Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Tuesday March 19, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
NASIOC
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Archives > NASIOC Archives > General Forum Archive

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-21-2001, 08:21 AM   #1
trojan9x
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3169
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Effort, PA
Vehicle:
2001 2.5 RS: Holbert
Memorial Winner 2003

Question turbocharger vs. supercharger (sorry if asked before)

I searched the boards here and did not come up with anything i was looking for about this subject. i just have a couple questions though.

1. Which is more reliable down the road?
2. Which gives you the most bang for the buck?
3. Install wise, which requires more parts, time, etc.(or IOW's, more parts to possibly get messed up)?
4. Has anyone here used both and can compare the two?

any input would be great. thanks
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
trojan9x is offline  
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 02-21-2001, 08:29 AM   #2
Impreza Rider
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 756
Join Date: Jan 2000
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Ashburn, Va
Vehicle:
2003 Legacy L wagon
2009 Kawasaki C14

Post

Ya didn't search hard enough.
http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/Arch...15-000627.html http://www.i-club.com/ubb-files/Arch...15-003829.html

The first link is some good reading.

Jim



[This message has been edited by Impreza Rider (edited February 21, 2001).]
Impreza Rider is offline  
Old 02-21-2001, 10:25 AM   #3
trojan9x
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3169
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Effort, PA
Vehicle:
2001 2.5 RS: Holbert
Memorial Winner 2003

Post

didn't answer too many of my questions though, but thanks
trojan9x is offline  
Old 02-21-2001, 10:32 AM   #4
SilverSuby
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 1599
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Vehicle:
2000 Impreza RS
Silver

Post

The buzz is that there are NO reliable superchargers out there. Only a few people have them installed currently, and from what I've heard they are good tuners themselves.

Normally I'd say superchargers are more reliable down the long road, but turbo's are cheaper.

Installation wise, I can't answer this from experience, but I'd guess the turbo is easier to install. Not to mention there are a lot of people on this board that have turbos, so they could answer installation questions, whereas the people who have s/c's had them installed professionally.

As far as bang for your buck, the s/c's currenlty running are only up to 7.5 psi I think, and I've heard of people running in the 20's with turbos. The turbo can be tweaked to get more, but you need a new pully to get more from the s/c.

This just the vibe that I've picked up from the board, I do NOT have a turbo or an s/c. I've been waiting for a reliable s/c.

Hope this helps.
SilverSuby is offline  
Old 02-21-2001, 10:37 AM   #5
trojan9x
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 3169
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Effort, PA
Vehicle:
2001 2.5 RS: Holbert
Memorial Winner 2003

Post

i've been waiting for any product/company that i haven't heard anything bad about before i invest the big bucks.
trojan9x is offline  
Old 02-21-2001, 11:33 AM   #6
mrbell
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 1871
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Vehicle:
2000 Impreza 2.5RS
Blue Ridge Pearl

Post

In general
1.) superchargers are probably more reliable as they are, by nature, more in tune w/ the engine
2.) best bang for the buck entirely depends on your definition of bang. A supercharger will probably give you better drivability on the road(more torque down low and better response). A turbo will do more for you on the track, as they are more suited to top end output.
3.) superchargers are generally pretty easy to install as they can bolt on and strap the belt on, you're ready to go. turbo chargers have lots of parts(reroute exhaust, intake, electronics wiring, etc) and are under more stress.
4.) not used both on the same car, but I've helped w/ turbo setups and seen supercharger setups... I've pretty much given my comparison.

however, for subaru's, the above information does not really apply. There have only been one or two supercharger kits for the 2.5L, and they have not met w/ favorable results. The ones that are running are more custom than kit. The flat 4 design causes some problems w/ superchargers for us... also w/ the right setup turbos can overcome most of the things that usually fall in favor of the supercharger...
now, I know that didn't help, but I thought I'd throw what I know out there... =)
mrbell is offline  
Old 02-22-2001, 12:34 AM   #7
ejicon
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 2452
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: California, USA
Vehicle:
2016 WRX
WR Blue

Post

I have a friend who has a Supercharger on his VW Corrado and it's not as good as my Turbo Legacy. At high end speed, it lags, while with my Legacy, At high speeds, the turbo kicks in well. Also, there's been many reports of the Supercharger going bad fast. I don't know much about them though.
ejicon is offline  
Old 02-22-2001, 12:40 AM   #8
SilverSuby
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 1599
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Vehicle:
2000 Impreza RS
Silver

Post

If you read up about superchargers, there are two different types.

One type works well througout the entire range, and the other works well down low, but becomes less effective at the top end. If you do a search in the PowerTrain forum, you'll find more answers. The only one that I'm aware of for the Suby is an Eaton s/c, which is good throughout the power band.
SilverSuby is offline  
Old 02-22-2001, 12:51 AM   #9
Rich L
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 961
Join Date: Feb 2000
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: near Atco(NJ) [email protected]
Vehicle:
1999 RS-Tw/ CobraMAF
Custom Rallispec kit/IC#1

Post

trojan9x
I've been there and done that...
To be honest, I really wanted a supercharger at first. I kept hoping for a good vendor like Rallispec to try to help...put a kit together... but it turned out to be too costly of an "experiment" (something unproven) and there were no guarantees that the car would run well.
On the other hand...
RS turbos are not "laggy" so why bother with a S/C?
So give up and get a turbo!
Rich L is offline  
Old 02-22-2001, 12:53 AM   #10
Nick
The Godfather
 
Member#: 2
Join Date: Jul 1999
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: Rowley, MA
Vehicle:
2015 STI Launch Ed.
Rally Blue Pearl

Post

The only thing I can truly say in favor of the Turbo over the supercharger is that drivability is not compromised whatsoever. The car just feels like it has more power. It's a smooth power delivery. I guess that's the benefit of turbo'ng a car that should have come from the factory like that.

Now I speak from personal experience having the Stage II vishnu kit on my car. I can't even count the number of people that can't believe the car isn't stock turbo. Even my mechanic said it was one of the smoothest power deliveries from an aftermarket kit he had ever felt. And opinions from people that have actually ridden in real STi WRXs before. The only diff they noticed between my car and those is the shorter redline. But other than that it's perfect.

Trust me... whoever was bitching about lag has either never been in one of these cars turbo'd or is just expecting unrealistic gains. It is a turbo, not a V8! But once the power is on... it's perfect. If you can even call it lag, my boost comes on about 2200 and comes up to a full boost at 3500 (because of my custom tailored boost map with the TEC).

Only thing the superchargers around here seem to have ever been good for is draining money and causing headaches. It's suppose to be a turbo car... put a turbo in it.

-Nick
Nick is offline  
Old 02-22-2001, 12:54 AM   #11
Templar
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 483
Join Date: Nov 1999
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: A twisty road not near you.
Vehicle:
2010 RSV4
Aprilia Racing Black

Post

There are many different types of superchargers out there, but only one settup for our cars at the moment. That settup being the Rimmer Autorotor, and many people on this board now and in the past have not had good luck in dealing with them. Of the Various types of superchargers there are three predominant types. The most recognized being the Roots type Blower. This is what you see when you are lookin at an Eaton unit. Next is a Centrifugal Supercharger that works in much the same way as a Turbocharger, but runs off of belts instead of engine exhaust. Actually a Turbocharger is no more than a Centrifugal blower powered by exhaust gases. Third is the Autorotor which uses twin screws to move the air through the system. Roots blowers have less adiabatic efficiency than either autorotors or centrifugal superchargers. Autorotors and Roots type give a more linear powerband than a centrifugal compressor, and a Centrifugal compressor has more top end pwer ptential than the other two types. A decent supercharger kit, set up correctly should be far easier to install than a turbo kit, due to the lack of having to screw around with your exhaust system. Properly setup a Supercharger system should have fewer week links in terms of longevity than a turbo system. Both systems have pluses and minuses as far as power goes. But there is nothing wrong with either system. It is just a personal preference as to how much money one wants to spend, how in depth they want to go to get their power, and how easy they want the install. The problem with our cars so far has been that there has not been a reputable supercharger system out there for our cars that produces the numbers we are looking for at a reasonable cost... yet. This is going to change within the next couple of months. At this point I can say nothing more about it. But if a supercharger is what you are looking for, be patient as I think that one is on the way.
Templar is offline  
 

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Turbocharger VS. Supercharger RED WORKS(WRX) General Community 23 12-07-2002 11:01 PM
Turbocharging vs. supercharging mellojoe Newbies & FAQs 2 10-29-2002 03:32 AM
Sorry if asked already-2.5RS into 91 Legacy? SKREEMR Normally Aspirated Powertrain 1 08-28-2002 02:47 AM
('93-'01) sorry to ask if asked, how do u search ? christurismohk Impreza Forum 1 06-07-2001 10:11 PM
Turbochargers vs Superchargers DaveV Factory 2.0L Turbo Powertrain (EJ Series Factory 2.0L Turbo) 6 04-04-2001 10:40 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.