View Single Post
Old 29 Mar 2003, 18:42 (Ref:552296)   #22
IanGrohse
Racer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 157
IanGrohse should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Concerning the supercharging idea........This would provide an unlimited number of problems for teams in long races. The reason superchargers are never used in road racing situations, is excessive heat, heat soak, declining efficiancy, and inferior reliability to turbochargers.
Firstly, your refering to roots type blowers(as in the new GT40, Mercs, and others).....Whilst these provide wonderful throttle responce, they create MASSIVE amounts of heat. Because of the rotor design of the SC, they create ALOT of heat at high RPM.....As a road car, a car has periods of high SC RPM and low RPM(slowing down speeding up, etc), allowing time for cooling. However, when driving hard, as in a road race, there is a excesive heat, and heat soak. Not only does this lead to reliability problems, it also leads to heat soak, soaking even an efficiant intercooler, and leading to significant drops in power and problems curing pre-detonation in highly tuned engines.
Aditionaly, we all know supercharged engines make ALOT less power per PSI than an efficiant turbocharger. Rotor design, and inherent drag on crankshaft lead to significantly less power.
Also, like I said, heat leads to less reliability in long road racing situations like this......But also, in highly tuned engines, with large blowers.....the wear it puts on crankshaft and main bearings is HUGE in race engines. Leading often to significantly shorter engine life.

As far as heat, centrifical superchargers cure some of that heat, as their compressor is akin to a turbocharger.....but they are still not efficiant like a turbo.

I have alot of experience with supercharged engines and turbocharged engines, with my own Mr2(which I have a jspec supercharged 4agze engine), supercharged miatas, and turbocharged miatas, as well as my experience working with various factory turbocharged cars.
IanGrohse is offline  
__________________
-
Quote