TURBOCHARGER and SUPERCHARGER

>turbo
uses exhaust to pump more air into the engine, has lag
>super
uses drivetrain to pump more air into engine, slightly less horsepower when not in boost, little to no lag

>>17877640
yes

>>17877640
>super
At the front end
Uses belt to succ more air
No lag
Less boost

>turbo
Uses exhaust gasses
Has lag
Can create more boost

Can use two dmaller turbos for less lag than one

Can use a super to offset lag of turbo

Superchargers are belt driven air compressors.
Superchargers offer linear power delivery, as psi scales with engine rpm, albeit with parasitic loss because the blower is driven by a belt. They're simple to install and maintain due to not having many parts.
Turbos are driven by exhaust gasses that turn a compresser wheel that runs through an intercooler and into the intake. Power is delivered with a degree of "lag" depending on the system because the turbo takes time to spin up fast enough to start compressing air. The compressed air generates more exhaust gasses which in turn generates more boost.

Is wikipedia too hard?

A supercharger is a device that compresses air and forces it into an engine to allow for greater amounts of fuel/air mixture to be combusted in any given engine. The amount of fuel you can burn is limited by the amount of air you can flow into the engine, which itself is normally limited by atmospheric pressure, the size and opening characteristics of the intake valve or valves, and the restrictiveness of the intake plumbing. A supercharger is driven by the engine, usually through a belt connection. This leads to parasitic losses.

A turbosupercharger, better known as a turbocharger, operates along the same general principle but uses a turbine driven by exhaust gases rather than a direct connection to the engine to compress and inject additional air into the cylinder. This makes it theoretically more efficient because of significantly reduced parasitic losses. However, it is more complicated, runs at a higher temporature (due to hearing from exhaust gases) and needs a certain degree of exhaust flow and pressure to operate effectively, which creates "lag" between power demand and turbocharger boost. The bigger the turbocharger, the bigger the lag. A side benefit is that a turbocharger isn't boosting at low throttle and RPMs, so it enables better economy since the engine will act like the turbo isn't even there when it's not needed.

Superchargers are more stereotypically associated with American cars, and turbochargers with imports. However, the first really successful wide-scale implementation of turbochargers was done by the United States for its aircraft engines in the Second World War. Only the USA had the metallurgical and industrial knowledge to do so very successfully at the time; other countries typically used supercharges. (Forced induction, provided by a supercharger or turbocharger, is very important at altitude because the atmospheric pressure is so low.)

An engine with a turbocharger or supercharger is referred to as having "forced induction".

File: V8Interceptor.jpg (7KB, 282x179px) Image search: [Google]

7KB, 282x179px

>>17877652
>slightly less horsepower when not in boost
But it runs constantly; it doesn't need to be 'in boost'. That's the advantage; it operates all the time.

Or like pic related, it can be attached via a clutch and switched on and off as required.

>turbocharger
Gas driven
Small and light
Needs to be in boost to work

>supercharger
Mechanical driven
Heavier and expensive
Works all the time

vw twin charge uses both

Turbo whistles, supercharger whines