What is the difference between turbo and turbocharger

Hence the concept of forcing-feeding an engine more air than it would normally ingest, so that it can burn more fuel and produce more power. This additional intake air can be supplied by either a turbocharger or a supercharger. Both are air compressors, but they operate and perform very differently. A turbocharger uses the velocity and heat energy of the searingly hot and expanding exhaust gases rushing out of an engine's cylinders to spin a turbine that drives a small compressor, or impeller, that in turn stuffs more air back into the engine.

A supercharger also pumps additional air into the engine, but it is instead driven mechanically by the engine via a belt that runs off the crankshaft or by an electric motor. Each of these power-boosting technologies has advantages and disadvantages, but the most obvious difference from behind the wheel is a slight delay in response to your right foot in a turbocharged car, especially when you push deep into the throttle.

By contrast, a supercharger has no lag; because its air pump is linked directly to the engine's crankshaft, it's always spinning and instantly responsive. The power boost it provides, and therefore the engine response you feel through the seat of your pants, increases immediately in direct proportion to how far you press the accelerator. While the turbo's primary drawback is boost lag, the supercharger's is efficiency. Because a supercharger uses the engine's own power to spin itself, it siphons power—more and more of it as engine revs climb.

Supercharged engines tend to be less fuel efficient for this reason. For developing mega power with instant kick-you-in-the-back throttle response, however, supercharging rules. Auto manufacturers have decided: the turbocharger wins by a wide margin. It's not so much about power but rather fuel efficiency. Federal requirements for ever-improving fuel economy, strict greenhouse-gas emissions standards, and customers' desire for good fuel mileage have driven carmakers to use turbos rather than superchargers.

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. Although they share the same forced induction concept, how the air compression components are powered is the main difference between the two.

In simple terms a turbo is an air pump that enables more air to be pumped into the engine at higher pressure. This replicates the effect of having a larger cylinder but with more efficiency. The turbo is made up of two distinct sections; the compressor end and the turbine end. Ambient air is drawn into the compressor housing and a compressor wheel compresses the air and accelerates it to very high speeds.

The turbine housing directs exhaust gas from the engine onto the turbine wheel blades, and once it has passed through the turbine wheel, the gas then passes out through the exhaust system as with normally aspirated vehicles. Once the combustion process starts, this creates a continuous cycle and the turbo makes use of waste energy from the exhaust gases. More air in the cylinder also enables more fuel flow through to the cylinder and therefore achieves more power.

As mentioned above a supercharger is mechanically driven by the engine and increases the amount of air through intake by compressing the air above atmospheric pressure, without creating a vacuum. This forces more air into the engine, providing a boost, which in turn allows more fuel to be added to the charge, and therefore increases the power of the engine.

There are two main types of superchargers. Besides how the two devices work explained above another key difference is that whilst a supercharger requires engine power to run, a turbocharger runs off waste exhaust energy created by the engine. This means that overall turbochargers operate with higher efficiency, utilising exhaust energy which is typically lost in naturally-aspirated and supercharged engines.

Turbochargers provide significantly increased horsepower for engines, especially allowing smaller engines to produce much more power in relation to their size, whilst simultaneously offering better fuel economy.

On the other hand, turbochargers tend to provide less boost at lower engine RPMs whilst the turbo spools up; the so called turbo lag. The trade-off is reduced efficiency, given superchargers use engine power to produce engine power. The reason why turbochargers are used most commonly in Europe is because the engines are small and four cylinders are standard. Superchargers can deliver their boost at lower RPMs then a turbocharger, whereas the turbocharger works best at high engine speeds.

Turbochargers are quieter and superchargers are more reliable. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Under the Hood. Engine Performance. What is the difference between a turbocharger and a supercharger on a car engine? How is this different from what a turbocharger does? See more turbo pictures. I would like to increase the horsepower of my car's engine. What's the best way to do this?