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Examining the pros and cons of each method and what the top brands have to offer.
When it comes to adding boost to an internal combustion engine, there are two main options: turbocharging and supercharging. So, what are the pros and cons of each? YouTuber R/T Life joined in on the debate as he contemplated upgrades to his Dodge Charger R/T.
The original plan for the car was to go the more common route, and bolt on a supercharger to the already built 6.5-liter Hemi V8 engine. But, after taking a closer look at some current setups out there, he had second thoughts.
“My original intention was to go with a supercharger,” he said. “It didn’t really pan out that way; I wasn’t too enthusiastic about how some of the centrifugal force blowers sounded.”
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Next, he considered a positive displacement-style blower which is the type found on the factory Hellcat motor. “The sound of the whine on a nice Magnuson or Whipple, that definitely attracted me.”
Both turbos and superchargers perform the same basic function: feeding additional air into a motor. At sea level, a naturally aspirated engine operates at 14.7 psi of atmospheric pressure, and in theory, adding 7 psi of boost will yield an almost 50 percent gain in power.
One apparent drawback of supercharging as compared with turbocharging is the fact of engine drag. Because a supercharger is essentially an air compressor, and it’s mechanically connected to the motor via a belt or gear drive, the blower is consuming up to one-third of the total crankshaft power at any given time.
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Fortunately, the boost in air flow offsets the drag, and you end up with a net horsepower gain. Because of the mechanical connection, power from a blower is instantaneous which means better throttle response.
A turbo, on the other hand, is powered by exhaust gasses, and all turbos suffer to some degree from boost lag, meaning that acceleration from low RPMs is delayed. There are some ways to mitigate this, or course. A twin-turbo setup with different sized turbos means that the smaller one spools up more quickly, while the larger turbo delivers higher boost pressure.
After weighing the options, R/T Life ended up going with the turbos. “I figure I’m going to be spending the money, I might as well get what I think has the best [performance] ceiling and is the most efficient, and that is twin turbos,” he said.
The next consideration will be upgrades needed to handle all that power. Allowances for transmission, driveshaft, suspension, and braking modifications all need to be added to the build budget. “[The cost] really starts adding up as you continue developing power.”
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B.W. Block is a News Writer for HotCars and a long-time auto enthusiast. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and in his spare time enjoys fly-fishing, welding, and wrenching on his daily driver, a Land Rover Discovery 2. He is also a co-founder of the automotive marketplace startup Motodex.