What is the difference between a supercharger and a turbocharger?

Answer 1

There are a couple of differences. They are basicly the same thing, that being air compressors. A turbo is driven off of the exhaust gases as they exit the engine, spinning an impeller that takes in air and sends it back through the engine. As contrary to what a previous answerer said a turbos air "charge" can be cooled by running it through an intercooler, or a radiator type device that cools the compressed air bevfore it enters the engine.
A supercharger works the same except that it is belt driven. It is a compressor that spins up by a belt that driven by the pulley system on the front of an engine. There are two types of superchargers, a roots type and a centrifugal type. The roots type of blower is usually used with carburetors. Either one or two rest on top of the supercharger, and the supercharger sits on top of the intake manifold. Air is drawn in through the carbs and compressed before it enters the intake. The centrifugal supercharger looks very similar to a turbo, it draws in air the same way and has similar dimensions, only difference is that it is belt driven. It's charge can also be passed through an intercooler type device before it is put back into the engine.
The air charge created by these types of devices, either supercharger or turbo is usually called boost. It is measured in psi or bars. The pros and cons of each. A turbo spins up using spent gases from the engine, so at lower rpms it is less efficient, especially in larger turbos, this is known as turbo lag, there are ways to compensate for turbo lag however, among them is using a dual turbo setup with one smaller turbo and one larger turbo, or using nitrous or some other the gas to give a quick boost to the turbo in order to spin it up faster. for superchargers there is no lag, it's immediate because it's connected directly to the engine and doesn't need to wait for that buildup of gases. However because it is connected to the engine it will rob a slight amount of power from the engine. There are also way to compensate for this parasitic loss, better pullies is a common one, also a better valvetrain, anything to fight off friction.
Both turbos and supers can be used on any engine, if enough preperation is done, but there are some considerations. It's very hard to tune a turbo using a carb, so most people with carbs use supers, it's easier to manage the fuel flow this way. Turbos can also use their lag for a fuel economy advantage. because turbos aren't producing peak power out of their rpm range you aren't needing to add the extra fuel to the mix to compensate for the added air, while with superchargers you are always getting the boost and need that extra fuel.
Before you decide which route to go do lots of research and ask questions. I hope this helps, it's just a very tip of the iceburg.

Answer 2

The difference is that the super charger will add more horsepower than a turbo charger because a super charger is crank shaft driven and the fuel air mixture has a higher pressure force feeding the cylinders.

The turbo charger works off exhaust gases and the delayed response is less effective than a supercharger's forced air/fuel response. The supercharger has an overall higher boost.

By the way, horsepower is never used, only enhanced and created. Fuel and air is what is used. Even if it took 5 horsepower away it is still going to add 125+ with a supercharger, depending on what motor you are using. It all depends on what motor you have, high performance or full blown, a super charger is still going to be a better performer. The only drawback to a supercharger is if you have a backfire through your intake, say goodbye to the top of your engine. Turbos are capable of that also.

Drag racers don't use turbos because they are not efficient. Whatever takes a dump and you spin a valve or whatever, it's going to spit right back into the cylinder and you lost the race. This is true for the superchargers too. If a turbo charger was a better way to go, all the NHRA cars would be using them.

Answer 3

The name.

Answer 4

Supercharging is a forced air generator that uses engine HP to turn a blower that forces air into the engine intake. They can be either belt driven or connected directly to the engine crankshaft. Turbocharging also forces air into the engine but rather than being directly-mechanical driven it uses the engine exhaust to turn a two sided turbine fan connected together by a common shaft, (one side is turned by the exhaust pressure and the other, housed in a seperate chamber, blows clean air into the intake). Turbo power generally uses much less HP than supercharging but does not have 'instant' throttle response like a supercharger. The turbo fan has to 'spool-up' to speed in order to produce positive boost. The few seconds that it takes to do this (and it seems like forever when you are driving hard) is called 'turbo-lag'.

Answer 5

Turbochargers are driven by the exhaust, superchargers are driven by a belt off the engine.

Answer 6

supercharger is belt driven turbocharger runs on the exhaust flow

Answer 7

turbo is driven off the exhaust system, the supercharger is driven off the crank of the motor.

Answer 8

a supercharger pushes more cold air into your engine,from outside the car and a turbocharger uses the air from your exhaust and recirculates the air that your car creates. A supercharger creates more power than a turbocharger, but a turbocharger is much cheaper.

Answer 9

fast and faster