Heat is also hard on the turbo bearings and oil supply, which can shorten the life of the turbo if the oil changes are neglected. Most turbocharged engines should use a high quality synthetic motor oil to protect the turbo bearings. In recent years, car makers have often preferred turbocharging over supercharging for upping the performance of small displacement engines.
They say turbos are more efficient, cost less or are easier to package under low profile hoods in cramped engine compartments. Superchargers are as old as the internal combustion engine itself.
In fact, Roots type blowers actually predate the internal combustion engine. While Otto was still trying to figure out how to extract power from burning gases with an internal combustion, reciprocating piston engine, Roots blowers were being used to ventilate coal mines and to separate wheat from chaff.
There are countless examples of early automotive pioneers who used supercharging to set speed records and win races. But cost, noise and practicality always relegated superchargers to the race track or the exotic and the elite. Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Stutz, Mercedes-Benz and Packard were a few of the name plates to sport supercharged engines in the s and '30s. To fly as high as the air ships, aircraft engines needed boosting to overcome the power loss that occurred at higher altitudes.
Supercharging received another boost when GM's Detroit Diesel Division developed the now famous supercharger back in The Roots type blower was intended for use on heavy-duty diesel engines, but hot rodders soon realized the potential of the blower and began bolting them on flathead Fords. The rest, as they say, is history. The GMC blower became synonymous with all out performance, and soon dominated both street and strip.
Today numerous aftermarket suppliers offer their own versions of the GM , while others have developed blower designs of their own. The primary advantages of supercharging over turbocharging are instant throttle response and more boost at low engine speed.
Because a supercharger is belt driven off the crankshaft, it can deliver boost the instant the throttle is opened. Blower speed is directly proportional to engine speed, so if the blower is a positive displacement type which most are , boost will increase at the same rate as engine speed.
Thus there is no lag and the engine delivers right now power and tremendous low end torque. The hot setup is a small displacement blower say cu. This arrangement will deliver peak performance below rpm, which is where most street engines need the power. Cost and reliability advantages are also claimed for supercharging over turbocharging. Unlike a turbo that spins at speeds up to , plus rpm, a blower operates at a much smaller multiple of crankshaft speed. The drive ratio between the blower and crankshaft pulleys determines blower speed and thus boost , which generally does not exceed 12, to 15, rpm.
Thus there is less wear and tear on the blower. There's also no hot exhaust gases to cope with so the blower bearings far cooler than their turbo counterparts. Instant throttle response and low speed torque does have its price, however. Because a blower is belt driven, the amount of horsepower it takes to turn the blower depends on throttle opening and the blower drive ratio. The wider the throttle opening and the higher the drive ratio, the greater the amount of power required to drive the blower.
A blower mounted on a top fuel dragster engine can siphon off as much as several hundred horsepower at top speed. But who cares if the engine is making thousands of horsepower? For street applications, the power drain is more modest. The horsepower power required to drive the blower on a typical OEM supercharger may be 50 to 60 hp at full throttle, but less than one horsepower at light throttle. For street applications, blower sizing is as important a consideration. A small blower works better at low speed and develops power more quickly than a large one.
A large blower is great for top end power, but isn't as well suited to lower rpm operation because of its greater power burden on the engine. One of the most important advantages of supercharging street engines is that it can transform a relatively stock motor into a real performer without a lot of expensive modifications.
New Cars. Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Future Cars Worth Waiting For: — Getty Images. More Power Requires More Air The amount of power an internal-combustion engine can produce depends primarily on how much fuel it can burn and how quickly and efficiently it converts that heat to mechanical force.
Two Technologies with One Purpose A turbocharger uses the velocity and heat energy of the searingly hot and expanding exhaust gases rushing out of an engine's cylinders to spin a turbine that drives a small compressor, or impeller, that in turn stuffs more air back into the engine. In a typical turbocharger like this one, the compressor in the silvery intake housing pulls in and compresses air which then feeds the engine.
Chris Doane Automotive. Turbocharge Your Turbo IQ. Volvo was the first manufacturer to sell cars in the U. The system is fitted to its top 2. Chris Amos. Mercedes-AMG is the first manufacturer to incorporate an electric supercharger, which it uses to buttress the low-rpm power of its new CLS53 performance sedan. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.
Starting with a blank canvas our engineers fitted the class-leading P-1SC-1 head unit to an all billet CNC bracket system, combined with a massive air-to-air intercooler system, to produce the lowest charge air temps possible. With no moving parts, wires, or pumps on the intercooler system, and the self-contained oil system for the head unit, our customers can relax and enjoy years and years of worry-free operation.
Click here for more product info on our product page. With simple hand tools, this entire supercharger system can be easily installed in the garage. Which also means if you ever sell the car or trade it in, you can simply remove the supercharger system and go back to stock. Give our sales staff a call or an email at the following contact methods below. We will be happy to assist you with any technical questions you may have about our systems, and the results you can expect.
Thanks for reading!
0コメント