Quote:
Originally posted by RCBrady85
Forgive me for sounding like a complete idiot, but what is the difference between a super charger and a turbo charger?
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Both do pretty much the same thing - they both feed more air into the engine with a compressor. But they do it in slightly different ways, which lead to different characteristics.
Superchargers are typically mechanically driven by the engine, for instance a belt. Being tied to engine speed, they're very linear and don't suffer the 'lag' that turbos do.
Turbochargers are spun by sticking a turbine in the exhaust gases. That turbine spins a compressor which force-feeds the engine. They suffer a little 'lag,' because they're not directly tied to engine speed. But then they're not limited by it, either.
Edit: Here's an article on the differences between the two:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question122.htm