The Ditch Finders | Automotive Podcast · The Ditch Finders

EP. 20 - Turbos vs Superchargers!

·52 min·3 clips

A supercharger can take 10 to 20 percent of engine power, but it gives back more than it uses.

1. The Ditch Finders Podcast episode is about turbochargers versus superchargers and how each system forces more air into an internal-combustion engine. 2. The hosts are two car enthusiasts from The Ditch Finders Podcast, and one says he is taking the turbocharger side while the other argues for superchargers. 3. The episode exists to explain the terms they hear in car press releases, in games like Forza, and in their own conversations about clutches and gearboxes. 4. The turbo discussion starts with exhaust gases spinning a turbine on the hot side and a compressor on the cold side. 5. One host says he misunderstood the intercooler arrangement and thought the air passed through it before the turbo, then corrects himself. 6. The explanation then covers turbo lag, with the hosts saying a turbo cannot build boost until exhaust flow arrives. 7. The hosts compare single turbos, twin turbos on V6 and V8 layouts, and BMW-style twin-scroll systems. 8. They also talk through sequential turbos, where a smaller turbo spools first and a larger turbo takes over at higher rpm. 9. Hot-V packaging comes up as a way to reduce lag by placing turbos close to the engine, with heat management as the downside. 10. The newer e-turbo concept is described as using an electric motor on the shaft between the hot and cold sides before exhaust flow takes over. 11. The turbo section also mentions wastegates and blow-off valves as the parts that manage exhaust flow and release excess pressure. 12. On the supercharger side, the hosts define it as a forced-induction device driven from the engine by belts and pulleys off the crankshaft. 13. One speaker says a supercharger can be measured in liters, using a two-and-a-half-liter example to describe how much air it moves per revolution. 14. The discussion says superchargers can increase cylinder air volume to 150 percent of capacity in a simple 500 cc example. 15. The main drawback they identify is parasitic loss, with the supercharger taking about 10 to 20 percent of engine power to drive itself. 16. They then compare Roots, twin-screw, centrifugal, and electric superchargers, noting that some versions look very similar to turbos. 17. The tone is informal, technical, and conversational, with both hosts stopping to ask basic questions and correct each other in real time. 18. The format is a two-person back-and-forth with practical examples, quick clarifications, and occasional self-deprecating comments about getting the basics wrong. 19. Listeners interested in turbo lag, forced induction, and car engineering will probably like this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a polished studio interview or a nontechnical story may skip it.

As heard by us

A lively London awards-room dispatch that broadens into F1's next reset and MotoE's final season.

The piece opens with a lively dispatch from the Car Design News Awards in London, where designers, OEMs, and suppliers fill the room and the automotive circuit feels close at hand.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want car-design gossip and racing-rule nerdery in one sit-down.

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