Ok - there's about 6 billion people in the world, which means there's probably 8 billion different opinions about whether it's best to supercharge your car, turbocharge it, of just plain leave it stock. I've heard a veritable plethora of pros/cons for all three of the previously mentioned ideas, and was wondering what everyone else thought, especially those that have first hand experience. First, some general questions about the myths, or truths, some of us may have heard:

Turbo lag - can you really notice a difference? Does it pay off to have a turbo on higher rpm's but not on lower? Specifically in reference to the s2000, is a turbo better, or a SC?

Turbo's and SC's drastically reduce the life expectancy of the engine - true/false? If you have a sc or turbo, but rarely engage high rpm's will it negatively effect the car at all?

What type of overall gains should one expect, in terms of HP and torque?

What does a sc or turbo do to gas mileage?

Anyone prefer one brand to another, and for any specific reason?

Please post comments, pictures, suggestions, questions and any other insightful remarks. Thanks all!!!

 

Turbo lag - can you really notice a difference? Does it pay off to have a turbo on higher rpm's but not on lower? Specifically in reference to the s2000, is a turbo better, or a SC?
Small turbo = no lag. If you want top end as well, get 2 sequential turbos. A supercharger's power grows linearly with rpm, so you'll never have good low end. The top end of superchargers is always limited by how high your rpm can go. 9,000 rpm is fast, but turbos spin at 100,000+ rpm.

Turbo's and SC's drastically reduce the life expectancy of the engine - true/false?
False.

If you have a sc or turbo, but rarely engage high rpm's will it negatively effect the car at all?
Huh?

What type of overall gains should one expect, in terms of HP and torque?
Totally depends on what turbo you get, supporting mods, tuning. 1 to 200 hp is reasonable.

What does a sc or turbo do to gas mileage?
Totally depends on how you drive, but usually kills it. More power = more fuel burned.

Anyone prefer one brand to another, and for any specific reason?
I dunno.

 

Just driving the car will have negative effect on the car. Push it too hard all the time will have negative effect on the car. Our cars are high performance machines, make sure you maintain it well and often.

 

Turbo Lag- wc_one answered it. A smaller turbo will spool more quickly thus reducing lag but limiting top end power. A larger turbo will take longer to spool but will be able to provide more boost once spooled. The answer is a sequential set-up... a small turbo feeding a large turbo. The speed-craft turbo is fully spooled at 3,500 RPM. The Comptech/Vortech blowers are centrifugal meaning the amount of boost provided is entirely dependant on engine speed. Power for these will not start to appear until around 6,000 rpms. MG Racing should have a roots blower soon that should provide immediate power. How much, we don't know yet. In this regard I say the advantage goes to the Turbo.

Engine Life- Any increase in boost will add more stress to an engine. I strongly believe though that a properly designed kit and regular/preventive maintanence will negate almost all problems. Do it right, don't push the limits of your internals and you should have no problems.

Gains-SpeedCraft Engineering Comptech USA

Gas Mileage- The purpose of a turbo/supercharger is to introduce more air into the engine. Pushing more air means you will also need to supply more fuel to prevent a lean condition. Expect reduced fuel economy....how much I don't know. The Turbo'd/SC'd members should be able to answer that

Preferences- You will find many opinions on this. Stick with a high-quality brand. Do not cut corners when it comes to something like this. My personal prefernces are HKS, Blitz, Eaton, Turbonetics, Paxton.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sircyber
[B]Ok - there's about 6 billion people in the world, which means there's probably 8 billion different opinions about whether it's best to supercharge your car, turbocharge it, of just plain leave it stock. I've heard a veritable plethora of pros/cons for all three of the previously mentioned ideas, and was wondering what everyone else thought, especially those that have first hand experience. First, some general questions about the myths, or truths, some of us may have heard:

Turbo lag - can you really notice a difference? Does it pay off to have a turbo on higher rpm's but not on lower? Specifically in reference to the s2000, is a turbo better, or a SC?

[COLOR=blue]Yes.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vodalus
[B]hey, 'Tuner'. .

 

When did Votech and Paxton become one? And why are both Kits different, if they are now the same company?


Chris C.

 

When you use a turbo, like the one i'm getting done, how long until you should get your engine rebuilt? Also, are there anyparts that should be replaced at say 50k, 75k, 100k simply becuase of the added stress of a turbo? Thnx,

Brandon

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HondaS2000Tuner
[B]

God...that has to be bout the millionth time someone asked me that.

 

ChrisD, what turbo kit (if it is a kit) are you running? Did you do any internal work? Cause 10psi seems kinda high from what ive seen around. I wanna run the most psi this summer without rebuilding the engine. over the winter im gonna bore, sleeve, lower compression, lighten/cut crank, camshaft, valves you know the whole 9 yards. have you done any of this yet?

thanks