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Superchargers – A guide to supercharger kits benefits vs disadvantages

Superchargers offer the promise of substantial power gains with very few drawbacks. So lets look at the growing popularity of supercharger kits and see what its all about.

A supercharger is quite simply an air compressor which helps push more air into an engine. These are driven by a belt from the engine effectively creating pull on the engine sapping up to 30% of the engines power.

How to add a turbo to a non turbo car.

The basic reason for forced induction (turbo or supercharger) is not to increase compression or the maximum pressure in an engine cylinder, it is to increase volumetric efficiency (the efficiency of the engine at drawing in air) although forced induction is the most effective method of upping compression.

In computer games we just tick a box, and within seconds our car is fully turbocharged and running much faster. In the real world things are very different.

Blow off valves, dump valves and screamer pipes

Blow off valves and dump valves.
When the throttle is closed (when you lift off the accelerator) in a turbo driven engine there is a build up of pressure as forced air is still coming from the turbo. Lifting off the throttle is a lot like putting a plug in the sink – the flow through is stopped and water would just build up and overflow the sink.

Increase engine displacement with a rebore.

You can increase the power of an engine by increasing its capacity. This is a fairly involved process and requires a good deal of research and preparation. Unless you want to have to retrace your steps and go a different route midway in to the job.

Some of TorqueCars.com members have had their engines rebored ,and this does seem a good way to increase power. However there are a few things we should take into account.

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