Can somebody explain "turbo-charged" to me in layman terms???

[George P Burdell]

I know next to squat when it comes to cars, so what I found on Google doesn't make much sense to me.

Why I'm asking: I walked into these two guys, one of whom had just bought an Audi A4. When I showed up, he was saying something about how his car's engine is turbocharged, while the exact same engine in so-and-so car wasn't. I had no idea what that meant, so I just replied "oh really" and changed the subject ASAP. Now I'm curious.

 

[KLin]

You're welcome.

 

[vi edit]

It's a way of "overclocking" your cars engine. It does this by forcing more air & fuel into the engine at a time to produce more power.

You've heard of displacement right? 3 liter V6's, 5.7L V8's, ect?

Well, turbo charging is kind of a way to make up for a lack of displacement. It makes a smaller engine (say a 2.0 Liter Inline 4 cylinder) perform like a larger sized 3.5L V6.

 

[Iron Woode]

Supercharger = turbocharger

 

[Goosemaster]

Exhaust from the engine is used to power a turbine that in turn uses that rotaion to power a turbine that sucks air into the engine.

Air is fuels so basically, you are using what would ahve been wasted pressure to suck more air into the engine, thus increasing performance. As the exhaust increase, the engine itself gets more and more air pumped into it....

*cue 'the fast and the furious' NOSSSS cutsonce*

 

[KillerCharlie]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

I think they produce the same effect but are powered differently. A supercharger is conenected to the engine for power while a turbocharger uses the exhaust (like a turbine engine).

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

except that in that case the air pump, which is what these are, is powered by the engine itslef via a belt or chain....


Basicall with a supercharger you get INSTANT pumping, while with a turbo charger the car has to rev up to give the turbine enough power to spin up....so it will "kick in" at a certain revolution....

This of course, was finally negated by Buggatti, who built a machine with a goldy four turbo's in it that build from low to high so you have turbo power and capacity allthroughout the rev range.

Keep in mind that I am reffering to different sized turbos. The larger the turbo, the more air delivery it can provide, but the more exhaust pressure it needs....

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

 

[daveymark]

what is the range of cost to put a turbocharge in, say, a ford contour with a V6?

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

Technically they both do the same thing (force in air), but they go about it different ways. Turbos feed off of exhaust while superchargers are actually powered by the engine via an accessory belt. Plus SC's are more of a "bolt on" while turbos require a lot more cutting & welding to get them in place if the engine was set up for it in the first place.

 

[tontod]

I have an A4, and my turbo kicks in around 2500 rpm. With a turbo car, performance mods are easy to do, can get very large power gains.

 

[Goosemaster]

oh, also...

superchargers are HEAVY....

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: daveymark
what is the range of cost to put a turbocharge in, say, a ford contour with a V6?

probably more expensive than putting in that sweet Duratec V6 from the Contour SVT into the regular Contour. Or since engines are interchangable with their Mazda counterparts, you could put in the JDM Mazda V6. I dont know how it compares to the SVT powerplant though, for all I know, they could be the same.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: daveymark
what is the range of cost to put a turbocharge in, say, a ford contour with a V6?

probably more expensive than putting in that sweet Duratec V6 from the Contour SVT into the regular Contour. Or since engines are interchangable with their Mazda counterparts, you could put in the JDM Mazda V6. I dont know how it compares to the SVT powerplant though, for all I know, they could be the same.

Really woulnd't be worth the cost to do an engine swap. You are only picking up about 30HP. From 170 to 200. Really nothing that significat. At that point you might as well just sell your current one and just buy an SVT Contour and get the whole thing. Hell, that might even be cheaper.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

 

[SampSon]

Exhaust from the engine pushes a fan (turbine) that causes air from the outside to be sucked in and forced into the engine so it can continue to run. It's a mostly closed system and allows the engine to take in much more air and burn more fuel for more energy.

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

I think they produce the same effect but are powered differently. A supercharger is conenected to the engine for power while a turbocharger uses the exhaust (like a turbine engine).

While your statement is mostly true, turbo chargers and superchargers have their benefits. Turbochargers disadvantage is lag while I believe superchargers just don't provide very much power..

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No.

Turbocharger = supercharger

Supercharger != turbocharger (not necessarily, anyway)

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No.

Turbocharger = supercharger

Supercharger != turbocharger (not necessarily, anyway)

that made no sense.

they do the same thing: give an engine boost to increase power.

one is exhaust driven and the other isn't, but they are considered the same thing.

Super-turbocharger is the full name of the device in question.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: mAdD INDIAN

Originally posted by: daveymark
what is the range of cost to put a turbocharge in, say, a ford contour with a V6?

probably more expensive than putting in that sweet Duratec V6 from the Contour SVT into the regular Contour. Or since engines are interchangable with their Mazda counterparts, you could put in the JDM Mazda V6. I dont know how it compares to the SVT powerplant though, for all I know, they could be the same.

Really woulnd't be worth the cost to do an engine swap. You are only picking up about 30HP. From 170 to 200. Really nothing that significat. At that point you might as well just sell your current one and just buy an SVT Contour and get the whole thing. Hell, that might even be cheaper.

isnt hte power curve totally different between the two engines thouhg so your getting more than just the additional peak horsepower.

but your right, much cheaper to get an SVT.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No. As has been explained, they work differently.

 

[SampSon]

Originally posted by: Malak

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No. As has been explained, they work differently.

Sure they result in the same thing, using the same type of methods, but the specifics of how they work is not the same. Put a supercharger in place of a turbocharger and it will not work, same thing goes for the turbocharger. They do not work interchangably.

That is like saying a traditional power packed cannon works the same as a modern day tank cannon works.

 

[vi edit]

isnt hte power curve totally different between the two engines thouhg so your getting more than just the additional peak horsepower.

but your right, much cheaper to get an SVT.

I owned a 5spd "regular" 2.5L Duratec Mystique(Contour clone) and almost bought an SVT Contour. The SVT certainly is a lot more rev happy and a has a bit higher rev limit that you can wind up to. It's not like a night and day difference though between the two though. Yes the SVT is faster and certainly breaths better, but in the end you are going from a low 8 second 0-60 car to a mid 7 second 0-60 car. Just not that huge of an upgrade

Not really sure on 1/4 runs between the two.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: Malak

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No. As has been explained, they work differently.

they work the same, just the particulars are different. Exhaust driven vs engine driven. They do the same job in the same fashion: compress air going to the intake to create boost to add more power.

sheesh.

all valvetrains work the same, but the particulars are different. In-block valves vs valve in head (OHV).

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Iron Woode

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
Supercharger = turbocharger

No.

sorry, but yes.

No.

Turbocharger = supercharger

Supercharger != turbocharger (not necessarily, anyway)

that made no sense.

they do the same thing: give an engine boost to increase power.

one is exhaust driven and the other isn't, but they are considered the same thing.

Super-turbocharger is the full name of the device in question.

Do you always call turbocharging, supercharging, and nitrous "power adders" and never use their specific names?

IIRC, it's turbo-supercharger, not super-turbocharger.

EDIT: <<one is exhaust driven and the other isn't>>

Turbochargers are exhaust-driven, superchargers may be exhaust-driven or crank-driven.