here we go: turbo vs. supercharger what would you pick?

[S13inyourface]

i heard that the turbo has turbo lag, but the bov is my favorite sound in the world, i also heard that a supercharger is always spinning so you get your power anytime, on a turbo doesnt it spool up at like 3k?

[Mixmastamunkh]

you get a lot more horsepower out of a turbo, plus if you get a small turbine turbo you spool a lot faster so their better for instant boost and drifting. most japanese cars are not exactly superchargable. it's more of a domestic car thing.

[574-240sx]

Supercharger take power to make it. Some different styles of superchargers make power but are inefficent.

Also turbo lag has to do with the size of the turbo.

That was very vague, search and do your homework if you want to know more.

[4felix20]

a turbo is more efficient..

the other day made a supercharged integra HURT. he should have put a turbo on there instead.... heheheheh =)

[own3d]

this argument about superchargers "take away" power to make it is rather rediculous, is it faster after supercharging it? yes, so obviously it doesnt take away power it adds power. and if you want to get technical turbos also technically "take away" power due to the added backpressure from the exhaust having to go through a turbine instead of just going straight out through the exhaust. seems like everyone these days is against supercharging imports with the exception of the s2000 guys.

and who says you cant have a blowoff valve with a supercharged car? and personally i prefer the sexy scream of an eaton spinning at 15,000rpms than listening to a turbo spool.

btw, dont have any plans to supercharge the 240 itll either get a ca or sr and a turbo but i still like superchargers more

[Nismo_Freak]

this argument about superchargers "take away" power to make it is rather rediculous, is it faster after supercharging it? yes, so obviously it doesnt take away power it adds power. and if you want to get technical turbos also technically "take away" power due to the added backpressure from the exhaust having to go through a turbine instead of just going straight out through the exhaust. seems like everyone these days is against supercharging imports with the exception of the s2000 guys.

and who says you cant have a blowoff valve with a supercharged car? and personally i prefer the sexy scream of an eaton spinning at 15,000rpms than listening to a turbo spool.

btw, dont have any plans to supercharge the 240 itll either get a ca or sr and a turbo but i still like superchargers more

Their point is turbos are mechanically more efficient, which makes them a seemingly superior option.

I'd say it really comes down to what exactly you are using them for, but for a large part the modern turbocharger is hard to beat.

[rebelgtp]

uh saying you can't supercharge a japanese engine is kinda stupid. you can supercharge just about any engine on the face of the planet. its just a matter of putting the system together.

yes a supercharger is in general not as efficent as most turbo setups. however there are factors that would make a supercharger setup preferable. my car is currently being setup for autocross and hill climb races. i'm going with a supercharger because of the power delivery. the biggest thing is choose the right supercharger for the job, don't choose one that is to big (it will not be very efficent and will take more power from the engine to spin it up) so don't use a charger that is meant for a V8. also do not choose one that is to small sure it will not take much to spool it but you will have realativly low gains because it doesn't put out as much as the engine can handle. also with a charger that is to small you can run the risk of burning it out, one to big more stress on your engine. a good choice for the ka motor is the eaton m62. very well balanced for the small displacement engines 2.0 ltr to about 3.5 ltr. in fact this is the one going into my car.

so anyway what are you looking to do with the car? any sort of motorsports? or just driving around town and want a bit more power? also it will be driver preferance. some will like the superchargers power delivery over the turbos.

[AmoebAssassin]

Many find a supercharger is advantageous in that the power delivery is instant and requires no spool time, that is if the engine is spinning at a reasonable RPM the engine will be providing boost.

However, many superchargers begin to lose efficiency at higher RPMs and begin to simply heat up the air. A turbocharger, if properly sized, will provide good boost to redline. The turbo will lag, but if the driver is good enough to keep the engine RPMs above the spool point of the turbo, a turbo will theoretically yield more power up to redline.

That being said, a supercharger is preferable for everyday, daily driving power-when-you-need-it, where you can pass cars without necessarily downshifting to build engine rpm. A turbocharger is better suited for a track/street car and is slightly less streetable in that shifting is necessary to keep the car in it's usable power range for things such as highway passing, etc. etc.

[Drift Machine]

That being said, a supercharger is preferable for everyday, daily driving power-when-you-need-it, where you can pass cars without necessarily downshifting to build engine rpm. A turbocharger is better suited for a track/street car and is slightly less streetable in that shifting is necessary to keep the car in it's usable power range for things such as highway passing, etc. etc.

Where are you getting this from? I'ld prefer my turbo daily driver setup to a supercharged one anyday.

As for the original poster 'liking' the sound of the BOV, supercharged systems do need them. A friend of mine blew his supercharged 5.0 by not having a release valve on his setup.

[HashiriyaS14]

I'd take the turbocharger simply because changing the amount of boost is easier.

With a supercharger, you need to change actual parts in order to make any sort of boost adjustment. With a turbocharger, you can just increase PSI through an adjustable device (i.e. boost controller).

Turbos are more flexible.

[Luke]

I'd take the turbocharger simply because changing the amount of boost is easier.

With a supercharger, you need to change actual parts in order to make any sort of boost adjustment. With a turbocharger, you can just increase PSI through an adjustable device (i.e. boost controller).

Turbos are more flexible.

Of course the last post reads my mind. Flexible boost is good. Why would you want to bother with changing out pulleys when you can adjust your boost controller? A manual controller takes less than 1 min and an electronic one takes the touch of a button.

[Juujai]

i agree the post about not being able to supercharge a japanese car is dumb it's basically a 2nd motor.

superchargers also lag.... if you didnt know that most people tend to say it does not lag... very little though. there are 2 types of superchargers centrifugal(the laggy kind) and positive. with many different kinds of supercharger compressors: rotary (yes a rotary ahhh), vane, lysholm, roots, a supercharger is basically a 2nd motor in a car run by belts instead of fuel/spark. the advantage of supercharger over turbocharger is the simplicity no mods are necessary to the exhaust and there is lesser plumbing. it responds very quick as soon as the throttle is lifted the supercharger will get to work.

it's actually pretty good since most people arent all that power hungry anyway. but it can produce godly #s and it's very responsive. but people with turbo like to save gas by shifting before their turbos spool like me lol and in most cases of motorsports we tend to shift at high rpms so most turbos should spool pretty quickly. really power hungry people should stick with turbos 400-600hp sr guys

i truly think more people looking for a reliable setup with numbers ~200 in mind should stay n/a instead of jumping into a motorswap/ka+turbo kit. i think i would've done the same now that i think of it. forced induction sucks in corners because its more random and unpredictible when weight shifting so it jolts no matter how small the turbo/supercharger is but in the corners exit its godly. we will always get owned in cornering vs n/a
Modified by Juujai at 1:54 AM 3/31/2005

[own3d]

Of course the last post reads my mind. Flexible boost is good. Why would you want to bother with changing out pulleys when you can adjust your boost controller? A manual controller takes less than 1 min and an electronic one takes the touch of a button.

or just get a clutched supercharger so you can shut it completely off when you wanna get the same gas mileage as you had n/a

[AmoebAssassin]

Where are you getting this from? I'ld prefer my turbo daily driver setup to a supercharged one anyday.

Well everyone has preferences, and I agree with you on the preferring a turbo car for daily driving, however a supercharger will make power earlier than a turbo, increasing "convenience" for daily driving.

[gogg]

supercharger, because theres such a large selection of them for the s13.

[br2819]

i would go with a turbo because like everyone else said they are more efficient. superchargers are belt driven so the engine has to power the supercharger where the turbo takes waste and turns it into power.

[AmoebAssassin]

i would go with a turbo because like everyone else said they are more efficient. superchargers are belt driven so the engine has to power the supercharger where the turbo takes waste and turns it into power.

Um...a turbo takes power to spin as well, presented in the form of increased exhaust restriction. Although it too takes power to spin, it takes less power to generate boost than a supercharger.

[w1ngzer0]

i would be into a s/c for the 240sx if the ka24 didn't get truck gas milage.

[ArticDragon192]

The S/C has the diverter if you want that BOV sound. S/C for lower boost application, turbo for higher boost.

[own3d]

not always. i mean on about 99% of cars thats true but dont forget about some full drag cars running 80-90psi through eaton/twin screw blowers

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Go with the turbo, you'll only get lag if you have a larger turbo meant for top end power, if you have a smaller turbo like a 14b you won't even notice the lag if you have any. (Sorry I'm used to talking about Mitsu turbos, so I don't know the codes of the Nissan turbos). THis is one of those deals where it boils down to personal preference. Superchargers are good for getting you off the line in a hurry right aways but turbos are meant for when you are already actually moving. Keep this in mind though, for ever 5HP you make with a supercharger it uses about1/4 of that to make that power, turbos on the other hand don't use any hp to make hp. If you want to say that it increases your exhaust back pressure thus causing you to lose your HP then hey that's why you have a downpipe instead of a header, it's also why you go to a 3" exhaust instead of sticking with a 2.25 or 2.5" exhaust. Any built up back pressure you create with a turbo can be remedied with better exhaust components, superchargers on the other hand are going to eat a noticable portion of that HP they just made. Leave the SC to the V8 guys, they have the know how and the engine bay room to work with the SC. Oh and those huge SCs you see on pro drag cars, those engines are HIGHLY moddified and the chargers are custom built for that very application. SC built for regular street cars are only meant to run at 8-10 psi at most. And those engines only last 2 to 3 runs before they have to be completely rebuilt from the crank up.

So my vote goes to the TUrbo, get a small one to start with then as you build up your engine you can upgrade to larger turbos. Oh and the reason the Skyline an SUpra guys go to a single turbo setup instead a twin is because one huge turbo makes the same power as 2 medium sized turbos with half the lag.

[PantherRacer]

SuperTurbo man...take your cues from the Nissan March, supercharger AND turbo working in harmony to give you the most of your driving experience . I LOVE Nissan!

oh and if it was one or the other I'd pick turbo...