Bolt on supercharger for £139, WTF??

It's not the first time the group has seen them or devices like them. I think they've been discussed to death here and elsewhere.

Basically there's very little chance the fan can blow more air than the engine can suck, especially at anything above idle. It'll probably act as a restriction in the inlet and you'll lose power.

Save your money, don't bother.

There was a period when almost unused ex MINI Cooper-S superchargers were fetching not much more than that on ebay as the tuners set about them, ripping the perfectly good superchargers off to fit uprated ones. Fitting one of them is a bit more involved but will be much more rewarding in the performance stakes.

Have a look at a true supercharger. Ask why it is the size it is and has either belt or gear etc driven - not electric. The answer is the power it needs to compress the air to a meaningful amount. A useful compressor consumes about 3 HP although the total power output goes up - that's why they never give good fuel consumption and are out of favour these days. A car alternator produces about 1 HP - and most of that is needed for other things. And you never get owt for nowt. The device in question uses 30 amps max so approx 1/2HP.

You'll also note it's not on sale in countries with strong consumer laws that are actually enforced.

Have a look at the power curves and the note that the device was situated low down in the air stream on the rolling road. This will always give an increase in power - but might just be a problem when going through puddles, etc in normal use. ;-)

Note also the 'warranty'.

I have a feeling most manufacturers are watching the VAG experiment with supercharger / turbocharger installs on small engines, though.

Out of favour? Merc Kompressor and Mini Cooper S are two off the top of my head. I'd hazard a guess at the Mercs using an aircon style magnetic clutch though. Certainly, there are more super charged cars now than there were 15 years ago.

The Merc Kompressor is a particularly horrible engine. Dating from the time they lost the plot. The last generation engine supercharged Mini too

- is there one with the new engine?

Of course they have their uses. But usually where it's not easy to simply fit a bigger engine.

But that's not got much to do with this advert. ;-)

Infact I have an uprated one that's almost unused after it was ripped off by someone after even more power. Thinking of replacing my perfectly good G-laden charger with it.

No new cooper S has a turbo and isn't as good to drive as a result in my opinion.

I found the old one harsh. The basic engine was bad enough but the supercharged one terrible. Showed IMHO they should have sorted the K Series and used that.

No-one with a morsel of common sense would argue otherwise.

I'll raise you the Jag XK and the Golf TSI, so that's 4 between us. Now try this one, how many *turbocharged* cars are available ?

Agreed - the Mini Cooper and VW Golfs didn't used to be supercharged.

A fifty percent increase could in some circumstances be argued as substantial, but not when the end result is "2" :)

The power consumption of a compressor depends on his output. On a "small" engine (< 3 liter) the power required to drive iy is around 20 HP, on the McLaren Mercedes it needs in excess of 150 HP.

Not in favor?

The compressor is just a airpump and been around for ages: Bugatti's had them, Spitfire's had then and a lot of very modern cars, from Mini's to Mercs to mustang's and other Koenigsegg have them.

Main advantages to a turbo are that a red hot part is eliminated for under the bonnet, very small volume (Rotrex) needed and ease of installement. These combined make a modern supercharger the best solution for extra HP (50 tot 100%) out of a modern engine.

Tom De Moor

You can get a 15 year old Mk2 Golf and there were supercharged models of them.

The Kompressor engines are fitted in lots of different Mercs...

Lots. There's a lot more forced induction in general these days. The two VWs listed below are the only vaguely mainstream supercharged cars from the

What the f*ck are you on? Golf G60, Polo G40...

Bah. Jag XJR as well as XKR, um. Someone look at Dervman's datasheet or something.

What do these rotrex jobbies cost?

Claims...

When fitted, the ETS Supercharger System is able to provide a cleaner,

Cleaner? How is a fan "cleaning" then?

Induction kits alone work well but are hampered by the need to be fed with cold air - This was impossible when the car is stationary or when small cold air feeds have to be used due to space issues - the ETS Supercharger aids an induction kit until the vehicle is at high enough speed to provide a cold supply through its cold air feeds. Once that point is reached the system further compresses and cools the air for the engine to draw upon.

How exactly does COMPRESSING air "cool" it???

Compressed molecule technology!!! How exactly does a prop in a tube (actually a model aircraft ducted fan unit) compress the "molecules" then? I though the air "molecule" was either oxygen (or O2 actually since it combines with itself) and and Nitrogen. Mostly. All it can do is the same as any other compressor and that is squash the air up and compress it which heats it up... Only it does not take enough power to actually do anything meaningful with the throttle open apart from make an annoying din.

eRR THAT HEATS IT UP!!!

Moving air is just the same temperature as stationary air...

Yes and you can buy the very same units that are used in electric powered ducted fan model aircraft. Years befor they realised they could sell them as superchargers for morons.

Lets see. You cant fracture air "moleciles" with a fan... God knows what wh 160,000 rpm gas turbine must do to the stuff then!) Compressed well yes it could (but mostly when the throttle is closed) - WHICH HEATS IT UP! And that was a two way process in which friction and compression heat up the air...

Do people buy these things?

It would need to take 300 amps at 12v to really be noticible... And then the power your alternator has to produce comes from the engine anyway... All 4 alternators...

The supercharged Jaguar V8 is a particularly lovely engine.

It as you say depends on the output. I was trying to give - roughly - the power input of the smallest compressor that would be any use to make the point about the advertised one.

Think I don't know the history?

A turbo gets the energy to drive it virtually for free. A supercharger doesn't. It may be an easy way to get extra power but it's an inefficient way.

It's a particular thirsty one, too.

Bet mine would give it a run fot it's money in the thirst stakes!

If it's going for free, fit it as well. It's definitely not a replacement.