What is the Difference Between a Supercharger and a Turbocharger?

For years I actually thought that a supercharger and turbocharger or turbo were the same thing. Just different names from different car manufacturers, right? Actually that's not quite true.

A turbocharger is actually a form of supercharger. It's a gas compressor that is used for forced induction on an internet combustion engine (car engines for example). The purpose of a turbo is to create more power by increasing the density of the air entering the engine. The turbocharger has the compressor powered by a turbine which is driven by the engine's exhaust. This is different from a supercharger which is powered by a mechanical drive.

Turbocharging is very common on diesel engines because they are suited very well for turbocharging. An engine's specific power and power to weight ratio can be dramatically improved by turbocharging. Without this, those stats are poor in non turbocharged diesel engines.

Turbochargers used in gasoline engines of high performance cars and diesel engines in transportation. Small cars really benefit from a turbo as there is not much room to fit a large engine. Some car manufacturers have produced turbocharged cars for many years such as Volvo, Saab, Audi, Volkswagen and Subaru. Chrysler and Buick developed turbocharged engines in the 70's and 80's.

A supercharger is air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine. Superchargers are mechanically powered by belt, gear, shaft or chain connected to the engine's crankshaft. Superchargers powered by an exhaust gas turbine are turbochargers. The supercharger increases the power output of the engine by providing more oxygen to support combustion. The first supercharged cars were introduced in 1921 by Mercedes. Superchargers are widely used by racing and production cars i.e. expensive, high performance cars.

There are three different types of superchargers in automotive use: centrifugal turbochargers which are driven from exhaust gases, centrifugal superchargers which are driven by the engine via a belt drive and positive displacement pumps. Positive displacement superchargers, in many applications, are less efficient than turbochargers but for dragsters and vehicles used in tractor pulling competitions these superchargers are very common for their engine response and power.

The economy and power of a turbocharged engine are better than with superchargers. But the main advantage of a mechanically driven supercharger is a better throttle response and the ability to reach full boost pressure instantaneously.

For both superchargers and turbochargers, and important part of the design is to keep the air that enters the engine cool. Air compression raises its temperature so it is common to use an intercooler to reduce the temperature of the air between the pump and engine.


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