Why does the aftermarket love turbos? Why not superchargers?

[86'd]

1. SCs are limited to certain HP numbers vs a turbo set up.

2. Most people who want tons of power don't road race, they drag.

3. Turbos are more easily fabricated. You can't make a roots/eaton/whatever blower yourself. Just grab a snail, bend some pipes (exaggerating) and have at it.

Most SCs in say a Honda application will "magnify" (for the lack of a better term) the powerband; more low end TQ etc. You'd be lucky to reach 100hp+ max power for a bolt on race kit.

Turbos on the other hand will always achieve more power. Sure the powerband would suck for anything but drag racing (especially if its a big turbo) but you're getting 200+hp for the same money spent vs the SC setup.

A nice SC set up are great for the street, but people are always chasing numbers and turbos just provide more.

SCs do have problems as well. You need to make sure it's oiled, tighten pulleys/check belts on occasion, and monitor your cooling and A/F on a regular basis. Plus most cheap bolt on SC's don't have a cooling aspect, like say an intercooler, so you'd have to be careful about things like heatsoak and all of that.

[RWD-boxer]

Bov

[ahausheer]

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

Looking at it simplified... an inefficient turbo system will be more efficient than an efficient supercharged system. Of course, there will and are some that break that rule, but by in large that statement holds true.

You mean in terms of MPG, volumetric or adiabatic efficiency? So turbos are often easier to mount, have better mpg, better peak torque, cheaper, lighter and they sound cool. Sounds good for racing/ top end acceleration where as superchargers as someone above said simply raise the power curves but don't necessarily change their shape. I think Im getting it and I think I would still prefer a small, low boost SC.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

...have better mpg, better peak torque...

Errr I think this is highly case dependent. Having a big torque spike is not really a good thing. mpg is affected by not only what compressor type (superchargers included), turbine size/housing, but also by the engine itself. For example, VVEL and Valvetronic equipped engines should have slightly higher cruise efficiency if boosted and intercooled, but most other engines won't have that.

[chulooz]

What do you think the downsides to turbos are? Nearly every desired goal can be achieved with the superior tuning capabilities/options.

[WolfsFang]

Get a twin charger and have both worlds.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Calum]

Wait, no one wrote because racecar yet. Well, let me be the first


Because Racecar.

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

Why does the aftermarket for imports focus so much on turbos? Wouldn't a supercharger be better?

I think a lot of people enjoy building turbo kits that make peak boost just before peak rpm, rather than buying a pre-built supercharger kit that... does the same.



"Just say no to over-sized turbochargers."

[ahausheer]

Originally Posted by chulooz

What do you think the downsides to turbos are? Nearly every desired goal can be achieved with the superior tuning capabilities/options.

Ive driven cars that are very peaky in power delivery and cars that are smooth and linear. I guess I just like smooth acceleration and I perceive turbos as being jerky and peaky but I have limited experience with them.
Also, there is something about low down torque that just feels good to me, even in slow cars as it makes them feel faster than they are. I dont like the feeling of not knowing exactly when boost will really kick in.

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by Calum

Wait, no one wrote because racecar yet. Well, let me be the first


Because Racecar.

Nope. The fastest race cars in the world are supercharged.




A lot of it is personal preference though. And there's no real parasitic loss with a turbo. Above posted engine has around 8000 horsepower or so, with 600 horsepower in parasitic loss. Depending on the application, I'm happy with either.

[Calum]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

Nope. The fastest race cars in the world are supercharged.




A lot of it is personal preference though. And there's no real parasitic loss with a turbo. Above posted engine has around 8000 horsepower or so, with 600 horsepower in parasitic loss. Depending on the application, I'm happy with either.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=because+race+car

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by Calum

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=because+race+car

forgive him. he just assumed that since it wasnt funny, it wasnt a joke or meme or whatever. i think that if you feel that the aftermarket is all turbo, you should look into other types of cars. there are plenty of superchargers out there. just not in the scenes where alot of us are coming from

[n2oinferno]

I know almost every meme on the internet. I was just disproving the non-funny.

[Calum]

wow guys, I was being sarcastic. Sarcastic doesn't always have to be funny. I assumed that by merely writing because race car, it would have been obvious. Sorry, I'll never make another sarcastic comment on the internet again.

BTW, that was sarcastic