I’ve been a car guy for quite some time but I’m a bit embarrassed that idrk how they exactly work. All that ik is that they give you boost and that somehow makes you faster 🤦♂️
In: Engineering
Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) work by injecting a fuel-air mixture into the cylinder and then igniting it, that causes an explosion that moves the piston and turns the engine. This happens so many times as you drive, it’s going nonstop at a high rate.
Adjust the amount of air and fuel you push in, you can get more or less power.
Turbochargers use the exhaust gases from prior ignitions to spin a turbine that then takes new air and forces it into the engine harder. More air, fuel in the mixture = more power.
Superchargers similarly are used to specifically inject more air into the situation, but instead of using exhaust gas to push the turbine, they use a belt tied to the engine.
Turbos are way more efficient, better for fuel economy and such, but they require the engine to be rev’d up and working first, so there is a lag time before you get the turbo’s added power, hence “turbo lag”.
Supers dont have that lag because they are driven right by the engine itself, but they aren’t as efficient because they are causing a parasitic drag on the engine to run. They give you more power, but it’s more “work” for the engine to run them so you lose fuel efficiency.
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