Turbo or supercharger?

[AngryDog]

What's your preference?

I've always preferred turbocharged cars, having had several. I quite like the laggy delivery and building up boost.

That said, a supercharged V8 is very addictive.

What say you?

 

[Bluegnomes]

Well the newest and best turbo cars have very little lag.

However why not just both like some of the newer Volvo's?

 

[Ted]

I have both supercharged and turbocharged.
Supercharger every time for me. No lag, pulls from low revs, bags of character.
The last one had a lovely whine too.
I had a turbocharged bike back in the day. That was nice.

 

[PobodY]

It depends what you're after. - A supercharger will give a much more linear power curve, whereas a turbo tends to build more; if nothing else that means the supercharger is predictable.

For the same size compressor the turbo will make more power, if only because it's not parasitic like a supercharger. - There's not a great deal in it.

I'd probably pick the turbocharger; I've got a soft spot for an SR20DET with a disco potato.

 

[E63S]

Supercharger.

 

[Mactech]

Turbo's for me! So many different ways of delivering the power. Most of the cars I have owned or worked with have 'enjoyed' turbos.
PS. What date did the first 'Blower Bentley' win Le Mans?


Hint: It might be within living memory....and the blower was a turbo!

 

[alecmascot]

....and the blower was a turbo!

It was a Roots type Supercharger.........

 

[AngryDog]

I thought the Blower Bentley was supercharged? All of the evidence I have seen seems to present this.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I think Mactech, having had a big hand in the development of said Le Mans winning Bentley, does know of what he speaks. Correctly - none of the Birkin era supercharged Bentleys won Le Mans, as their reliability was hopeless. However, the blown (turbocharged) Speed 8 Bentley of 2003 did win it.

 

[Cyclone1]

It depends what you're after. - A supercharger will give a much more linear power curve, whereas a turbo tends to build more; if nothing else that means the supercharger is predictable.

For the same size compressor the turbo will make more power, if only because it's not parasitic like a supercharger. - There's not a great deal in it.

I'd probably pick the turbocharger; I've got a soft spot for an SR20DET with a disco potato.

Disco potato - now there's a blast from the past. I remember debating the benefits (GT28RS? Etc) back in the day and also the odd comparison run. I had a Fiat Coupe 20VT back then, but always liked the SX.

 

[Smart320]

Just loved the engine in my supercharged XJR V8 , sound was addictive, still miss it, V6 turbo just not
the same, although was impressed how my E320cdi could move when pushed

 

[AngryDog]

I think Mactech, having had a big hand in the development of said Le Mans winning Bentley, does know of what he speaks. Correctly - none of the Birkin era supercharged Bentleys won Le Mans, as their reliability was hopeless. However, the blown (turbocharged) Speed 8 Bentley of 2003 did win it.

Ah, I was thinking about the old old old one lol. I do not follow Le Mans so didn't know about the 2003 car.

 

[E55BOF]

You can't beat a V8 for sound, really, and the problem with turbos is that generally they spoil that. Modern high-performance turbo engines, particularly aftermarket-tuned ones, just don't cut it for me; reliable, powerful, economical they may be, but what comes out of the exhaust is mostly noisy, ugly, raspy techno-farting. It's not about how much noise, it's about the quality of the sound.

 

[E55BOF]

Deleted

 

[Alex]

 

[E55BOF]

Turbo's for me! So many different ways of delivering the power. Most of the cars I have owned or worked with have 'enjoyed' turbos.
PS. What date did the first 'Blower Bentley' win Le Mans?

Naughty... You're not a QI Elf in another incarnation, are you?

 

[Mactech]

Sorry! Yes, it was a bit naughty... Ye Olde Blower Bentleys did help Bentley to win Le Mans by playing 'hare' to the atmo car's 'tortoise', but as Charles rightly points out, it was 2003 when the first 'blower' Bentley won.
Mercedes last won at Le Mans in '89....with a turbo car

 

[Dryce]

Turbo supercharger uses exhaust energy that would otherwise be wasted.

Driven supercharger draws power from the engine.

So decent turbo will give more power. So the purist will go with that - and adapt to any lag.

Craziest turbo I ever encountered was on a motorbike in the 1980s. Power curve and lag were just wild. Keeping the thing 'on the boil' was grimly satisfying but very hard work - and embarassing if you got it wrong.

 

[C43AMG]

You can't beat a V8 for sound, really, and the problem with turbos is that generally they spoil that. Modern high-performance turbo engines, particularly aftermarket-tuned ones, just don't cut it for me; reliable, powerful, economical they may be, but what comes out of the exhaust is mostly noisy, ugly, raspy techno-farting. It's not about how much noise, it's about the quality of the sound.

 

[C43AMG]

To Quote the above E55BOF.

I had the CL 55 Kompressor and now I have the CL 63 Bi-Turbo both breathed on by Acid ( MSL ) I much prefer the Turbo and as far as sound goes the 5.5 Turbo sounds amazing. Mercedes have done something to the exhaust, the same sound is the same from the E-Class Bi-Turbo.

To get a decent sound from the W215 I had to modify the exhaust !!