Turbo vs Supercharger

[ohioboxster]

Nick,

I went with the Supercharger kit for one reason only, price. I found a gently used like new kit on E-bay. I there would have been a twin turbo kit I would have bought that one. Turbo or supercharger is just personal taste. Its cool to say "I have a twin turbo Boxster" or "My boxster is supercharged" but as far as performance they are so close it will come down to opinion. I would never have paid 6 or 7 thousand and 2 thousand for install, would have just bought a different car. Thats just me because I dont keep cars for more than a couple of years and want to keep my losses to a minimum.
As far as wear and tear goes they are both air pumps and do the same thing, force more air into the motor which allows more fuel to be burned. I would think the only wear and tear factor is going to be the drivers right foot. Once again, my car only goes into boost when I put it there.
Im not sure at what point the turbo makes power, is there lag waiting for them to spool up? I dont know. The belt driven supercharger makes power right away when you stab the gas. As you know the Boxster is dead off the line. The supercharger makes up for the low end lack of power. I would have to ride in a turbo powered Boxster to form an opinion about the differences.

Thanks Nick, this is probably the longest reply to any thread in my life. My opinon would be keep searching or a used kit on the net if your considering forced induction. I honestly looked for months and cant believe I wasnt bidding against other forum members for the kit. I bid against one guy who didnt even own a Boxster but knew it was such a deal and I would have paid more by the way.

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

Once again, my car only goes into boost when I put it there.

Do you have a "on/off" switch for your supercharger?

[blinkwatt]

A used kit just sold for $2.6k
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/pts/238617296.html

[ohioboxster]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Do you have a "on/off" switch for your supercharger?

Yes, its called my right foot. I can drive my car the rest of its time on this earth without ever going into boost.

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

Yes, its called my right foot. I can drive my car the rest of its time on this earth without ever going into boost.

Oh ok I thought you installed a switch like in the old Corvettes w/ superchargers.

[EPIQTodd]

Superchargers are better for the Boxster because of a lack of room in the engine bay for turbos and a good intercooler kit.

[NickCats]

JP,

They claim the boost kicks in at 2500 rpm, so I don't think lag would be a problem.

Ohio,

Sounds like you got quite a deal, plus the fact you did your own install

Todd,

Looks like this kit includes the intercooler...

They bring up a good point, Porsche has chosen to add turbochargers to some of their models, but not superchargers :

No forced-air performance application is truly complete without an intercooler. The TurboWerx upgrade kit includes an air-to-air intercooler for not only the safest possible operation, but additional hp. Not only just more horsepower - but just plain smart.

Thanks to the custom ECU programming, the intercooler and an extremely efficient turbocharger, the upgrade boasts a full 6 psi of boost pressure. The system is so efficient, that full boost is achieved at less than 2500 RPM. These performance levels are simply not achievable without taking a systemic approach to the design. The end result is a upgrade package unmatched in performance, reliability, and cost.

Performance and versatility. These are two reasons no others can match the power and boost level of TurboWerx Twin Turbo Upgrades. Using efficient turbochargers and intercooling safely allows 20-50% more boost than supercharging systems can provide - 6 psi vs 4-5psi. For certain applications, such as racing, TurboWerx systems can very easily increase the boost level for even higher performance. On the track or the street, turbochargers are the best choice. And no wonder turbochargers are what Porsche® engineers always chose.

http://www.turbowerx.com/page1/page3/page3.html

Thoughts ?

Nick

[JP-s-in st. louis]

Originally Posted by NickCats

JP,

They claim the boost kicks in at 2500 rpm, so I don't think lag would be a problem.

Nick

Yea and if you ever go for a ride with me you know my car is NEVER under 2500RPMs

In the IA video you can hear the SC wine. In mine since it is a 3.2 you cant since they have to add headers. I also have a Cargraphic muffler. It is schduled for cat bypass pipes this week

As for Turbowerks I would feel better about them if they did not use photos from other websites (Techart & Porsche NA) JMHO