I'M TRYING TO EXPLORE ALL OPTIONS AT MY DESPOSAL, WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHAT A SUPERCHARGED 1200 GOES LIKE? IS IT WORTH IT? WHAT SORT OF COST AM I LOOKING AT? WHAT SOT OF SUPERCHARGER WOULD BE SUFFICENT? I HEARD THAT A TOYOTA SUPERCHARGER DOES THE TRICK, BUT WHAT SORT OF SET UP WOULD I NEED TO LOOK AT?

start by turning off your capslock.

:)

Umm do a search on supercharge and you should see a gigantic thread all about it.

Are you talking about Supercharging [mechanicly driven] or Turbosupercharging, commonly refered to by the easier to spell name of turbo.
I kind of like the positive displacement supercharger myself as it develops good torque right off idle with NO lag. Screw horsepower, i like the torque, & thats why i have my Dodge Hemi.
There are many here who will sing the praises of the turbo & will be in a position to offer good advice on them, but i wonder how many have driven a real BLOWN car.
Chris

I thought it was just pronounced Turbocharged???
Also it's a proven fact a turbo will eat a supercharger, but with a supercharger theres no lag when coming on boost.

And thats my 2 cents


Damo

Turbocharged is a common abreviation. It is actually a turbine powered centrifugal supercharger. or Turbocharger.

I would say that it is a commonly held "opinion" more than proven fact, that a turbo engine is better. It depends on the criteria, but NO successfull fuel rail motor is turbo'd & no self respecting street rodder would be seen dead with anything less than a Jimmy Huffer [GM Diesel, model 6-71 blower]
A positive displacement blower can come on boost right off idle.

Yeah but street rodders who are into V8's choose the stereotypical image of the blower, but the thing with turbo's is the boost that can be created (airflow). Not really sure why fuel rail motors aren't successful with turbo's. I think not alot of research has gone on with those motors and the use of turbo's but more goes into using blowers


Damo

Quote:

No, it's actually a turbine powered CENTRIFUGAL supercharger.

Must-reading from our Tech section:

Supercharging and Turbo-supercharging

Wally's Wagon: A Supercharged Super Car

I was thinking about supercharging an A14 but were do i start? the fella i bought my ute off had a 120y with a A15 turbo he was building as a rally car. He took me for a quick lap up the street and that went well, i was wondering which is better for everyday driving. which option is the more reliable, because i don't want to have the ute in the shed fixing it all the time, i supose it would depend on heaps of things like quality of parts used and the skills of the engine builder(probably me!) and of course how heavy your right boot is(commonly known as LEADIS FOOTIS, latin term). i'm not sure if i'll bite the bullet and say F#$K IT CA18DET the bloody thing! i'm on a quest for knowledge and then weighing up the pro's and con's.

2332
Point noted & corrected. Thanks.

Demojob
They don't use turbo's on the big drag engines because of the lag problem. They have been tried & proved to be a limp banana off the line. No boost for several seconds.

I don't know what you mean when you say "the thing with turbo's etc.......the boost that can be created" What does this mean.
As far as i am aware boost is manifold pressure, usually measured as positive pressure above ambient. For general street use, about 5psi is good. For the sporty types, 8 to 10 psi. As the boost rises, the compression ratio should be lowered & this can make for a slugish engine when it is off boost.
A positive displacement blower can be tailored to provide as much as 45psi of boost over a compression ratio of as low as 3 to 1. Is this what you mean by "boost that can be created?"

The downside of a blower is that it absorbes some engine power to drive it. The upside is that you can have usefull boost at any time & any engine speed just by opening the throttle. The turbo needs some spool up time, even if you have been cruising at high speed. If it was done at a low throttle setting, it still takes time to spool up & make boost. As the engine speed drops, as in climbing a steep hill, the boost drops off & so does torque. This is really noticeable with low compression, high boost engines. It becomes necessary to keep the revs up to keep the turbine spinning.
With a positive displacement blower, this is not normally a problem as it will pump air right down untill the engine stalls.

As small engines develop their best power at very high rpm, turbos have found a natural home on these engines. Larger engines with a stroke as long as your arm [Hemi's?] don't need to rev & the staggering torque figures that can be generated with blowers on these engines has to be experienced to believe. After having driven a blown 426 hemi in a light coupe, i'm convinced. It raised the word "frightening" to a whole new level.

As for reliability, a properly prepared & serviced instalation, either one, can outlive your engine. Don't cut corners, spend what it takes, & drive to suit the supercharging method that you chose & you will love it.