About Superchargers
Supercharging is a form of forced induction that increases an engine's horsepower and torque by forcing more air into the motor. A supercharger uses incoming air, unlike turbocharging, which is also a form of forced induction but one that uses compressed exhaust gases to provide more power. Supercharging is widely used in the automotive industry by car manufacturers as a relatively inexpensive way to increase a car's performance. It also a popular aftermarket application.
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How It Works
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There are a few methods for supercharging a car, but they all work on the same basic principle. All superchargers are driven off of a belt that the crankshaft of the motor turns. As air enters the supercharger through the intake manifold, the supercharger forces more air into the motor, thereby increasing the engine's horsepower. As RPMs increase, the supercharger spins up as well. Because it functions off of the intake air, supercharging does not suffer the lag that exhaust-driven turbos do. A downside of supercharging, though, is that it robs the motor of power, since the crank has to drive the belt that turns the supercharger.
Roots
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The Roots supercharger is the most common type of supercharger and can be found on many supercharged American hot rods as well as OEM cars like the Ford GT. The Roots supercharger is belt-driven. Inside of it are a series of inter-meshing lobes generally shaped in the form of a helix that, as they spin up, force air into the motor. Once disadvantage of this type of setup is the size of the supercharger itself, which is rather large. Supercharger manufacturer Magnuson uses a Roots supercharger.
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Lysholm Screw Type
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Externally, a Lysholm Screw Type supercharger looks very similar to the Roots. However, instead of using lobes to force the air to the motor, it relies on large inter-meshing screws. Companies that use this type include Whipple and IHI.
Centrifugal Supercharger
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A centrifugal supercharger is the least powerful supercharger, but it is still a very popular application for European cars like BMWs, Porsches and VWs, as well as some American cars. Companies such as VF Engineering and Vortech offer a huge array of centrifugal supercharger kits for a variety of cars. This type uses a wheel inside the compressor housing, similar to a turbo, that spins as engine RPMs increase, thereby forcing more air into the motor and increasing horsepower. Centrifugal superchargers are also belt-driven. They also produce horsepower higher up in the rev range than the other types of superchargers. These types of kits are easier to engineer than the Roots and are also easier to install, with fewer components.
Cost
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As of 2009, depending on the application, a supercharger kit for a car can run anywhere from around $3,500 for a kit that works on an American V8 engine to $10,000 for a kit that works on a new Porsche 911.
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