Supercharger how much horsepower

This will depend on the type of engine you have. You can use comparative websites to look at several prices. Some of these sites will include information from local auto parts stores as well. Answer: Although roots superchargers have significant parasitic load and do dramatically decrease fuel economy, centrifugal superchargers will yield approximately the same fuel economy as normally aspirated engines, under normal throttle conditions.

Twin-turbo systems are more efficient turbocharger setups for engines with two cylinder banks, such as V6 or V8 engines. This allows for the use of smaller turbochargers and shorter piping, thus reducing turbo lag while improving overall turbocharger efficiency.

Yes you can. They come that way from the manufacturers too. GM has had quite a few single turbo V6 and V8 engines over the years. The turbocharger has enabled automakers to replace a lot of V-6s with more efficient turbocharged inline-fours that provide at least equivalent power and often more tire-spinning torque, while turbo-sixes have replaced many V-8s in higher-performance sport and luxury vehicles. Global information company IHS Markit counts some models offering at least one turbocharged engine versus just 30 available with a supercharged engine.

One manufacturer, Swedish maker Volvo, decided not to choose between the two technologies. It currently employs both types of power boosters—a small, conventional engine-driven supercharger for low-end response and a turbocharger for higher-rpm power—on some of its 2.

Recently, a third power-boosting alternative has come to market: electric supercharging. An electric motor spins a compressor to provide a burst of low-rpm torque that fills in the gap in power normally felt as turbo lag. It will soon be available on engines from at least two other automakers. Meanwhile, we have a clear winner in this decades-long battle between power-boosting technologies—at least according to car manufacturers, who have chosen turbocharging for almost all of their current-production power-boosted engines.

But in reality, this arm-wrestling match rages on. Indications are that the future of internal combustion engines will see both technologies working side by side. New Cars. Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Future Cars Worth Waiting For: — Getty Images.

More Power Requires More Air The amount of power an internal-combustion engine can produce depends primarily on how much fuel it can burn and how quickly and efficiently it converts that heat to mechanical force. Atmospheric pressure at sea level is As we already know, when more air can be sucked into the engine, more fuel can be mixed with the air. When this compressed air and fuel mixture is ignited during the engine's normal combustion cycle, it'll produce more power than the original output.

So why can't supercharger manufacturers guarantee a true 50 percent horsepower boost? Well, the actual performance depends on the type of supercharger yes, there are several different general kinds , the quality of the supercharger selected, proper installation and the general operating condition of the car itself. Another factor that plays a role? Whether the car was modified to optimize the supercharger's potential.

Upgrading other components, like buying a higher-end exhaust system or adding an intercooler, will also increase the car's power and therefore unlock more of the supercharger's potential.

When the initial horsepower is higher, remember, the resulting percentage increase will be higher as well. There's more to a supercharger than horsepower, by the way.

In addition to the horsepower increase, a supercharger also increases torque, which improves the fun factor of driving. Superchargers do, however, cost a little of the power they produce. Unlike a turbocharger, which runs off the engine's exhaust waste and therefore doesn't drink up any additional power, a supercharger is driven by a belt or a chain connected to the engine -- and that does drain some power, just as all other belt-driven accessories do like air conditioning, for example.

This is one of the reasons a supercharger can't deliver a promised and consistent power output -- the supercharger itself affects the way a car runs. In some cases, it can sap up to 20 percent of the engine's power before it contributes its own boost to the equation. For people who really want the specific experience of a supercharged engine, though, it's worth the tradeoff.

Although this article focused on the effects of adding an aftermarket supercharger, that's not the only way to get a supercharger kick. Installing an aftermarket charger, though, is almost always done purely with performance in mind. And for good reason -- a well-built boosted car is a blast to drive. But since the objective is to improve performance, it's reasonable to assume that a car's efficiency will take a hit.

Modified cars -- especially the loud, attention-getting variety -- aren't really known for being responsible or Earth-friendly. The people who drive such vehicles don't have a problem with that, and when I drove tuned cars, I didn't have a problem with it either.

Not to be a total hypocrite or anything, but I'm happy that superchargers are finding a more noble purpose. If you've shopped around at all lately, you might have noticed that factory supercharged engines are becoming a thing. They always were, on performance cars. But according to a bunch of auto manufacturers, and confirmed by the U. Department of Energy, superchargers have evolved into an efficient way to boost the performance of small cars.