turbo vs supercharged 1/4 mile

[nugget666]

ok being hypothetical ( work argument) . If you have had 2 x cars both weighing the same making the same amount of power with the same driver skill level, But one is supercharged other is turbocharged. What would win in a 1/4 mile race?. I have the point of turbo'd making max power at higher rpms so shifting gears would be in the turbo'd cars good power range. Where as the supercharged would pick up more speed of the line because of having more power at the lower end of the rev range but when shifting it would be over its max power range.

[absolutR]

isn't the main difference turbo has to spool up

[90LAN]

turbo because since your drag racing u are in that power band all the time

[EKVTIR-T]

would be a draw..

[bennjamin]

most of the fastest 1/4 racers on wheels in the world are supercharged. Research why.

[dsp26]

most of the fastest 1/4 racers on wheels in the world are supercharged. Research why.

yep!

as per OPs scenario if it is EQUAL max/peak power then SC wins hands down

[90LAN]

we talking hondas or big cubed methanol guzzers ?

[trism]

not all superchargers reach a max boost.

rootes blowers, and centrifugal turbos will make more and more boost the faster you spin them.

they make boost at idle, and make boost at redline


so you have a nice smooth power curve, rather than a peaky one

S/C wins hands down

[Webby_roller]

^^^ I agree. From my discussions with drivers and team members at the drags, they all say that the race is lost or won at the start, unless one car has a massive advantage in peak power of course...

Even at the jambo this weekend, Two cars raced, by half track they were already going 200 km/h, last half they only gained another 30-40 km/h. They winner was the car with the jump at the start...

Sooooo... In this situation it would be the car that has the jump.... depending how there driven... either could win!!!

[02gzm]

There's a lot of variables. Different types of forced induction would be better for different applications. Is the car FWD/RWD/AWD, small capacity 4banger / big block v8, etc.

[JohnL]

Assuming equal dyno numbers etc, if the turbo car suffered from significant lag (e.g. maybe from running a very big turbo for big boost) then it may be that at each gear shift the turbo would momentarily lose pressure and then have to spool up to some degree (lag). So, at each shift the turbo may lose a bit to the supercharged car, which will have instant boost at each shift...?

Whether the turbo or supercharged car lose out significantly off the line might be more traction related than power related, i.e. the supercharged car might not be able to use all of it's 'instant' power adavantage off the line, whereas the turbocharged car might be able to put all it's (relatively limited) unspooled power to the road. The result off the line may or may not be about equal...

[Elwood]

Too many variables i think..

[nugget666]

yes i didnt think that much into it lol


in my head i had a car with 230 kws at the wheels rwd. i guess i should of summed it down more hehe, but i have my answer

[anster]

There's a lot of variables. Different types of forced induction would be better for different applications. Is the car FWD/RWD/AWD, small capacity 4banger / big block v8, etc.

i agree with this statement, different forced inductions suit different applications.
:thumbsup:
230 kwatw, you would've been copping alot of wheel spin with that, so even a car with less power could be able to keep up. to my understanding i think its not all about power and what turbo charger or super charger it runs,it falls down to how much grip each car can get. i've got a fc pulling 280 kwatw and i can;t get any traction at all, my mates blue bird running a sr20 powered with a t70 gives me a good run for my money, and he's only running 230.

[55EXX]

the one with the most area under the power curve between each change

[dsp26]

i agree with this statement, different forced inductions suit different applications.
:thumbsup:
230 kwatw, you would've been copping alot of wheel spin with that, so even a car with less power could be able to keep up. to my understanding i think its not all about power and what turbo charger or super charger it runs,it falls down to how much grip each car can get. i've got a fc pulling 280 kwatw and i can;t get any traction at all, my mates blue bird running a sr20 powered with a t70 gives me a good run for my money, and he's only running 230.

T70's are huge.. he doesn't spool till later and it'f be peaky.. he probably doesn't have as much traction issues on launch