Superchargers or Turbochargers daily

I have a 2000 lude, i drive it as my daily car----i was wondering whether a supercharger or turbocharge would be better for the daily of the car.....and maybe why.

[ChrisCantSkate]

supercharger. you can even have the option of pulling the belt i belive and not running the SC. the turbo will be by fast better strait acceleration as far as 1/4 mile. the super would be better autoX and road course driving. both will be fast however. the supercharger is supposably more reliable also.

Turbocharger... Boost lag. More maintenance.. ENORMOUS Power..
Super Charger, More torque. Drop it in and less maintenance. Perfect for Street Racing..

Supercharger is by far the easier, cheaper, and safer way to go, that is if you get a Roots type blower, such as what Jackson Racing sells.
Turbo's are kick ass also. If you want raw, all out power, I'd go for a turbo. As long as you take good care of the car (oil changes every 3k miles) have good boost and air/fuel monitoring systems, then you'll be fine with a turbo.
Just don't forget to work on the internals if your gonna be getting a Turbo. Supposedly the Supercharger is completely bolt on (unlike turbo) and you don't really have to build up the stock internals, but I'd do it just to be safe i.e. pistons, rods, valves, valve springs, etc.
Good luck!!!

Thanx for all your help guys. I've looked into some the info and have decided to gett a Jackson Racing Supercharger...Thanx Again!

ive noticed alot more turbo talk on this board... what exactly is the diff between turbs and supers?
whats the power production diff? and can you put them on most any honda engine?
ive read up more about turbos here but im still kinda clueless about supers.

Originally posted by Incubus
Supercharger is by far the easier, cheaper, and safer way to go, that is if you get a Roots type blower, such as what Jackson Racing sells.
Turbo's are kick ass also. If you want raw, all out power, I'd go for a turbo. As long as you take good care of the car (oil changes every 3k miles) have good boost and air/fuel monitoring systems, then you'll be fine with a turbo.
Just don't forget to work on the internals if your gonna be getting a Turbo. Supposedly the Supercharger is completely bolt on (unlike turbo) and you don't really have to build up the stock internals, but I'd do it just to be safe i.e. pistons, rods, valves, valve springs, etc.
Good luck!!!

ok you seem to lack a little in the knowledge department on this subject so i'll help ya out. On a super charger AND turbo oil change every 3k miles is a MUST. but the thing about superchagers that people forget about is the fact that the belt should be changed every 15k miles. the only thing for tubor is the turbo timer so it winds down on its own. but if you keep stock settings youll be fine on bottom end just dont go boost crazy and you'll be fine. but super you get more low end but it lacks upper end so iguess it depends on where you want your power and how much. on a turbo its much easie rto adjust your boost while on a super charger you gotta change pullies so it all depends on what you want out of it.

Originally posted by Maxvla
ive noticed alot more turbo talk on this board... what exactly is the diff between turbs and supers?
whats the power production diff? and can you put them on most any honda engine?
ive read up more about turbos here but im still kinda clueless about supers.

WWW.howstuffworks.com go to cars or type in superchargers.

Originally posted by VN-Tec
Super Charger, More torque. Drop it in and less maintenance. Perfect for Street Racing..

*Thinking* When you guys are saying there is lower power when in higher rpm's, are you comparing to stock or a turbo?

I honestly am starting to think a supercharger will be better for me...as long as I can kick the crap out of my buddies Teg Type R and another friends Mystere off the line...

P.S. Anyone know where I can listen to a WAV of what a supercharger sounds like?

Its supposed to sound like a whine, but that's a pretty general adjective

[ChrisCantSkate]

well, a super charger is belt driven so right off the line, you have power, a turbo is ran off exaust gas so the gas has to spin the turbine upto speed to boost air into the engine, turbos just give you more power upper end because the the design and how it works vs. a super charger. the noise from the 2 is different, a turbo has a blow off valve because when you let off the gas, the engine is still spinning and pumping air out, so it would continue to boost, forcing air at a closed TB will damage the turbo because it will build up and push back at it baisical. a super charger wont because it is after the throttle body and can let the air out of the headers still, i belive.

most of the above information is correct....superchargers work better as everyday drivers, give you more low end torque as opposed to upper end power. Superchargers work off of belts and can give you the power/torque right off of the line whereas turbos work off of the exhaust gases, which is why you get the turbo lag.

Superchargers are quicker (off the line) but turbos are faster (will keep producing more power at higher speeds). Superchargers are set at a specific psi level and are more difficult to raise (changing to different pullies will raise the boost level) whereas turbos can change boost levels easier. Turbos are more customizable/changeable and get much higher boost levels. A turbo can be tuned to be almost as quick off the line as a supercharger, which, when combined with the upper end power, makes a very fast car!

As for reliability, you will need to change the oil at every 3k miles and do all the regular maintenance for both superchargers AND turbos. Superchargers work well on stock cars and dont need other things changed/upgraded (such as internals) unless you make a lot of other changes as well. Turbos require a lot of extra modifications/tuning, which can be damaging to your engine, but in the end will make your car much faster. Turbos can be very reliable if done properly and taken care of (don't set the boost level too high or you will increase the chances of blowin your motor!).

It sounds like you made your decision very quickly when you said that you wanted the supercharger. I would say that you haven't really done a lot of research (I'm not tryin to offend you, but because of the question, I would say that you didn't spend too much time) which means that you would proably rather have the supercharger over the turbo due to the added work/maintenance/costs of a turbo. Superchargers will work great for a daily driver and should be safe for your daily driver.

As for the sounds, I can try and post some vids later for you to hear, but turbos sound so much better....the sound of the blowoff valve is truly awesome. Superchargers on the other hand sound more like airplanes. I've never actually been in a turbo/supercharged car, so I can't say from personal experience, I only know from what I've heard on videos.

Either way you go, it is a great decision, which will be great for your prelude. If you're still thinkin of a turbo, wait to see how well the new Greddy turbo will perform and see if that will make you change your mind. It will be set at either 6 or 7 psi, very safe for your engine and should perform great. It will also be CARB legal and is great if you live in cali. Again, either way is a great choice.

-AZNinside

I'm starting to go back to my original decision of throwing a supercharger in my LS Teg for the simple fact that I live in California, which is very emissions strict, and for the fact that Greddy hasn't released it's CARB exempt turbo kit for the LS and I doubt they ever will.
Either type of forced induction is great, it just depends on what you ultimately want to do with your car. Superchargers aren't nearly as efficient as turbo chargers for the simple fact that it takes engine power to spin the supercharger and all that a turbo requires is otherwise useless spent exhaust gasses.

Here's a video clip in Quicktime with a GSR that is supercharged. You will note that a supercharger has more of an "exotic" whine to it than the chunkier sound of a turbo.

Turbos, as mentioned earlier usually have a blow off valve that sounds cool, but a centrifugal supercharger also has a blowoff valve that essentially sounds the same. If you want to hear what a turbo charged car sounds like, (I'm loath to make this referrence but it's the easiest way I can think of) watch The fast and the furious.

Update: I tried uploading the video but it must have been a bit too big, so anyone who wants to see it can just email me and I'll send the video clip over. It's not very big, or long, so it shouldn't take too long to upload/download.

What's the cheapest way to get more horse?

Well, the words "car" and "cheap" shouldn't really be used in the same sentence unless you want a RICER tag as well.
But, there are some cool parts out there that are fairly low priced.

If you want more kick and you have about $150 - $200 lying around, go get yourself a Cold Air Induction Intake. My favorite is by AEM.
Other than that, try advancing your ignition timing, get some good wires/plugs.
For $10 you can get some NOS octane booster also. It does actually make a bit of a difference.

oohh ok thanks i'll have to look around

Originally posted by vtecmissy
oohh ok thanks i'll have to look around

Start with the cold air intake and you'll be pretty happy with the results. If you get a normal intake, you won't notice as big of a difference but it might add a few horsies.
If $200 is a bit beyond your means, just pick up a K&N filter that replaced the restrictive stock cotton filter, that'll make a difference, and it's only around $50-$75