How Superchargers and Turbochargers Differ?

Posted in Car on July 30 2021 at 09:08 PM


With the advancement in technology in the early 20th Century, technology has become synonymous with high-end performance. For example, the amount of power an internal combustion engine can produce depends mainly on the rate of fuel burns efficiently, which then converts into thermal energy to mechanical force. But as fuel requires air (the oxygen contained in the air, actually) to combust, an engine's maximum efficiency obtained primarily depends mainly on the ultimate conversion of air, which helps burn fuel. 

The constructions of the Supercharger & Turbocharger are sophisticated and which enables l this additional intake system through which air can be supplied & burns more fuel. Both are air compressors, but they perform and operate very differently.

It Is A Technology Drive!

"Supercharger" is mainly used as an air compressor or to increase the density volume of air entering an engine, providing more oxygen to the engine, which burns fuel vitally, increasing the output efficiency. However, it enhances the internal combustion engine, which allows the oxygen molecules to burn more vigorously and burn more energy in each cycle, producing higher efficiency with each process. There are majorly three types of supercharger;

  1. Centrifugal turbochargers 
  2. Centrifugal superchargers
  3. Positive displacement pumps

Dugald Clerk tested it, who used it for the first two-stroke engine in 1878. 


'Turbocharger" helps an engine to produce more power and torque through forced induction. It is a small turbine that sits between the engine and the exhaust. It uses the heat energy and velocity of the hot exhaust gases coming out of an engine's cylinders to roll a turbine that drives a small compressor, forcing more air into the machine, thus increasing its efficiency massively. The primary type of Turbocharger is as follows;

  1. Single-Turbo.
  2. Twin-Turbo.
  3. Twin-Scroll Turbo.
  4. Variable Geometry Turbo.
  5. Variable Twin Scroll Turbo.
  6. Electric Turbo.

Swiss engineer Alfred Buchi developed it in 1925 to increase the power efficiency of a diesel engine.

Who to Choose?

The supercharger is the piston-type internal combustion engine that has no lag within the design. However, its air pump is connected directly to the engine's prop shaft. With the additional air, it burns more fuel per cycle and releases combustion in an environment with increases in the power of the machine.


At the same time, it is less fuel-efficient, and the engine internals gets exposed to higher temperatures and pressures, which will, of course, damage the engine's longevity. It requires constant fuelling frequently also. Another drawback of a supercharger is that it sucks engine power to produce engine power.


So, an engine belt will connect to the crankshaft. This is why it powers an air pump with another air pump to generate more output. Because of these factors, superchargers are significantly less efficient than turbochargers. Thus, turbochargers are non-preferable in the mega.


Turbocharger primarily wins the votes here. It allows for smaller engine displacements to produce much more power relative to their size. Increases in horsepower with efficient & economic fuel mileage, better greenhouse-gas emissions standards, and cost-effective project handling have driven the Xtreme offroad wheels to crown the champion.

Turbocharger greatly helps smaller engines use less fuel to idle and have less rotational and mass, which improves fuel economy. However, it works similarly to a supercharger but with a significant difference, ideally present in its design, including exhaust housing instead of a pulley.


It runs off the gases released from the vehicular exhaust. Those gases cause the turbine to spin, forcing air into the engine through the compressor. Thus, it helps to create higher-performance sports vehicles with higher levels of comfort and engine power.  


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