turbo LC100

G'day all, let me quote from Overlander 4WD magazine (October 2002, page 48), refering to the LandCruiser 100 series petrol, auto, towing a Jayco caravan (5.7 metres I believe). "Along with the Grand Cherokee and the Explorer V6, it's also among the least powerful, it's 4.5-litre straight six producing 165kw, just eight kw more more than the lowly V6 Ford. With the LandCruiser also up among the heavy-weights in this lot, and sporting a four, not five speed auto, the performance is never going to be brisk". I reckon it's editorial like this that sparks questions about turbo or supercharging what is already a supurb, powerful and very reliable engine. What do you reckon? Cheers!

You feel the lack of power while pulling a laden 8x5 trailer uphill with 4 in the car. Turbo charging seems to be more reliable at a lower boost pressure (3-4 psi) and hence inherently less wear and damage to internal components, at the cost of turbo lag below 2000 rpm. Supercharging does run up to 7 psi, gets very hot without an intercooler (with performance drop-off) and potentially incurs more wear and tear. I have come across several stories of supercharged vehicles being unreliable or running roughly, only to be swapped to a turbo with happier owners. Haven't read anything the other way around.
However, max power with a turbo without internal component changes is 240kW, while supercharging gets up to 300kW. I'm sure 240kW will be plenty.

You feel the lack of power while pulling a laden 8x5 trailer uphill with 4 in the car. Turbo charging seems to be more reliable at a lower boost pressure (3-4 psi) and hence inherently less wear and damage to internal components, at the cost of turbo lag below 2000 rpm. Supercharging does run up to 7 psi, gets very hot without an intercooler (with performance drop-off) and potentially incurs more wear and tear. I have come across several stories of supercharged vehicles being unreliable or running roughly, only to be swapped to a turbo with happier owners. Haven't read anything the other way around.
However, max power with a turbo without internal component changes is 240kW, while supercharging gets up to 300kW. I'm sure 240kW will be plenty.

Hi Cruze, I guess it really depends on how well the supercharger system has been set up to how well it works, and the same equally applies for a turbo system - you hear about turbos failing regularly. Consider that Mercedes and Holden use the supercharger to improve the driving experience by producing a very consistant power delivery and a friendly curve. I think you will find there are a range of superchargers that are all very different in power delivery, and design. I'm not quite sure why, for example a Sprintex type supercharger would run hotter than a turbo, seeming as it is basically a crankshaft (via belt) driven turbo, and not driven from hot exhaust gas. I think some of the information you have may be a little misleading also, so be careful with what you find. Turbos are pretty good and reliable, especially if they are only run at 3-4 psi, though they can be set up to run 20psi if you wish (not that you would), and the supercharger may run at 7psi, but it may (like the turbo) be set up for more/less boost also - it really comes down to how it is all set up. You may find the supercharger setup to be more expensive than a turbo though. Best wishes with it Cruze. Regards Slunnie