Supercharging versus Turbocharging versus Naturally Aspirated Engines (octane, exhaust, Volkswagen)
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Turbo is usually the cheapest way to get more HP out of an engine. If you are just full of money then stay strictly naturally aspirated, but turbo is the best bang for buck you'll find. You have way more options with turbo as to which turbo to buy, what type of manifold/downpipe setup, etc.
im not the millionare to carry on tunning with my car so i would surely prefer na for its longest lifespan !!!! after all wise man has rightly said that OLD IS GOLD ...
I am only familar with turbo, and own a Volvo that has one and it has over 250,000 miles. The rule is change the oil change the oil and change the oil. Both the turbo and the engine are still all oem and neither has been rebuilt or replaced.
Turbos are on all the time and so create heat all the time. It is the heat that causes excess wear. There needs to be some plumbing on the type of turbo I am familar with, not meaning all tyrbo units by anymeans, but the type i have need oil and also need coolant, and it should be inter cooled.
A blower (super charger) can usually be turned off, and or on when you want it. My son has a gear driven blower in a toy auto pick up, and he likes it a lot. He can turn it off, but I amn not familar with how it is set up or how it works. Belt driven blowers can be turned off too.
I have never seen or head of any engine with both, and wouldn't understand why anyone would want both. I am not sure that idea floats.
Supercharging is parasitic power. It takes energy to create the forced induction, but there is no real lag.
Turbo is done through the compression of air via the exhaust gasses, and as a result has a "lag" until the engine creates enough outflow for the turbo to compress effectively.
Both of these increase the compression ratio of the engine, and theoretically reduce the overall lifespan of the powerplant.
Given a choice between a 300hp turbo, a 300hp supercharged and a 300hp na, I'd probably go for the turbo due to the best fuel economy of the three, but the na will probably have the longest lifespan.
What would the differences be between a well made engine of each type(Supercharging, Turbocharging, Naturally Aspirated Engines) generating similar power. Also which do you prefer? Finally what about a case in which both supercharging and turbocharging are used on the same engine, or is this not practical/possible?
Being that you asked which one would be preferred if all made the same power, I would have to say a naturally aspirated engine. Why? It is the cheapest way to go out of the three options. I own a 1968 Chrysler Newport (yes, it is a boat) with a 383. I have heavily modified this vehicle and it is naturally aspirated. If I decided to use a turbo or blower I would have had still had to modify everything I modified with the engine only differently (lower compression instead of higher compression, camshaft, etc.) On top of spending the money on the parts to do this I also would have had to spend the money on a turbo or blower and all the extras for each. This would not make much sense to do if looking to make the same power as I now have with my engine naturally aspirated.
One of the posts I read in this thread had mentioned nitrous. Many people do not understand that even with using nitrous there are certain internal engine modifications that should be made. I have seen a good number of bracket racers at drag strips destroy their engines using nitrous. Upon speaking with many of these people I found that most of them had nitrous systems hooked up without doing any internal engine modifications. Always keep in mind that vehicle modifications (whether they be power increases or suspension upgrades) are never cheap but are even more expensive if you do not spend the money and extra time to do it yourself or have someone else do them correctly the first time.
I would go with a turbo set up because of the many options to upgrade.
I had a supercharged Civic and the only option I had was just change the pulley basically.
As others have said if given the choice of three engines all making the same power, I would go with the N/A setup. It will run cooler, last longer and generally provide that power over a smoother band, ultimately making the engine more controllable and not "peakish".
Both FI options are very viable, but I would personally go with a turbo over a supercharger. Superchargers give you instant boost off the line, but die up top. Turbos do the opposite. I've always found high powered turbo cars easier to control as you can always keep out of the power band during normal driving and use the power when you need it. With that said, turbo cars do tend to require more maintenance and tend to be more finicky, especially when they are tuned out of factory spec or are added to a NA setup.
Also, for an FYI, there is an engine that uses both a supercharger and a turbo. VW builds the 1.4TSI that is found in base model Golfs and other vehicles in Europe. It uses the supercharger to provide the low end off the line grunt and spool the turbo, which then takes over and provides the power higher in the RPM band. It's a pretty trick setup, but not something I've ever seen anyone do out in the racing/mod world, but it is possible.
I had a Mazda Millenia S - which has a supercharged "Miller Cycle" engine. The engine was a 2.3L 6 cylinder and it produced 220 HP. It was a superb engine. The power was available at low rpms and the engine had excellent midrange power. I agree with others that supercharged engines may be less likely to produce a noticable top end boost.
I think it is important to differentiate between modified cars and factory or purpose built engines.
A NA engine modified with FI can be expected to have a shorter life because the original design point was for a lower power output. Adding FI will create additional stress on the key engine components.
But factory FI engines are typically built for the target power. A factory FI should have the crankshaft, bearings, rings, etc. needed for the power output. That probably explains why unmodified Subaru FI engines for example, can last a long time.
I think we will see an increasing use of FI from the factory. You can see it with BMW and the twin turbo in the 335i, Ford's Ecoboost, Acura's turbo on the RDX, etc. These are from manufacturers that don't have a long history with FI vehicles. I think it is because these manufacturers want to provide V8 power in a smaller engine with better fuel economy.
In 28 yrs as a mechanic and rebuilding engines both stock and High Performance...some with carbs and some with FI (fuel injection)...cannot understand the logic where the FI will decrease the life span on a engine if the crank/bearings etc are not improved upon.
I will politely call it DUNG thinking.
Changing a crank will make some difference...Rod/main bearings NO difference. A special grind Cam for the valves will improve performance...port and polishing also will help.
There is a limit that a Performance engine will take and be streetable life wise...other then that we are talking the 1/4 mile drags.
Bigger pistons...bigger valves...higher compression...more fuel needed for HP.
Smaller pistons...larger exhaust valve...special cam...lower compression...use a Turbo.
There are different combinations (in the books) and most are tried by many by trial and error...I know as I've done it.
Carbs are expensive as are many jets needed for testing.
Go to the drags and ask questions...I know as people would ask me some questions on what to use and what to do for power etc...my answer was always the same...............
"whatever it takes".
Steve
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