Turbochargers and Superchargers

Adding a turbocharger to your car will give you one of the biggest increases in horsepower over any other engine modification. Nitrous oxide systems can rival the power performance, but not the durability and constant gains associated with a turbo system. Turbochargers can be tuned to give you any amount of boost between 0 and 24+psi of boost, depending on the size of the turbine. When you have any type of forced induction system like a turbocharger, you want to make sure that the engine is tuned to it. Below we will discuss the importance of the air fuel ratio. I will revisit this again, because premature detonation is a major cause of internal engine damage, and detonation can be caused by a very lean air fuel ratio. Turbo kits should be coupled with an ecu that is tuned to deliver more fuel than the factory settings, and the fuel delivered to the engine should be increased proportionally to the boost pressure. You also should add an air charge intercooler, which will reduce the intake charge air temperature. The air coming from the exhaust has been heated tremendously, and should be given the opportunity to cool before being re-entered into the system.
Beware of bolt on turbo kits. They in themselves are not the all in all for horsepower. You will have to match these with an intercooler and ecu to build a system that will have durability and performance. These bolt on kits are great for the experienced installers who can tune an engine correctly. The true power behind a turbo kit will be unleased with some tuning to the heads, the timing and fuel ratios, and the intake manifold. We will be discussing each of these in future post, beginning with the heads. The heads are where the power is made because they are a direct path to the combustion chamber, which is where the magic happens.
Internal combustion engines are "breathing" engines. That is to say, they draw in air and fuel for energy. This energy is realized as power when the air-fuel mixture is ignited in the combustion chamber. Afterward, the waste created by the combustion is expelled. All of this is typically accomplished in four strokes of the pistons. What a turbocharger does is to make the air-fuel mixture more combustible by fitting more air into the engine's chambers which, in turn, creates more power and torque when the piston is forced downward by the resulting explosion. It accomplishes this task by condensing, or compressing, the air molecules so that the air the engine draws in is denser. Now, how it does that is the real story here.
A turbocharger is a way to force air into the engine. Hot exhaust gas powers the turbine wheel of the supercharger to make it rotate. That turbine wheel is connected by a shaft to a compressor wheel. As the turbine wheel spins faster and faster, it causes the compressor wheel to also spin quickly. The rotation of the compressor wheel pulls in ambient air and compresses it before pumping it into the engine's chambers. As you may have guessed, the compressed air leaving the compressor wheel housing is very hot as a result of both compression and friction. That's where a charge-air cooler (or "intercooler") comes in. It reduces the temperature of the compressed air so that it is denser when it enters the chamber. The intercooler also helps to keep the temperature down in the combustion chamber. All together, the engine, turbocharger and charge-air cooler form what is known as a "charge-air system". Some systems also include a tip turbine fan which draws air across the charge-air cooler to further reduce the temperature of the compressed air generated by the turbocharger.
The basic principal behind turbocharging is fairly simple, but a turbocharger very complex. Not only must the components within the turbocharger itself be precisely coordinated, but the turbocharger and the engine itself must also be exactly matched. If they're not, engine inefficiency and even damage can be the results. That's why it's important to follow correct installation, operating and preventative maintenance procedures.
When adding a turbocharger or other forced induction system to an engine, you need to pay close attention to the air/fuel mixture ratio, as running lean can cause damaging detonation. Also pay attention to how much air the heads can efficiently flow. This is more difficult to measure or calculate, but much like the diameter of a straw can effect how much liquid it can draw, the heads will limit how much air they can flow through the system.

Mitsubishi Lancer Supercharger Kit

Featured Supercharger Kit: Mitsubishi Lancer 2002-2004 at Majestic Modifications

RIPP Supercharger Drive System / Stage 2
REQUIRES PERFORMANCE HEADERS TO BE INSTALLED.

-Everything you need to setup a supercharger to be functional is included.
-Designed to bolt up to the 6G72 V6 (six cylinder) 3.0L engine.
-System has had zero engine failures to date.
-Kit will work with auto, manual or tip-tronic.
-Boosts from low RPM’s with NO LAG Time normally associated with

turbos
-Professional installation required.For fuel management we now feature RIPP's own Black Box tuning computer. A small stand alone piggy back unit that functions as a fuel and timing calibration tool, which turns your stock ECU into a programmable fuel and timing system, fully calibrated to an engine running boost, in both high and low levels. All SDS kits come preprogrammed to give you safe and reliable HP (unless otherwise advertised) all the time, with out the hassle of going to a tuner or the worriers associated with detonation in conjunction with boost.
-RIPP SDS (Supercharger Drive System) 6061 Aluminum CNC designed and fabricated
-RIPP Black Box Preprogrammed** (Fuel and timing controller no out side tuning required at all)
-RIPP 2 Bar MAP Sensor for exact ECU boost communication
-RIPP/Vortech V5 G-Trim Supercharger (VSQ Option)
-RIPP By Pass Valve
-RIPP Boost Cooler Methanol&Water injection
-RIPP Under drive Shaft pulley
-Six 310cc Venom Injectors with clips
-Malpassi Rising rate fuel pressure regulator with gauge
-2.75" 6061 aluminum piping
-Four Ply silicon hose (Gloss Black Red or Blue)
-Walboro 255 in tank Fuel pump
-All hardware and clamps included
-2 Part 30 page Illustrated Instructions and tech tips
-Easy 12-15 hour install
-One year warrantee included from date of purchase

Browse this and other hot car accessories at Majestic Modifications!

Supercharged

Superchargers can increase your horsepower output by as much as 50% in some applications. Superchargers are a forced induction system that pushes air into the intake. This added air allows for a larger explosion in the combustion chamber, which creates more power. To keep the fuel mixture optimized, you need to increase the fuel amount whenever you increase the air, or you will risk running lean (not enough fuel). This can result in detonation and premature engine failure, which is one of the things that give superchargers a bad name.

If you take the time to properly balance the added air and fuel mixtures, then you can safely create a lot of added power and performance. You also need to take note of howmuch power the bottom end can hold, because on old bearings you can risk spinning, excessive wear, or shearing under higher rpms.

It is usually a good idea to get a fuel management system to go along with your supercharger kit. Manufacturers are starting to figure this out, and are including a lot of the necessary components to properly tune the engine.

Check out the selection of supercharger kits at Majestic Modifications. They have the largest selection of car accessories available.