How does a supercharger work and why do we use them?

Have you ever heard the expression "there's no replacement for displacement"? Well, it used to be true. Naturally aspirated engines used to be the only kind, and you needed more capacity to produce more power. As the earliest way of improving performance, it was the most common. But now we have forced induction, which is the term given to a system that increases intake air pressure above that of the ambient atmospheric pressure. The most common type of forced induction on a vehicle these days is turbocharging, but another way of doing this is by means of a supercharger. How does a supercharger work though, and what kinds of superchargers are there? In this article, we'll give you a crash course on superchargers and dwell briefly on some of the fantastic cars that use this technology.

What is a supercharger, and what does it do? Basically, a supercharger is an air compressor. Its purpose is to increase the pressure or density of air supplied to an internal combustion engine much like a turbocharger. With more air, the engine can also add more fuel, thus doing more work and producing more power. The supercharger itself can be powered and give power by means of either a belt, shaft, or chain connected to the crankshaft of the engine. The downside is that superchargers sap power from the engine before they produce any themselves. Technically, all turbine systems including turbos (turbosuperchargers) fall into the supercharging category, but these days, superchargers are generally only called such when they are mechanically driven via the aforementioned belt/shaft/chain.

Although there are various types of superchargers, the purpose of each is the same: to increase air pressure as it enters the engine. This is especially useful in aviation, where air at high altitudes is particularly thin, but any engine can unlock more performance if it gets more air pressure with more oxygen and more fuel. Much like a turbo, increasing density is the goal. However, while turbochargers scavenge exhaust gasses that would otherwise be wasted, a supercharger tends to sap power from the engine before it produces any, as it is connected to the crankshaft and cannot be started without it. Once the supercharger has started spinning, it pumps denser air into the engine, which starts producing more power with more air and fuel, but until then, the blower is actually drawing power. The upside is that it takes very little time for the supercharger to speed up, so throttle response remains excellent and the power feels like it is always available. However, superchargers can cause a spike in temperature, and if these temperatures get too high, detonation can occur. Fortunately, you can fit an intercooler as you would with a turbo, thus reducing intake temps and increasing density. Before we go into this any further, we have to stop with the generalizations and consider the different types of superchargers out there.

With turbochargers, there are also various types, but they all work in relatively similar ways; you can read up on everything turbocharger-related here. With superchargers, the different types have more diverse methods of doing their job (a screw supercharger is very different from a centrifugal supercharger), but the end goal remains the increase of air pressure as it enters the intake of the engine. Two main types of superchargers will be considered (although less common variants exist as well) but we will list some of the subcategories too.

If you're reading this, you probably have an interest in supercharged engines and already know some of the models out there, whether that's your favorite muscle car or one of the more high-end supercars. Here we'll list some commonly known supercharged cars and sports cars, as well as some unusual cars from the past and the present that have used superchargers.

There's much to be said for superchargers and the advantages they bring to the performance of your car, although lowering fuel economy and upping the MSRP are some negatives to consider, too. Still, some of the best high-performance vehicles out there are supercharged. We also elaborate on the differences between turbocharging and supercharging in our blog post, here.

You'll often hear of superchargers being referred to by their capacity, much like an engine. For example, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has a 2.7-liter supercharger. Simply put, this capacity refers to the volume of air that the supercharger can push into the engine with each rotation. Thus, supercharger capacity ratings are given in liters per revolution or cubic inches per revolution.

It depends on the size, type, and application, but each of these systems has its drawbacks and advantages. That said, turbos are generally easier to package, weigh less, and are more efficient. They are also easier to tune and cost less to replace.

Yes, but they are less efficient than turbocharged diesel engines. With the main focus of diesel engines (after their torque) being fuel economy, supercharged diesels are not common.

Generally, a supercharged V8 is the kind that you'll be most likely to have come across, although there have been numerous supercharged V6 models and even supercharged inline engines. The reason for this is the wealth of low-end torque produced by a V8, which helps offset the power sap that a supercharger causes at very low rpm. V8s also displace a lot of air, and the more air there is to compress, the more impressive the effects of the supercharger will be - assuming that the supercharger is right for the application, of course.

Sebastian jumped straight into the workplace after high school. Various vocations in sales, logistics, and project management helped him buy and modify several cars over the years, while his passion for motoring journalism saw him contribute to local print media while running car enthusiast clubs. But in 2019, the opportunity to join CarBuzz arrived. Originally handling reviews of new cars, his love of the technical led to writing detailed blog posts on various aspects of car care and ownership. He currently handles news sourcing, writing, and editing, along with social media management and the clarification of patent lingo. In his spare time, he's either reading, driving, or looking to collect more BMW Performance parts for the E82 and E9X platforms.