Superchargers

The supercharger is the most straightforward sort of forced induction. A supercharger is an air pump that is driven by a belt connected to the crankshaft. The pump forces air into the engine’s intake system under pressure. Because it blows air into the engine, a supercharger is sometimes called a blower, although technically a blower is meant to move large volumes of air without a large rise in pressure. Using an actual blower for a supercharger normally won’t make very much boost, unless you make substantial changes to the blower’s design.

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A supercharger on a 2008 Mustang. (Photo courtesy Edelbrock.)

The amount of boost a supercharger ...

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