Quote:
Originally Posted by TeutonicShift89
I'd be very interested to hear your general thoughts on supercharging vs turbocharging--both from a mechanical perspective (maintenance, value, reliability) as well as driving impressions.
Keep up the good work  |
hey thanks for the question!
short answer: just go with a appropriate size turbocharger and call it day.
long answer:
supercharger pros; (previously had a kraftwerks c38 supercharger kit, running flexfuel that was tracked)
linear torque curve
instant response, "no lag"
typically cheaper and produce less power than a turbo
supercharger cons;
needed separate oil and oil cooler
produced a lot of heat (probably same as turbo)
maintenance was way more, changing oil and changing the belt.
additional pulleys = more moving components = more components for failure.
no way to change PSI, unless you physically changed out the pulley (waste of time IMO, when you read the turbo pro)
Now, this was just my experience, but I know CSG has had really good luck with the jackson racing supercharger. And if I absolutely HAD to go with a supercharger get that one. Don't waste your time with kraftwerks. Shitty components and shitty customer service to add on top of that. I used to work in customer service for a large microphone company, so I can tell you what REAL customer service is.
Turbocharger cons:
typically more expensive due to types of systems offered.
produces a lot of heat
some may produce "too much lag" (IMO, lack of knowledge of choosing the right turbo)
extra exhaust gaskets that may be prone to failure. (I've had a couple fail already like the wastegate gasket and downpipe gasket probably due to my own fault though).
Turbocharger pros:
an appropriate size turbo will get you a linear torque curve (i.e. GTX2860r)
an appropriate size turbo will get your MORE power on less psi (compare compressor maps to see this.)
re-uses engine coolant and oil. (no need to run separate lines/cooler)
way less maintenance, no need to change external belt, no need to change external oil. Almost like set it and forget it, especially if you have an electronic boost controller.
Electronic boost controller, unlike the supercharger, allows you to have different PSI levels of your choosing as long as you work with your tuner with what you want. This is as easy as changing boost level with map switching via cruise control stalk with ECUTek.
Just from experience with my JDL kit utilizing a GTX2860r and flexfuel, just on 10PSI, my car feels faster than when it had a Kraftwerks C38 supercharger running on 14PSI. Actually, I KNOW it's faster just from being on track and smoking M3s and sort of keeping up with corvette's in straights. With the supercharger, don't get me wrong, it was fast, but it struggled to gain speed in straights and I was constantly worried about the belt breaking (kraftwerks related problem only). The turbo just keeps going and going and going.
At the end of the day it's personal preference; but with the pros and cons list, I think it's pretty obvious what would be the better choice. If I could start all over and do this in one swing, I wouldn't hesitate and buy a turbo and boost with that.
Hopefully that helps, let me know if you have any questions!
edit: to hit on your 3 points...
maintenance: turbo is way easier to maintain.
reliability: turbo is more reliable, don't have to worry about belts breaking or belts slipping or input shafts snapping (I've seen this numerous times on the rotrex units specifically)
value: turbos, in my opinion hold their value way more because typically supercharger brackets are application specific. turbos are not. What is application specific is the hot side and cold side parts of the turbo kit.
Again, this is just my opinion and I'm sure others would say other things, but I've driven both so I know how they function. The only thing I can't talk about is the whipple style/TVS style superchargers (edelbrock, harrop, and the likes).