Preview

Turbochargers vs. Superchargers

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
624 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Turbochargers vs. Superchargers
MCST1010
Turbocharger VS Supercharger

A turbocharger is defined as a centrifugal blower driven by exhaust gas turbines and used to supercharge an engine. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Turbochargers compress the air flow into the engine. One of the advantages of the air being compressed is that more air is being squeezed into the cylinder, more air in the cylinder means that more fuel can be added. It achieves the boost by using the exhaust flow from the exhaust to spin a turbine, which spins an air pump. The turbine spins at speeds up to 150,000 RPM, that’s about 30 times faster than most engines can go. The typical boost provided by a turbocharger is 6 to 8 psi. (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo2.htm)
A supercharger can be defined as a device such as a blower or compressor for pressurizing the cabin of an airplane or for increasing the volume air charge of an internal combustion engine over that which would normally be drawn in through the pumping action of the pistons. (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary) A supercharger is any device that pressurizes the air intake to above atmospheric pressure. Superchargers are powered mechanically by belt or chain drive from the engine crankshaft. Most are driven by an accessory belt that wraps around a pulley that connects to a drive gear. The drive gear rotates the compressor gear. The compressor gear squeezes air into a smaller space and discharges it into the intake manifold. Supercharging adds an average of 46% more horsepower and 31% more torque. Superchargers spin at speeds as high as 50,000 to 60,000 RPM. A compressor spinning at 50,000 RPM produces a boost of about 6 to 9 psi. (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/supercharger1.htm)
Since a turbocharger is driven by exhaust gasses, its turbine must spool up before it begins to turn the compressor’s impeller. During this time the turbo is creating no boost. Turbochargers utilize a wastegate to reduce lag while preventing it from spinning up too quickly. The wastegate is a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The turbo diesel engine will gain a higher percentage of the increase in horsepower but will not automatically become faster than a similar sized gasoline engine with a turbocharger offering the same amount of boost.…

    • 1904 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Persuasive Speech Outline

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bugatti found a way of creating an engine that had two V8 engines combined with 4 superchargers.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Turbo vs Supercharger

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The first type of forced induction is the supercharger. A supercharger is mounted to the engine and is driven by a pulley that is in-line with the crank belt. Air is taken into the supercharger and compressed by counter rotating rotors, rotating screws, or an impeller. The air is then discharged into the engine 's intake. The crank spins the supercharger faster and allows the supercharger to produce more boost. The average operating speeds for a supercharger are around 1,500 rpm and 4,000 rpm. The second type of forced induction system is the turbocharger. A turbocharger operates in almost the same way a supercharger would, except it is not driven by pulleys and belts attached to the engine 's crank. A turbocharger is driven by exhaust gasses that have been excluded by the engine and are traveling through the exhaust manifold. The exhaust gas flows through half of the turbochargers turbine, which drives the impeller that compresses the air. The average operating speeds of a turbocharger are between 7,500 and 15,000 rpm.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first step in an internal combustion engine is to acquire all the attributes to create combustion in a chamber. The necessary air flows through the air filter (usually a conical shaped, micro filament, located in either the front right or left of the engine bay). After the air is sucked into the filter it passes through some tubing until it reaches the mass air sensor. The mass air sensor does exactly what it says, senses the amount of air flow and converts it into a signal or number which then is used to determine the amount of fuel to be delivered. The air and fuel must be at a regulated ratio for maximum gas mileage and power efficiency. Next the air goes through the throttle body, this mechanism regulates the amount of air let into the lower half of the engine, and this is attached to the accelerator (gas pedal) by a cable. The further the gas pedal is depressed, the greater amount of air that is let into the engine, which results in faster acceleration.…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Engine Performance

    • 14269 Words
    • 58 Pages

    The engine is the power plant of a vehicle. Automotive engines have gone through tremendous changes since the automobile was first introduced in the 1880s, but all combustion engines still have three requirements that must be met to do their job of providing power – air, fuel, and ignition. The mixture of air and fuel must be compressed inside the engine in order to make it highly combustible and get the most out of the energy contained in the fuel mixture. Since the mixture is ignited within the engine, automobile power plants are called internal combustion engines. Most can be further classified as reciprocating piston engines, since pistons move up and down within cylinders to provide power. This up-and-down motion is converted into turning motion by the crankshaft.…

    • 14269 Words
    • 58 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Carburetor Research Paper

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As the pistons move downward, a partial vacuum is created inside the barrel. This partial vacuum then draws air past through the carburetor's throat and into a nozzle that sprays fuel. The mixture of air and fuel in the carburetor is then delivered into cylinders for combustion.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Superchargers are connected to the engines crank belt and spin simultaneously. Because they are connected to the belt, superchargers can only spin as fast as the belt spins. In general they produce a much wider power band than turbochargers because they make larger boosts at very low and very high rpms, creating boost over 20 psi (pounds per square inch). On the other hand, turbocharges are connected to the exhaust manifold and utilize high-energy exhaust gases to spin the turbo. Because these systems are not physically connected to the engine, they can spin much faster and more freely. This means that turbochargers will generally create more boost than superchargers, in many cases producing over 30 psi. The more boosts you can create the more horsepower you can…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    produce the spark which moves the piston. And the gas engine needs the spark plug to allow…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction. Rocket engines push rockets forwards simply by throwing their exhaust backwards extremely fast. Usually the rocket are propellant by chemical, and this rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    is that a turbo makes more power than a supercharger, which is not entirely true. For instance, the Lysolm (aka "screw-type" Supercharger, known as the PSI in Top Fuel) was the choice of forced induction for Top Fuel cars for years until they were banned for giving an unfair advantage to the cars using it. If it's good enough for Top Fuel, it's good enough to make some pretty good power on a street car. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not telling anyone to run out and buy themselves a supercharger right now. In fact, I'm not even implying that it's better than a turbo. I'm just making a case for it. Just as I'll make a case against the idea that turbos are all about lag and disproporational power curves. That's not entirely true. A turbo compressor that is well matched to the motor and tuned properly can result in a car that makes power smoothly over a broad powerband. Per a conversation with Texan, the Audi R8, a LeMans car running in the LMP900 class, is a good example of a turbo car that drives like a very powerful all motor car.…

    • 1528 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    refined in the 1930's when the turbine engine design lead to the patent of the…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jet Engine

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Most modern jet engines use a turbine to improve the efficiency of the engine and allow the engine to work at low speeds. One part of the turbine sucks in air and compresses it before the fuel is injected. The back portion of the turbine acts like a windmill, extracting energy from the exhaust gases and using the energy to spin the compressor portion. See How Jet Engines Work for details.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Electric Cars

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An electric car is powered by an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine. The electric motor gets energy from a controller, which regulates the amount of power transmitted throughout the vehicle, based on the driver’s use of an accelerator pedal. The electric motors give electric cars instant torque, creating a strong and smooth acceleration pattern. Electric cars are about three times more efficient than cars with an internal combustion engine. A pure-battery electric car uses energy stored in the rechargeable batteries, which can be recharged by common household electricity.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive

    • 5098 Words
    • 21 Pages

    HSD replaces a normal geared transmission with an electromechanical system. All car powertrains drive a driveshaft that turns the drive wheels of the car. Because an internal combustion engine delivers energy best only over a small range of torque and speed, the crankshaft of the engine is usually attached to a switchable gear train that matches the needed torque at the wheels to the torque that can be delivered by the engine. HSD replaces the gear box, alternator and starter motor with a pair of electrical motor-generators (MG), a computerized shunt system to control them, a mechanical power splitter that acts as a second differential, and a battery pack that serves as an energy reservoir.…

    • 5098 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hybrid Cars

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A hybrid car, also known as an HEV or hybrid electric vehicle, is an automobile that is powered by two sources; an internal combustion engine, and an electric motor. HEV’s need plugs, as they are amply charged by the movement of the wheels and storing the kinetic energy that is generated through a process called regenerative braking. cars have been accepted as a solution to the current pollution problems that we face, as they offer lower emissions than gasoline automobiles. Some hybrid cars produces around 90% less pollutants than regular cars. With cars with this system, a hybrid car can cross longer distances than normal ones with less use of gasoline. They can get up to 55-60 mpg in city driving, while a typical SUV might travel just 15-20 mpg. Also there are 2 types of cars: the first type is the series, and the second type is called the parallels…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays