370Z Supercharger or Twin Turbo

logenl7

Guys,
I know I'll catch a lot flak for this thread, but I'm literally stuck in limbo on this decision. I'm trying to make an educated decision by factoring cost, car usage, purpose, and overall benefit of each to. I'm a very spirited driver, but I only drive my car in nice weather (no rain, 70+ degrees). I don't have very many miles on the car (2009 - 12,000). Most of my driving can be classified as street / touring. I have most of the car set-up for track, which I plan on starting to take it there. I guess what I'm asking for is help / guidance from those experienced enough to make a decision on a supercharger or turbo. I like many aspects of each kit. The supercharger is enticing because of its lower amount of upkeep, higher safety rating, less slope in the power curve, and would seem (my thought) to benefit me more for my particular type of driving. The turbo kit provides a much more aggressive power curve and better results in the end, but I've never had a turbo'ed car. With both kits now relatively around the same cost, this decision is becoming ever so hard to make..lol I should probably add that my goal is to be somewhere near 500 rwhp. 500 is my ceiling / hard cap with no exceptions. I understand that many other factors go into making a decision of this sort, and I can do all necessary things to ensure that the correct steps are done to ensure saftey with this mod. Any feedback on this post will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot guys

luigi90210

Well like you mentioned in your post, superchargers have better street ability but tend to make less power and turbos make more power but lose some street ability.

It really all comes down to what you want to build and how you want the car to respond.
I will personally recommend a supercharger, it keeps a similar power band to a stock car because the supercharger matches boost with revs so the harder you push it, the more power it makes. Plus IMO the supercharger is the best mix between street ability and track day fun.

JARblue

If you have a chance, I might recommend test driving both supercharged and turbo vehicles. You can probably do this for free at various dealerships. Obviously, the cars won't be the same as the Z, but you will get an idea of the driving differences in each system. For example, you've never driven a turbo, so there is a possibility turbo lag will turn you off immediately and completely (there are plenty of people like this - but I think they are generally just spoiled from the instant boost a supercharger provides). From your post, I would lean towards the supercharger

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Nixlimited

Driving both is superior to any other sort of analytic approach to making your decision. I was very impressed by the SC (as you can see in my thread reviewing both).

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Car Sold! Pleasure being a part of the Z community.
New ride: 2015 GT-R - 647 WHP / 641 WTQ (e85) & 543 WHP / 519 WTQ (91)

SS_Firehawk

SC's generally run cooler than turbo's. It would be easier to build some proper cooling for a SC'd car. I haven't gotten to drive my SC'd car yet so I can't say much about how it drives. Turbo's make serious power under the curve. It may prove a handful coming off a turn if you aren't careful. twins and twin scrolls come on pretty early in the powerband, they start spooling hard by 2k rpm and if running around 9-10 psi, they are at full boost before 3500 rpm. With a boost controller, you can tune it so it feels like a supercharger if you want it to be linear. At this point in time, jumping on the TT bandwagon would be the cheaper and bigger bang for buck alternative. Supplant the kit with a 34 row or two 25 rows for serious track duty and it should prove entertaining. A radiator would be recommended if you do go this route. The nice thing about superchargers is because it makes less torque, and the torque it does make peaks high in the rpm range, it is easier for the car and components to cope with the power increase. Clutches will last longer, less stress on the engine, so supporting mods won't hurt as much.

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Motion Lab

S/C is lower initial investment into your project, the single or twin set-up will be more costly initially but have substantial increase in headroom down the road.

We have been working hard with one customer to acheive 500whp on his Stillen supercharger kit. Looks like it might happen this afternoon on the dyno, but it has been a tough road to get there from the base kit. The TT kits we have done you just need to add a boost controller into the mix and re-tune.

Thanks,
Alex Goodwin
AlexG@motionlabtuning.com

luigi90210

OP: if you ever get the chance to drive a modified turbo car(OEM turbos are usually small except for the EVO and STI) take the chance, it will give you an idea as to how you car will feel with a turbo kit on it.

I would recommend the same for any car with a centrifigual supercharger(since thats the same kind of supercharger kits we have) and which ever you like, get that type of kit. Pretty much all kits are about the same and they make similar power.

Dzel

2 words.... VRRRRMMMMMM PPSSSSSHHHHHHH!

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10secWS6
IF YOU CAN'T SWING IT THEN DON'T BRING IT! Check out Domestic Performance C.C.

Z370Z011

this!!^^^

roplusbee

My vote is for TT, but I am biased. From the sound of your OP, I would say that SC would fit the bill. However, turbo(s) are addictive and got me hooked after owning an S13 - CA18DET. Good luck with your decision.

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

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2007 350Z NISMO #0618: Zerolift | UPREV | F.I. | Greddy | Competition Clutch | Injector Dynamics | Aeromotive | Pioneer | JL

Jordo!

As there are no roots blower kits, on a budget, SC and a broader budget tt.

that said... what will you end up spending in part and labor...?

In two years, there'll be a new Z -- with unknown performance levels...

Patience sucks, but so does spending several grand without good reason. I think if you are really on the cusp, wait a bit and see what the Z35 offers.

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Enjoy it. Destroy it.

BGTV8

An old bloke for whom I have enormous respect (famous in Australian motor sport "lore") once said Super-Charging is for cars and Turbo's are for trucks (actually, in retrospect, this probbaly implies diesel engines rather than gasoline engines).

I say this not to belittle the TT fraternity but just to point out that for track-day usage, where torque and throttle response is king (can I say KING), then S/C has to be the way to go.

With a well-specified S/C system, torque is linear whereas with Turbo, there are always concerns at lag, spool time and the need for anti-lag to keep the huffers a-puffin' ...

Google the name "Harry Firth" and you'll see lots of 60's and 70's references, but he has forgotten far, far more than most of us will learn in a lifetime - an Australian equilavent on a par with Caroll Shelby - again, not current, but the lessons are unbiquitous.

Remember the old adage, those that ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history.

I am not entering into the kit vendor issue in any way shape or form with this post.

roplusbee

Well said and point taken.

I would just like to add that before I decided to go TT, I searched high and low for a Roots or TVS SC system. There are plenty of ways to piece one together, but I did not want to be the test bed either. Like someone else said, the Z35 is on the horizon........and you may want to sample it prior to making a 10k+ commitment.

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2007 350Z NISMO #0618: Zerolift | UPREV | F.I. | Greddy | Competition Clutch | Injector Dynamics | Aeromotive | Pioneer | JL

7419sundat

If you're gonna spend the money to get power why not get more and get turbos. That was my take anyway. And aesthetically twin turbos on a Z make it badass

SS_Firehawk

I beg to differ, TSC's look even more badass

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