Superchargers Vs Turbochargers

Hahaha. This is my favorite topic, and I love to debate on this. Which one will you choose and why? 

It all really depends on the usage. There's probably a reason (which I am not aware of) why most heavy engines (mostly diesel) are turbocharged instead of supercharged. For petrol engines, I guess either would work, but supercharging would be somewhat cheaper.

Have a look at these - Turbochargers & Superchargers.

I'm of the belief that as the diesel engines have lower rpm, Superchargers range will be lesser, as a diesel engine possess higher torque, hence, turbocharger is a better option. I'm a fan of the electric superchargers. Amazing thing to have, even though many didn't like the concept of electric superchargers. And the other technology whose name I keep on forgetting. It has two turbochargers. The smaller one runs at a lower rpm ( not from rest) but kicks off at a lower rpm and later as the speed increases, the higher one kicks off and the smaller one turns off.

Well, I support electric superchargers too. They need not be coupled to the engine and can be controlled independently of the engine's RPM.

Finally, I have found someone who thinks like me and the person is from Mumbai itself. Great.

Yup...at the very basic level both superchargers and turbochargers have the same mechanism to compress air - only the drive mechanism changes (supercharger runs off the engine, turbo runs off the exhaust assisted by turbines to convert kinetic enery of gas to mechanical rotation). So I guess the difference is more a function of the drive mechanism than of the compressor itself...

To quote Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercharger), "A supercharger can be powered mechanically by a belt, gear, shaft, or chain connected to the engine's crankshaft. It can also be powered by an exhaust gas turbine. A turbine-driven supercharger is known as a turbosupercharger or turbocharger."

Hey Rohit, Thanks for adding this extra bit, but I guess a similar link was provided by Pankaj as well. Cheers

No problem Mustang...but I thought its best to clearly indicate that the two are similar in principle in order to avoid any flaming wars later on.

Maybe I should write an article on Turbochargers.