, they are less expensive, with the right supplies the boost range is unlimited, and because more car manufactures and the general public use turbochargers on high performance machines. Cars that look good get peoples heads to turn, however cars that have turbochargers allow the driver of the turbo modified car to turn their head and look behind them as they leave the other cars on the road in the dust.

Bibliography

Information on Vortech Superchargers". web Nice, Karim. "How turbochargers work". web 2001 Perkins-Davis, Earl and Diane.
Supercharging, turbocharging, and nitrous oxide. St. Paul: MBI, 2001.