Turbo v Supercharging

[Richard 858]

I am sure there have been loads of posts on the subject of F.I. in the past but I am now seriously considering this route to more power & torque from my mechanically sound 450, (Sorry Nick, don't think I can resist any longer !). I'd be very interested in anyone's experience or views on the pro's & con's of both variants so I can make an informed decision. As ever, any help much appreciated !

[Chilliman]

I've never driven a supercharged car I have however owned a turbocharged car (Whale Tail Sierra Cosworth some years back) and more recently (back in June) drove a Noble (3 litre twin turbo). I guess the difference in feel comes down to each individual application and is dependent on a whole raft of factors, so making comparisons in terms of 'feel' on the road may not amount to much At the end of the day, they both achieve the same thing but by slightly different means.

I've been gonna do it/not gonna do it with the SC for some time now, and although I still can't decide whether to go ahead or not, for me it would have to be a SC. I've absolutely nothing against turbochargers, but there's something, er, traditional? about a SC that makes it right for a big V8. Just in my opinion of course

[macdeb]

Still contemplating this myself although I've made my mind up that 'if' I do go FI it will be Turbo route for two reasons; cost, but mainly the fact that most supercharged guys I've spoke with have had a bit of a game to get it running decent [with exception to Nick] but in any case I think it has to be applied correctly to get the best with regards to cam and ecu. I'm interested to see the replies you get. I did put a post up about best FI cam choice a while back with little response, hope you get some sensible replies.

[Richard 858]

Thanks both for your views, hopefully there are some good replies to this thread which might benefit us all. I'm sort of with Chilli at the mo' as a) I'm reluctant to bugger about with my lovely Y-piece courtesy of Clive F & b) I'm not keen on cutting into the chassis box section (as per the TVR Power kit). However looking forward to receiving as much info as possible, can't have too much information (I think !). Cheers

[TVR Beaver]

FYI

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[SILICONEKID343HP]

macdeb said:

Still contemplating this myself although I've made my mind up that 'if' I do go FI it will be Turbo route for two reasons; cost, but mainly the fact that most supercharged guys I've spoke with have had a bit of a game to get it running decent [with exception to Nick] but in any case I think it has to be applied correctly to get the best with regards to cam and ecu. I'm interested to see the replies you get. I did put a post up about best FI cam choice a while back with little response, hope you get some sensible replies.

Would Eann whip the heads off and fit some thicker gaskets ? that`s my only concern .

[Chuffmeister]

SILICONEKID343HP said:

Would Eann whip the heads off and fit some thicker gaskets ? that`s my only concern .

I can't see why he would do that as standard? Perhaps you would be better to speak to him directly and see what was required Daz?

So back to the thread, turbo or supercharged?

[Discopotatoes]

Er

[Hoofa]

Discopotatoes said:

Er

Err too

I look up to him as he has two turbos

[Discopotatoes]

Hoofa said:

Discopotatoes said:

Er

Err too

I look up to him as he has two turbos

Lol

[Richard 858]

Thanks chaps, am hoping for more than a few errs though !! but it's a tricky one isn't it. Just out of ignorance who is Eann ? seems like I should be contacting him as well, as have TVR Power on my to do list tomorrow & have already spoken at length with David from SC Power (very helpful & friendly).

[Chuffmeister]

Richard 858 said:

Thanks chaps, am hoping for more than a few errs though !! but it's a tricky one isn't it. Just out of ignorance who is Eann ? seems like I should be contacting him as well, as have TVR Power on my to do list tomorrow & have already spoken at length with David from SC Power (very helpful & friendly).

Eann Whalley www.torquev8.com

;or;

you could wade through this thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=1&a...

[sapper]

Turbo for me..., Eann started to install mine this week.
Thought about it for a long time, either bigger engine, SC or turbo.
Nothing wrong with my engine so SC or Turbo.

SC v's Turbo

SC
I liked the idea of doing it myself and fancied the SC for that reason but the engine bay seems very cluttered to me and looks like it would make routine maintenance difficult or awkward.

Turbo

Read some very good reports on here and in sprint about the Turbo so started to investigate more and £/BHP was the equation used


More BHP and less £££ = Turbo
TURBO WINS

Eann has been great to deal with from my 1st phone call and all my daft questions and self imposed tight timescale.
So all going well Ill collect on Friday afternoon just in time for my birthday on Saturday.

[Dodsy]

I have also been considering the turbo vs SC upgrade. I will go SC as i have had both turbo charged and SC cars (currently have a 4.2V8 SC Jag XJR) and prefer the progressive shove of an SC motor.

Turbo is good for power but i have never been keen on the way the power is delivered and in a light car like the chim i would be concerned about breaking traction.

[Engineer1949]

personally the blown route is the one for me our 400 chim is now approaching 400hp and is still very driveable smooth and very responsive that probably is about as much as is realistically achievable running a small wheel on the blower big injectors but it is still a nice gentle giant if you want it to be although very light throttle input is now required if you want to see the car or have a ride out once the new clutch is in its only here in norfolk come and have a play.plus the servicing is no more difficult than before just a small amount of work removing the inlet bend and the sliding section of the manifold heat guard takes about 5 mins.

john

[SILICONEKID343HP]

I want a Turbo so I can keep up with engineer1949

Edited by SILICONEKID343HP on Wednesday 18th September 22:05

[Pupp]

Hmmm... they're not real superchargers, are they 'though? These wee belt driven turbos...

[NickOrangeTVR]

I don't see as Turbo being an option - it does not suite the nature of the RV8 - we love the Rover for the tractability - and adding a Turbo just makes the power come in much later.

I also don't buy the 'extra power' of the Turbo - as my Dad has indicated we now have 400BHP + 400lbs Torque from a 4 Litre! - you can maybe match that with a Turbo but the power spike is going to make it almost impossible to drive sensibly.

The other thing is SOUND - when you rev the engine the extra noise of the air being driven through the pipe of the intercooler is just amazing.

[ackbullchang]

NickOrangeTVR said:

It does not suite the nature of the RV8 - we love the Rover for the tractability - and adding a Turbo just makes the power come in much later.

Incorrect assumption

NickOrangeTVR said:

but the power spike is going to make it almost impossible to drive sensibly.

Again, another incorrect assumption. I'm sorry Nick but it gets my goat when people post pure conjecture and assumption as fact. I suggest you take a drive in either of the two turbo installations that Eann has done, and you will quickly realise that most of the bks spouted about how turbos perform just is not true.

Eanns kit runs much lower boost than the Power kit. The transition into the turbo is smooth. That is a fact.
Currently ChimTurbo's boost gently comes in at around 2300 rpm and continues right up the rev range. The car is as tractable as any normally aspirated Chim, maybe even more so because of the tweaks of the installation. That too is a fact.
The power spike as you call it, does not make the car impossible to drive properly and is set up to come in smoothly.

I suggest that anyone even contemplating turboing puts aside all the Internet guff and actually sits in and properly drives one of the Turbo conversions. Make your own mind up based on how the real car drives, not on how someone believes it may drive, and you'll find a lot of the myths well and truly busted.

[slippery]

ackbullchang said:

Common sense stuff.

Spot on.
I must say though, that it would be the under bonnet temperatures that I would be most interested in, as I know that's what killed a lot of the FI LSV8 engines from my HSV days and I don't think these will be any easier to keep cool.