Opinions wanted about Turbo Vs. Supercharger

[BLKHAWK]

Superchargers are always running and that can wear down a motor were as the turbo will be nonexistint until about 2500-3000.. my dad has a 97 LT1 firehawk with a 383 stroker and 76mm Turbonetics Turbo.(front mount and intercooled) the reason he went with that was because he was going to make just as much power as a supercharger with out the constant whistle. that way he could be a little more stealth. here is the web site for the guys that did all the work, very smart when it comes to power adders.. www.victoryracingengines.com if you go to the gallery on the second page you will see a silver firhawk that is my dads.

VRE does some good work. what are some more specs on the build?

[LYNEMUP2KWS6]

VRE does some good work. what are some more specs on the build?

it is the Victory lane 383 stoker, turbonetics t76mm turbo, aem methonal injection, as far as the motor specs.. im really not that sure.. but with traction issues he went 11.34@134 mph and that was on the low boost.

[DETROITMUSCLE]

Your dad's car sounds really bad ass and obviously runs very well considering the trap speeds, tell him to put a sticky tire on there and hello mid 10s.

[DanO]

ugh... there is so much misinformation in this thread im not even going to start..

[Boost Addict]

Superchargers are always running and that can wear down a motor

I'm going to have to disagree with this. That's like saying you're always in boost with a supercharger.

[my95z28]

ugh... there is so much misinformation in this thread im not even going to start..

I really think you need to. Your kinda our resident expert I just noticed where the picture of the cobalt was taken at, lol. nice

[1BADAIR]

11.34@134 mph and that was on the low boost.

134 with an auto is good for high 9's

[DETROITMUSCLE]

ugh... there is so much misinformation in this thread im not even going to start..

lol pretty much why I haven't chimed in on anything informative lately. and Larry his dad's car is a 6 speed.

[meissen]

If you guys don't chime in to straighten out misinformation, then who's really to blame? Information is only as good as the community that helps dish it out. If people who really know don't share their knowledge then we all suffer.

[MP81]

Chime in or ban?

[DETROITMUSCLE]

You may be correct Brian it just gets out of hand when someone asks good questions about a preferred setup and most people come back with off the wall stuff like, a supercharger is louder at crusing speeds so go turbo for stealth ect. Either power adder is gonna make some more noise and both will result in higher underhood temps. A turbo utilizes exhaust gases and also heat (a big factor which most people overlook) to create more power. In turn a supercharger is driven off the motors accessory drive and therefor causes parasitic power loss in order to create more power but obviously the trade off it huge.

If you want something reliable in my opinion a supercharger is a much more basic and reliable system. 99% of kits on the market are simply bolt on and go where as the majority of turbo kits require some light fabrication and some tend to have oiling issues as far as how the oil is drained from the turbo itself. BOTH kits will cause more stress and wear on the motor PEROID! Do not expect to run the car forever on low boost and have it last, some cars last much longer than others which is great but in all honesty its all a guessing game on when and where. Its very easy to get greedy with the power that is readily available at a pulley swap or crank of the boost controller but that is where you must set your limit.

Either route you go just remember to choose based on your goals, if you size a turbo or supercharger correctly for your application lag can be most completly overlooked especially at stock shortblock levels. Make sure you have lots of money because if your aren't nickle and dimed to death buy the little accessories and fittings you may need you'll definatly want to have some saved for when something breaks or needs upgrading/replacement. Anything else just ask there are plenty of people on here with FI cars that have had there fair share of "fun" with them and I'm sure would be glad to help.

[meissen]

thanks for posting that info, Jeff. A technical forum is only as good as the information people are willing to share.

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

You may be correct Brian it just gets out of hand when someone asks good questions about a preferred setup and most people come back with off the wall stuff like, a supercharger is louder at crusing speeds so go turbo for stealth ect. Either power adder is gonna make some more noise and both will result in higher underhood temps. A turbo utilizes exhaust gases and also heat (a big factor which most people overlook) to create more power. In turn a supercharger is driven off the motors accessory drive and therefor causes parasitic power loss in order to create more power but obviously the trade off it huge.

If you want something reliable in my opinion a supercharger is a much more basic and reliable system. 99% of kits on the market are simply bolt on and go where as the majority of turbo kits require some light fabrication and some tend to have oiling issues as far as how the oil is drained from the turbo itself. BOTH kits will cause more stress and wear on the motor PEROID! Do not expect to run the car forever on low boost and have it last, some cars last much longer than others which is great but in all honesty its all a guessing game on when and where. Its very easy to get greedy with the power that is readily available at a pulley swap or crank of the boost controller but that is where you must set your limit.

Either route you go just remember to choose based on your goals, if you size a turbo or supercharger correctly for your application lag can be most completly overlooked especially at stock shortblock levels. Make sure you have lots of money because if your aren't nickle and dimed to death buy the little accessories and fittings you may need you'll definatly want to have some saved for when something breaks or needs upgrading/replacement. Anything else just ask there are plenty of people on here with FI cars that have had there fair share of "fun" with them and I'm sure would be glad to help.

(sigh)

Where to start.

First, if you think you can do either one economically, you can't...budget a minimum of $5000 right now.

Second, neither system is reliable if you just "bolt it in". To gain the most out of the system, the engine needs to be pulled and gone through. I fail to see the point of putting either one on if you're only going to run 4 psi.

It's a waste of time...and money...put nitrous on and call it a day if that's the case.

Third, plan on upgrading your cooling system...if you don't, you're just accelerating the potential failure...if you can, budget for an intercooler as well, regardless of system...

Fourth, turbos can require a LOT of fabrication...if you think you can just buy a turbo and run some piping, you can't...

Fifth, I don't understand this statement:

"Do not expect to run the car forever on low boost and have it last, some cars last much longer than others which is great but in all honesty its all a guessing game on when and where."

That almost insinuates that a car will last longer at higher boost, which is completely backwards.

Sixth, yes, failure will eventually happen if you don't do steps 2 and 3 above.

Seventh, the issue of noise is just silly...neither of them make noise until you're well into the throttle...and the three SC Grand Prixs we've had didn't even make noise then...

That aside, both systems have their pros and cons. There are some very passionate people here that will try to convince you that one is superior over the other, but really they both perform the same task at the end of the day.

The only advantage that one system MAY offer, is that turbos will likely provide better gas mileage than a SC...but if you're worried about gas mileage, you shouldn't be doing this in the first place...

[DETROITMUSCLE]

By that phrase I meant that even running low boost on a stock shortblock the car won't last forever let alone running gobs of power through it on a higher boost setting, obviosuly this puts even more wear on the motor, though that was pretty obvious.

[1BADAIR]

lol pretty much why I haven't chimed in on anything informative lately. and Larry his dad's car is a 6 speed.

ohh. yeah then 134 is about 10.50's