Car tuning tips:Aftermarket Superchargers"

A supercharger compresses the intake air effectively forcing more air into the engine. More air means you have more oxygen and when this is matched to more fuel you will benefit from more power. There are a number of benefits to superchargers compared to turbos, but there are also some drawbacks. We aim to provide sufficient information here to allow you to ascertain if a supercharger will provide a solution to you.

The supercharger is powered by a belt from the engine. Superchargers force air in at a constant rate in line with the engine speed. As engine speed decreases the intake flow matches this precisely. Because it is driven by a belt from the engine some power is lost as this needs to drive the compressors. This is more than made up for by the extra power on offer.

Superchargers work better than turbos in aftermarket bolt on application because the power increase is so well matched to the engine speed. With a turbo the power levels fluctuate with the exhaust gases and there tends to be lag low down and a big power hike in the top end. Superchargers deliver power throughout the rev range so although it will not typically peak as high as a turbo you will benefit from a "no lag" boost low down in the rev range.

The biggest problem with superchargers is where to site them. A simple solution presents itself on cars with air-conditioning. As the air con is heavy, and saps power a performance car is better off without it. Removing the air con leaves a nice space for the supercharger compressor to fit. The belt will usually be the right length and you will be able to utilise the air conditioning compressor mountings to fit on the supercharger.

When fitting a supercharger you will need to get the engine timing remapped. Depending on your boost level you will need to look at the fuelling. It is surprising how much more fuel you need to run to match the extra air coming into the engine.

There are a number of supercharge and turbo applications around. The VW twin charger is a case in point. These are designed to give the benefits of each system and a relatively small engine, like a 1.4 is able to produce the power of an engine 2 times its size. The engine, being smaller is lighter and there are performance benefits all round.

This entry was posted under air intake, superchargers. Tags: intake, intercoolers, supercharger, turbos
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