For those addicted to automotive thrills, there’s always an underlying lust for more power. For those chasing a bigger number, forced induction is one of the most effective ways to achieve it. In addition to more grunt, you get a whole bunch of fun new noises, too. For those with a naturally aspirated car, here’s how you go about converting to forced induction.
Superchargers and Turbos
When we talk about forced induction, we’re talking about forcing more air into the engine under pressure. With more air available, it’s possible to fully combust more fuel, creating more power. The two most common ways of doing this are supercharging and turbocharging. We’ll be using the common automotive vernacular here, so those eager to bicker about terminology from the early 20th century aircraft industry best do it in the comments.
A large supercharger installed on a V8 engine in a drag racing car. Note the large toothed belt which turns the supercharger – this helps avoid belt slip.
Superchargers are essentially air compressors that run off a belt connected to the engine’s crankshaft. As your engine spins faster, the supercharger spins faster, producing more air pressure, or boost pressure, thus giving the engine more air to work with.
Because the supercharger’s output changes with engine speed, they’re great for providing a power boost while maintaining a predictable, linear power delivery from the engine. Installation is also usually simple – involving an intake pipe, a few brackets and running a new belt and pulley.
Superchargers come with a drawback, however – they require a significant amount of power from the engine to run. It’s obviously less power than they add, but it is a parasitic loss that must be accounted for. Th ..
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