mcduck

For those not one MSN.com daily, there was a nice overview article about SCs and Turbo's last week. The article is a basic overview and tells the pluses of each system. The full article can be found here...

http://autos.msn.com/advice/windowsh...Home&pos=Edit4

I have lifted what I believe are the two most telling statements in the article...

"We use turbos for two developmental goals," said Marc Trahan, longtime product management leader at Audi of America Inc. "To take a small displacement engine and give it the power characteristics of a larger displacement engine without associated fuel economy penalties, and to take larger displacement engines and give them exceptional power."

Same philophy applies to both, not just turbos. And...

"A supercharger uses rotating vanes or lobes to force air into the engine. The increased airflow pulls more fuel vapor inside, increasing the charge in the cylinders. Note that superchargers are mechanically driven by the engine and use some of the engine's power, while turbochargers are driven by exhaust gases and don't use engine power. "

Translation of the last sentence... Superchargers have no lag where most Turbos do, but Turbos are more efficient, requiring no engine power to function.

Not a terribly scientific article, but I think it conveys the basics well for those who may not be savvy to why there is such fanatical loyalty to one type of forced induction or the other.