moneypit94 said:
i have to disagree on some of the stuff stated above... I would say get a
vortech for street applications and a kenne bell for more of a racing application... I say this due to traction issues. With all that low end torque you will probably have a hard time on the street with a KB... As where the vortech (relativily) slowly builds boost making it much more friendly on the street.
Vortech will get you a good mph, but a kenne bell will get you a just as good or better ET with lower mph... This is why nitrous guys have really good et's with a lower mph compared to blower/turbo. Its all about the torque... This is also true about the big block guys (torque monsters).
Of coarse this is all relative to how extreme you go... If your only looking for 300-350 you should have no problem on the street with either blower... 400+ i think you will regret having so much low end torque... Torque is nice as long as you can use it effectively
I am a little confused over this post. It makes sense, and yet,.. it doesnt.
With any supercharged, or turbocharged engine for that matter.. power is more relative to throttle position than RPM. You can have your car in nutrual with a vorteck.. and hold the engine at 5k RPM (without using a rev limiter) and the engine will see verry little boost. why? because the throttle-body isnt open far enough to allow the airflow.
So, take your part throttle response. say,.. 1/4 tottal. at a lower RPM. For this example, we'll say between 2300 and 3000 RPM. on a 302, the KB will actually help throttle response (it wont be over powering) because you are only allowing 1/4 of the tottal available air flow.
Driving WOT at all times makes little sense on the street.
Now, that we are talking power. take a supercharged car.. I dont car what brand or make of blower you put on it. give it a 100% perfect tune.
Same with a turbo car.
Say, these engines are designed with the same exact amount additional horsepower per poweradder. blower=125 turbo=125 nitrous=125.
Wich do you think will have the better torqe curve at the track? well, torque is a mesurement of force applied, and energy required. A supercharged takes both energy and force from the engine (pully driven) to generate boost. A turbo, is more effectiant than a blower, but.. it still requires force (exuast pulses) and energy (heat) to run through the hotside of the turbine, wich is connected via a shaft to the compressor side of the turbine.
Now, lets think nitrous. unless you use a progressive system. wich I seriously doubt would be activated at all times (streetable part throttle response) it is pretty much an instant ON.
Meaning peak torque and peake horsepower added per given RPM is lineir. (over the engines natuarally asperated form. again in a 100% tuned engine.)
So lets take a 302, designed to make Peak HP at.. ohh.. lets say 5700 RPM (good track car) and that engine makes peak torque at ohh.. 4200 RPM or so.
Now, take a vortech without an intercooler (example only) and without a revlimiter.. hold the engine at say.. 5300 to 5500 RPM. Dump the cluth, punch the gas.. and sure, your at peak boost pretty quick. BUT, at best its gonna be somewhere around 70% effeciant.
Do the same thing with a turbo, dump the clutch.. turbo should come up pretty quick.. at WORST it should be about 70-75% effeciant.
Most turbo KITS now adays come with an intercooler. So, lets pipe that up to about,.. ohh. I'll be conservative. 85% effeciant.
Now, keep in mind. A centrifugal unit will lose some boost during shifts,.. a turbo may loose some.. but not as much.
Now, a Nitrous system operating on a WOT switch, along with an arming switch. well, we arent talking boost anymore. we are talking power at the snap of a finger.
A nitrous kit is pretty damn effeciant at making power. Torque curves are unreal, and horsepower in pretty damn good too.
Every power adder has its drawback.
Blower, Nitrous, Turbo.. they all having timing and fuel requirements. but they differ between setups.
The key to making power is to be effeciant. Using brute force isnt allwayse the answer.
For the weekend cruizer, I would say the KB is the way to go. (also verry good for autocross). for the weekend worrior, its kind of a tossup between the turbo, and the nitrous. if youve got the cash, I would go turbo. But, nitrous can hurt the wallet in the long run. (especially if you have a led foot)
And well, as for the Pro's. Im not one, so I dont have the answer to their advantages. but, I do see a LOT of them using turbo's lately.
Cost for a nitrous car that makes 2000 HP in 7 secs or less??.. VS a nitrous car that does the same.
I'll let you crunch the numbers.
Sorry so long.
My .02
