So, Turbo advice

[T3naci0usT]

I am toying with the idea of either going turbo or new supercharger, and I wanted to get an insight into the whether going turbo is worth it. I think it would be really neat, but if it makes more sense I will go supercharger. Also money isn't much of an object, and I want this thing to be a absolute beast.

 

[Nightmare302]

More info is needed. Is this a drag car? Street car? Autocross? Road course?

What is a "beast"?

What fuel type?

Are you planing on staying manual?

Turbo setups will cost more money and have a totally different power band than bolting on a larger blower. However, the LARGE blowers have headaches of their owns in destroying lowers and cranks.

You need to REALLY sit down and think what this car is, so many people try to make street cars with a 6 speed that make 1200rwhp and they hate it and sell it.

 

[T3naci0usT]

Street/track car
Something that is unique, but still whoops ass. I have a buddy that is about to get a 550-600hp rx7.
93 with meth.
plan on staying manual.
And I want to keep it around 650-700rwhp, but be able to turn it up to 750+
I plan on keeping this car forever, and I have already had it for almost 4 years.

 

[Zemedici]

if you're wanting 650-700rwhp, Just get a TVS blower and call it a day.

I would only go turbo if I wanted BIG numbers, 1000+.

 

[T3naci0usT]

Everything that I have looked at makes the car crazy with a turbo, also it allows for the same power with less boost and heat. Also I haven't had good luck with my supercharger setup so far. Belts, and boost drop-off have been a pain in the ass.

 

[Zemedici]

Everything that I have looked at makes the car crazy with a turbo, also it allows for the same power with less boost and heat. Also I haven't had good luck with my supercharger setup so far. Belts, and boost drop-off have been a pain in the ass.

if you're shredding belts there's an alignment issue somewhere. And it depends on what's on your car / how its set up.

I daily drive my 2.3l whipple car. No issues. Havent done anything to it in the past year save change the oil.

 

[T3naci0usT]

Not shredding them, so much as dealing with slip and boost drop-off.

 

[Nightmare302]

A TVS will be significantly cheaper and perform better with a stick. If you wanted to go drag and an auto with goals in the 800+ I'd go turbo.

 

[T3naci0usT]

How so? Would an auto be better with a supercharger because of the fact that it usually has problems hooking at low speeds. Also I am going to keep it manual either way, I like driving stick, and I am not looking at numbers.

 

[10secondrx7]

What exactly do you mean when you say the supercharger will perform better with a stick? I didn't realize the transmission would affect the FI.

And money isn't an issue, so I wouldn't count that as an advantage for the supercharger.

This isn't going to be a track car, it'll be mostly daily driven. He just wants some big power in a streetable car.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

turbo cars do much better with an auto than a stick due to boost drop off on shifts etc... I believe thats what he was referring to.

if you have belt slip/boost drop off issues you have an alignment/tensioner/idler issue that needs to be resolved (as in maybe it needs a proper aftermarket setup to increase wrap on the blower pulley).

the TVS and other blowers are a whole new ball game compared to the eaton

 

[10secondrx7]

Dropping boost between gears really isn't an issue. If it's something you're truly worried about because it's a dedicated drag car, you just get an ECU with launch control. Now you have 2step launches launching you with 30PSI (Or whatever your max is) and you can maintain full throttle and boost between shifts.

But again, spooling a 76mm with 4.6 v8 isn't going to be an issue at all.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

so why do you two sit here asking questions when it appears you already have your mind made up?

 

[10secondrx7]

Ha, sorry if it seems that way. His mind isn't made up.

We're just trying to compare the two in a vacuum. Without cost as a factor. Definitely thankful for your opinion.

It'd be awesome if any turbo cobras could chime in with things they like, or dislike about theirs.

And same for the superchargers. I've never driven a cobra with a larger blower.

 

[T3naci0usT]

Yeah, I have no idea what I want, and was wondering if I could get some advice from you guys. I would love to go turbo, but if it isn't worth it than I will go bigger supercharger. I just wanted some insight from guys that have already done it.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

Again if you use the search this has been discussed quite a few times and there's some great info both PD Vs turbo and turbo stick vs auto

 

[T3naci0usT]

which most of them are 3+ years old. I was trying to get information from a present day situation.

 

[badmpg03]

I dont have a lot of grounds to give advice but I have been in your shoes the past year.
Supercharged is a lot of fun. Like others have said, you can get into the game much cheaper and I think 600rwhp twin screw/roots setup with instant torque is a heck of a lot of fun for a street car. Maybe get 650-700+ with same blower on E85 with more boost. Some are well over those numbers as well on stock motor.
I would do that first, if you get bored, then look at turbo. You could probably sell your used blower for a decent amount And not take a huge hit.
I made the decision though that I would build the motor same time as going turbo. That increases cost significantly.
If you want in the turbo game now there are a couple proven cheaper options for turbo - maybe look at Hellion kits, probably their single setups to get you the power you want. But then, look at the price and supporting mods needed and you might quickly go back to supercharger setup.

 

[badmpg03]

Ha, sorry if it seems that way. His mind isn't made up.

We're just trying to compare the two in a vacuum. Without cost as a factor. Definitely thankful for your opinion.

It'd be awesome if any turbo cobras could chime in with things they like, or dislike about theirs.

And same for the superchargers. I've never driven a cobra with a larger blower.

In a vacuum, turbo has many positives as you probably know. Ability to Intercool the air charge of course, less power drawn from the motor to run system, usually significantly higher torq/hp numbers at same boost as supercharged.
With that said, If you can turn the boost up over 20PSI on a 2.2/2.3 whipple/KB/TVS with some good gas, you can have a lot of fun for pretty cheap.
Cost is no matter statement really doesn't work. In reality, it is the biggest factor for decisions. Most out there aren't going to spend thousands more to run low boost on a 76mm single setup to make 600whp, when you can spend half that on a 2.3 whipple and make the same power.

 

[GNBRETT]

when you compare the two the Turbo is the clear winner. The Turbo kit will do everything the Blower can do but better. If ur goals are to keep the car forever then you will want to make more power down the road.

Disadvantages of the Supercharger are:
1.) heat sink. (I had ALL the cooling mods in my blower car. didn't matter!)
2.) belt slippage. (Shredded a couple belts leavn me stranded on hi-way)
3.) having to swap pulleys when wanting to make more power. PITA
4.) far worse gas mileage! (12 mpg w/TVS....16 mpg w/ Turbo kit) 93 octane.
5.) 2.3 Blowers have a ceiling on power. big blowers are slow to come on.
6.) less TQ.
7.) less horsepower!
8.) less efficient.
9.) blower whine. (some care for it I don't)
10.) linear power curve. every blower car on 93 octane makes the same power
basically.
11.) on 93 octane my Turbo car made 150 more hp then my TVS 2.3 did and
almost 200 ft lbs more of TQ. sure u can make decent power with E85 with a
TVS but at 30% LESS gas mileage in a car that already gets 12 mpg on
93 octane wasn't an option for me.
12.) doesn't cool anywhere near like a Turbo kit does. well, at lest no where near
what a CPR Turbo kit does. my intake temps have never been higher then 25
degrees above ambient in ANY temp!

Disadvantage of the Turbo:
1.) Turbo lag..... lol maybe 20 years ago but not with todays technology. jus doesn't exist anymore. My 76/88 mm Turbo (Which wud be considered BIG by most standards) comes on instantly with stock heads/cams/intake.
2.) cost slightly more up front.
3.) requires a different TQ converter if its an auto.
4.) more difficult to tune. there are no canned Turbo tunes.
5.) perform much better with a 6r80 and most ppl are stick.

with the Turbo kit you get the 2.3 TVS blower and the 3.4 Whipple crusher in one package! just a matter of turning up the boost and adding better fuel.....