Turbo Vs Supercharger..which Is Better?

13 GT/CS said:

Yes they do..I know I have the boss intake, aftermarket throttle body, and an airaid CAI. I realize I would have to remove it but I want to be happy with my initial purchase and get what I want and make the numbers Id like without having to upgrade again down the line. It is a daily driver but I love the feeling of instant power when I touch the peddle. I just wish I had looked into superchargers more before I put money into the manifold etc

Click to expand...

No centrifugal blower, or turbo for that matter is going to be able to match the instant off throttle torque figures of a Positive Displacement blower. To describe it best, I'd have to say a Positive Displacement blower doesn't feel like you've got a power adder at all. It essentially feels like you've pulled the 5.0L and shoe horned a big block in it's place. There's no lag, no surge, just instant punch that starts off idle and carries to red line.

As blower RPM rises, heat becomes a factor for these blowers. Positive Displacement blower arguably produce the most amount of heat at higher blower RPM. The blower also requires more horsepower to turn at higher speeds. As such, the power up high, will fade and won't hit quite as hard as it does down low. That's not to say it drops off the edge of a cliff as some might have you believe. It's still making power....just not at the rate it was down lower when ACT's were cooler and the blower was consuming less horsepower.

If it were my car, a Positive Displacement blower would be my only choice. That being said, you have to ask yourself if the financial loss by removing and taking the hit on resale of your used parts is worth it to you. From a financial standpoint, the centrifugal blower might be the better route.

It won't come on nearly as hard as the PD blower does in the lower regions, but they tend to produce less heat and consume less horsepower at the top of the tach than the PD blowers do, which will shift your power curve upwards. Gears can get you there faster, but then you take the hit again the mileage dept.

Turbo's will make the most power hands down and if your car was going to be built more for track duty, I'd say a turbo set up would be a great compliment to your automatic trans....but as a daily driver they can be finicky and for the most part expensive. Heat soak can make them inconsistent. Low end torque will be far lesser than that of a PD blower, but depending on how the unit is sized, the hit down low can be minimized. This will allow for an earlier, smoother power band. That being said. Most systems that size the turbo and rest of the system accordingly in order to come on quickly, are also limited to their top end potential. If you go with a set up with the potential to pull big power levels, and you generally sacrifice low end and drivability. Anyone whose driving a car with a small displacement engine and higher horsepower capable turbo can attest to how violent the power can come on once it does ..so you've again got the catch-22. Small, efficient and stock like drivability, or big, peaky, violent, yet inconsistent power levels.

Decisions, decision.