Expert: Matt Lyons - 12/24/2007

Question
Forgive me if this question is ignorant but i was looking into getting a forced air system but i didn't know which would give me more bang for the buck: an intercooled turbo/twin turbo setup or a supercharger? First im not even sure if i could fit a turbo system in a crammed 95 3.8 camaro engine bay and if so would it quickly blow a 6 hammer engine? second what would each roughly cost. appreciate your time

Answer
A supercharger is driven off the engine and is providing boost from idle to max rpm. A turbo runs off of the exhaust gases that exit the engine. You will need to rev up the motor to get the exhaust gases to spin the turbo to produce boost, or higher that standard atmospheric pressure. You can regulate a turbo with an adjustable waste gate. The supercharger requires a pulley change to raise or lower boost. I would check out SLP Performance, Paxton and turbonetics to see what kits are availble.