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Old 05-31-2006, 09:20 AM   #13
chiefsalami
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 112
I'll just add my 2 cents. I've owned and driven both turbo'd and supercharged cars. Actually, I have a supercharged VW R32 right now that I'm selling because of having replaced it with the Box. But I digress...

Tubos are nice, can often make more power by not robbing power off the crank, but there was a very good point made about the turbo kicking in, perhaps at inopertune times. Superchargers give the feel of a NA car, because they are always making some power, and make more as the revs increase. My R32 feels just like a stock one, only with more power. No wheel hop or breaking free like my previous turbo GTI did. Granted, it was front-wheel drive, but the same effects can be had with rear wheel drive, where losing grip because of turbo spool-up can cause a spinout and a disaster.

Now, as far as requiring modified internals for a supercharger, it's not true in general. My R32 supercharger kit is a straight bolt-on with no internal modifications, including to gaskets. However, this depends on the car. VW's engine is very robust, with no complaints of weak seals and leaks. Porsche, on the other hand, is a different animal. So although you could certainly push more power out of this engine (it's certainly capable - 250 or so is pretty low for a 3.2L six), perhaps it's not the best idea without really doing it right and improving some of the other known shortcomings.

It's all a matter of weighing cost (or potential cost when things go wrong) versus benefit. Of course, throw any remaining warranty out the window when you upgrade in this manner, and these cars and engines are hard enough to access/work on already.
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