Power adder questions

[Nightrage]

I was talking to someone the other day about power adders. He told me that if i added a supercharger from Procharger to my car, it wouldn't sap my gas mileage or anything. I brought up how superchargers steal some power as they make power (due to parasitic loss caused by the pulley if i remember correctly) and that they also sap your gas mileage. He swore up and down that all other superchargers would do this except for one from Procharger. I've also heard Mustang owners rant and rave about the Ken Belle twin screw supercharger. What's so great about that? I'm still kind of lost on the differences between a twin- screw, centrifugal and roots-type superchargers. I've always thought that turbo's were the most appealing. I've read that there's almost no parasitic loss and no effect on fuel economy. Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but don't turbo's require a lot more work/ parts if you want your car to run well as opposed to a supercharger? What's the deal with compression on both of those? I've seen a bunch of guys that run a supercharger/ nitrous combo but only one or two guys that ran nitrous with their turbo charged vehicles. Then again, my only experience is off the internet (aside from the one supercharged/ nitrous injected Chevelle that i saw at a car show). Everyone tells me that if i ever want to do a turbo set up, i should keep my compression level low and that it doesn't matter one way or the other with a blower. Could someone clear this up for me? I'd really appreciate it.

[MN6WS6]

You will lose gas mileage with a supercharger, regardless of what type it is, because they are belt or gear driven. Anytime you add an accessory to the engine like that, fuel mileage will decrease. Turbos have very little effect on that because they are spun by the exhaust, so you will have increased backpressure, but the fuel mileage difference between NA and turbo is almost nill. That is until you step on the gas too hard

As far as what you can and can't do on a stock number, regardless if it's turbo, supercharger, or nitrous, there's only so much you can put on it until you have to go into the motor. Stock, on an LT1 say, you can run 150 shot of nitrous on it (if it's tuned right) or 6-8 pounds of boost, whether it's a supercharger or a turbo. Now, staying with the stock setup, turbo would be the way to go because it is less likely to affect gas mileage, drains very little off the motor compared to a supercharger so you make more overall power, and it's always there unlike nitrous. The downside is the exorbitant cost. So if anybody is telling you that you get more horsepower out of the SAME BOOST PRESSURE as a supercharger, they have lost their mind. Turbo is the most efficient of the two, regardless if it's roots, screw, etc.

Now if you start building up the motor, then things change. There's a reason that top fuel uses superchargers, because although they absorb a lot of power, they also make ions of it. There is no turbo in the world that would fit on a car that can make 7,000 HP like top fuel motors do. Also with a supercharger, you don't have the lag like turbos do. You're power is over a wider band than the turbo. They also cost less (usually) and are easier to install.

So it's up to you. Supercharger for about 3g's, wider powerband, less overall power and less gas mileage. Turbo for about 5g's, narrower powerband, more overall and power and similar gas mileage as NA. Nitrous for about 1g with all the safety stuff, 0 effect on gas mileage, gobs of power but you have to refill the bottle. Fred (Injuneer) and I went with nitrous, what you go with is up to you. But even us bottle boys will tell you that turbo is the way to go. But remember, once you step off in it, there is no turning back. That motor will be getting built bigger, because you can never be too fast

[Nightrage]

I won't have that kind of money for a very long time and when i do, i'll probably be in the market for another car (a 2nd car, i'll be keeping the Trans Am). I love F-bodies so i'll probably get an LS1 but at the same time, the fact that our cars weigh 3,600+lbs really bothers me. There are Del Sol's running high 12's on 270 horsepower. I'm starting to think a lot about power:weight. That's one of the reasons that some time back, i wanted to sell my T/A and get a Fiero with a 4.9 Northstar motor or a 3.8 or something. I could never completely do away with my car. I love it. Just got it inspected, just had the new tires mounted and now, when i get some money saved up i plan on doing some suspension work. When my financial situation does finally allow me to build some major power, i'm thinking i'm gonna go turbo. Should be next to no lag on an LT1, let alone a modified LT1/LT4. As for right now, i think i'm going to start small with bolt ons and minor weight reduction (i still have to pull out that pesky A/C unit).

[MN6WS6]

My car on a 125 shot, bone stock, only mod was a Flowmaster muffler and a K&N (which ain't really mods) ran a 12.36 in the 1/4. That's at full curb weight plus all my aftermarket car audio equipment. Power/weight ratio is important, but AC is more important. Don't dump that, you'll regret it for a long time.

[Nightrage]

Actually, my A/C hasn't worked since i bought the thing almost exactly a year ago (I bought it July 9th). I've had it fixed 3 times and it's literally broken no longer than 5 hours after each time i've had it fixed. I've given up on it. I like driving with the windows open more anyhow. Shedding 50lbs and freeing up some space in my engine bay in exchange for pulling out something that's broken seems like a fair trade to me