SUPERCHARGING

Because forced-induction doesn’t have to be all about turbos.

Don’t disregard supercharging as a form of forced induction. Usually associated with bigblocked V8 drag cars, the supercharger provides big gains in usable, reliable power — and using roughly the same principles as a turbo.

While both provide forms of forced induction, the turbo is, in theory, a more efficient form, as it reuses spent exhaust gasses and gives them purpose: forcing extra air into the engine, allowing it to burn more fuel.

The turbo’s main advantage (recycling waste) is the supercharger’s weakness, in that it draws power from the engine as it’s driven directly from the crank (via a belt, most commonly). Although that’s a problem if you’re supercharging a small capacity or relatively low-power engine (why turbos are more frequently seen in the classic Ford market), they come into their own when bolted to the side of a high-powered motor.

The single biggest advantage of the supercharger over the turbo is that there’s no lag (caused while the turbo waits for sufficient exhaust gasses to be produced to power it — which is why big turbos generally mean big lag while it boosts), as the super-charger will be boosting and generating power as long as the engine is running.

The most common is the Roots type (screwtype, belt-driven), which has been around since 1860, when brothers Philander and Francis Roots patented it for industrial use, while Daimler started using it on automotive internal combustion engines in 1900.