i was curious...which is best to have? i kno ppl talk about turbo lag...but also they talk about how the supercharger drains power (since its on the belt)...but overall which is best to have? :?:

depends on you more than anything. what are you trying to accomplish?

"i wanna go fast!" lol but i dont kno alot about them ...i jus kno they make your car have more HP so you go faster (and what i stated in the first post) , whats the diff? but i when i get up to speed ii want that boost to kick in

you want a cruiser, track car, quick daily driver?

and the cost for a turbo will be drastically higher than a sc, considering you can use all JY parts for a sc setup.


edit** oh and "shake and bake"

A turbo setup can be done fairly cheap as well. IIRC the fuel system will support 13'* with a turbo. My buddy had one all planned out for his '00 Monte SS and it was going to be under $1000 and would run 13'*. Not bad IMO. He copied another setup that was about 3g and then substituted a far less expensive turbo to knock the price down. Would the turbo last, who knows? Also, a turbo would be easier on the tranny.

B2, an L27 fuel system will NOT support 13'*. Nowhere near that. My 29lb stock injectors ran out of headroom at WOT around 300 crank HP. His injectors are 21'*.




Bottom line:

If you want off-the-line low end torque, go with a SC.
If you want high-end passing, go with a turbo.

If you want economical and reliable, go with SC.

Either way, you will be in the thousands when you're done.

Both have trade-offs. As they say, there is no "free lunch"

Turbos are Superchargers (the correct name is a "turbo-supercharger", but everybody shortens it to just Turbo..even when they have no idea what one is)

The superchargers most associated with the 3800 is a twin screw type supercharger that is belt driven off the motor'* crankshaft. By driving it off the crank, there'* a direct relationship between engine rpm and supercharger rpm. That used to be a big problem on older superchargers, but ours have a twist..a vacuum valve that can dump the excess pressure when it is not needed. This makes the eaton "friendly" in it'* street manners, the blowers output does a good job at matching the motors needs.

Turbo-superchargers by contrast are driven off exhaust gases passing through a turbine, which in turn drives the supercharger. As you might guess..the relation ship is not direct...that'* what people refer to as "lag"...it takes time for the turbine to speed up to a point where the supercharger'* output matches up to the motor'* needs. Same thing happens when the engine slows down..the turbo is still spinning fast and needs to dump the excess pressure (a blow-off valve) So the turbo-superchargers output always lags behind the motors needs. If the motor runs at constant rpm a lot, it'* a pretty good deal. (Hence the extensive use of turbo-superchargers in diesel engines employed on trucks on up through railroad locomotives.)

There are other tyes of superchargers available (centfiugal types made by Paxton, Vortech, ATI, pure roots blowers like the GMC 6-71 and Weiand, reciprocating superchargers used by Volkswagen and others) But for our motors, most people go with the Eaton blowers that were factory installed on the 3800.

So, here'* the trade-offs:

Turbo-superchargers are very efficient when they get spinning, and put less drag on the system than a belt driven supercharger. They also get wicked hot, impart a fair amount of heat into the intake air charge, and have a plumbing system that gets complicated in a hurry. All these things add into the initial cost of a Turbo-supercharger system (custom exhaust manifolds, intake manifolds capable of handling the pressure, oil feed and return lines to lubricate the turbine'* bearings, intercoolers to try and knock down the heat added to the intake air charge) If you tackle all the engineering involved, a turbo supercharger'* output can exceed a belt drive supercharger.

The Eaton supercharger is fairly efficient, and not really complicated to install since it is an OEM system. That'* probably why so many people here stick with it. Bang for buck, it'* one of the best ways to pump up the 3800'* output.

And last...it is advisable to upgrade the rotating assembly of the motor to accomodate the extra power throughput of a forced induction engine.

So you see, pick the poison that matches your tastes and wallet. There'* going to be a bit of work either way you go.

My bad, I stand corrected. S2'* aren't having problems with it but that doesn't help you.

The L27 will need different rods, wrist pins, and pistons at a bare minimum, as well as a strong trans. And the axles.

(and the above-mentioned fuel injectors)


Full swap. PCM, wiring harness, axles, transmission, and engine. By the ime you're done, you'll still have FE1 suspension, and be lacking the other SSEi options you wished you had if you'd sold your SE and bought the car you want.

if it makes any sense... when i get to higher speeds/rpm i wanna go faster


so i would have to upgrade my engine (ie piston rods and everything) and tranny if i choose to install either one?