Can you supercharge and turbocharge an engine

Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Future Cars Worth Waiting For: — Getty Images. More Power Requires More Air The amount of power an internal-combustion engine can produce depends primarily on how much fuel it can burn and how quickly and efficiently it converts that heat to mechanical force.

Two Technologies with One Purpose A turbocharger uses the velocity and heat energy of the searingly hot and expanding exhaust gases rushing out of an engine's cylinders to spin a turbine that drives a small compressor, or impeller, that in turn stuffs more air back into the engine. In a typical turbocharger like this one, the compressor in the silvery intake housing pulls in and compresses air which then feeds the engine.

Chris Doane Automotive. Turbocharge Your Turbo IQ. Volvo was the first manufacturer to sell cars in the U. The system is fitted to its top 2. Chris Amos. Mercedes-AMG is the first manufacturer to incorporate an electric supercharger, which it uses to buttress the low-rpm power of its new CLS53 performance sedan.

You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. Both turbochargers and superchargers are air pumps, which compress air and push it into the engine, a system called forced-air induction.

When you put your foot down, the engine pulls in more air. Sensors then determine how much, and instruct the fuel system to add the appropriate amount of gasoline to blend the correct air-fuel mixture. Adding more air would allow for more fuel, but a naturally aspirated engine one without a turbocharger or supercharger is limited in how much air it can take in.

When air is pumped in under pressure — the job of those forced-air chargers — more fuel can be delivered, and the engine makes more power. One side is located at the exhaust manifold where spent gases are expelled, and the other at the intake where fresh air comes in. Inside the turbo are two small fans, joined together by a shaft.

As exhaust gas flows through the turbo, it spins one of the fans, called the turbine. The shaft turns, spinning the second fan, called the compressor. This fan draws in fresh air, pressurizes it, and forces it into the engine. A supercharger works similarly in that it compresses air and forces it into the engine, but its fan is driven by the engine.

A supercharger provides boost almost immediately, but the engine uses some of its energy to drive the unit, known as parasitic loss. One way of getting around turbo lag is to install two turbochargers: A small one that spins up faster, and a larger one that provides more power at higher speeds. Twin-charging does the same. The supercharger kicks in right away to provide the initial boost of power, and then as its performance levels out, the turbocharger is spinning and doing its thing.

Together, their combined performance creates smooth power over a wide range of engine speeds. New models from Volvo are available with two versions of the company's 2. The T6 models have around hp, while the T8 models add hybrid assist for a total of Volvo just introduced the Polestar-tuned XC60 T8, which has hp.

The new Volvo models are the most mainstream cars in the US to use a twin-charged setup. Perhaps we will start to see more companies use this unique engine configuration. We mentioned that the new Volvo models were the most mainstream car in the US to have a twin-charged engine because Europe has had many of them over the years.

The Volkswagen Group built a 1. This little hatchback may not look like much, but is actually extremely unique. This Nissan March is a special homologation special built in as a 10, unit limited run. It was called the March Super Turbo because of its unique cc twin-charged inline-four engine. This tiny powerplant put out hp, which is not bad for such a small engine. The engine was paired to a three-speed automatic or a five-speed manual with a limited-slip differential.

Despite the low power, this car could hit 60 mph in 7. The Lancia Delta S4 was a Group B rally car that raced in and before the series was disbanded. The rules of the race stipulated that Lancia had to build road-legal versions of the car.

The car was called the Delta S4 Stradale and it was sold for just two years. The car had a 1.