Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Forced Induction price for power???

Geez... Didn't anyone ever tell you guys? Don't obfuscate clarity. Anyway...

Another point to consider in a turbo vs. supercharger debate for these cars, is this:

Someone said: "there will not be any bugs in the turbo system". YEAH RIGHT!

What world do you live in? Of COURSE there will be. Anything complex, especially dealing with the interaction of many systems, has bugs. My point is, yes, the current turbo offerings for our cars may make more torque than the available superchargers. However, I would bank on Vortech's years of supercharging experience, and guess that for the most part, they know what they are doing.

They likely know how much pressure they can put on an engine and have it still be reliable. The turbo kit may make more power, but the long-term affects on the engine are unknown (no large sample). This is especially true when it comes to torque. (Someone said +50ft-lbs with the turbo kit over the charger).

Vortech could have easily upped the boost and the power, but they likely chose that level for a reason. I'm sure the guys that are developing the turbo kit(s) are real bright guys, but I would bank on experience any day in something really complex, and in this case, Vortech has it. That's not to say that I wouldn't like a turbo either. It's pleasing to think of having something "more efficient", but perhaps in this case, it is not yet the better choice.

Massiv.

So does the backpressure that a turbo creates cause more of a reduction in power than a belt/gear driven supercharger that sucks away 15-25 HP? What about your comparison is valid? Any exhaust pipe or muffler also creates some small amount of backpressure.
The only benefit a positive displacement supercharger has over a turbo is the instantaneous boost off idle.
A turbo's advantage is that it is run off the waste energy in the exhaust...the backpressure is no more harmful than your average muffler and yet the turbo yields tremendous gains.

The other thing, what about the comment where "it takes rpms to make exhaust" or something to that effect? Yes it does, but consider what would happen if there was enough exaust to spool the turbo at 2000 rpm? If the turbo is already spooled and at max pressure by the time the engine hits 2000 rpm then anything above that would be extra, or excessive amounts of exhaust that are not needed to spin the turbo. This would result in a turbo that could produce max boost from 2000 rpm and up.
End of story.

It is very difficult to get a centrifugal type blower to produce boost that early/low in the rpm range and still be efficient at higher rpms. The roots type blower yes, but there are other issues with it.
If this isn't clear enough, then I give up.

warmonger