turbo's and superchargers

[slimbo]

what is the difference between a turbo and a supercharger? how do they work?

[Toureman]

They both do the same thing, they force feed more air into the engine so producing more power.

The Turbo charger is powered by the exhaust gases, the exhaust gases are forced out of the engine at a high speed, this movement of gases turns a vaned wheel that is connected to another vaned wheel which forces more air into the engine so producing more power from the engine.

The Supercharger does the same thing but the power to turn the supercharger is a belt which is powered by the engine.

Both sorts have advantages and drawbacks,

The Turbo takes time to spin up to produce the speed to force the extra air into the engine so there is a slight lag between putting your foot down and getting the extra power.

With the supercharger some of the engine power is lost because of the energy needed to power it but there is no lag between putting your foot down and getting the extra power.

[Skids]

Both types draw power from the engine decreasing the total output of the engine. A turbo can be made to operate at specific rev ranges (a twin turbo engine will usually have one turbo for the low range and another turbo for the high range), a super operates all the time because its driven directly from the engine (usually from the crank shaft).

[KebabMeister]

And the reason for having a turbo/supercharger is that under normal atmospheric pressure an engine cylinder can only contain a set volume of air and fuel. A turbo/s.charger forces air into the engine so that more fuel can be mixed/injected. So, basically a car will have a higher power output. (an intercooler cools the incoming air so even more air can be squashed in).