Engine choice

[Racer X]

my basic understanding of the differences in the two is that the lack of oxygen will affect the supercharger, but not the turbo. but i don't doubt that I need to educate myself more. appreciate the direction that it is likely the difference would be nominal. thanks! i will likely go with the manual V6 in that scenario.

You are correct, a supercharger is driven from the crank, so it’s speed is constant and related directly to RPM. The turbo is not tethered to RPM directly, so can increase speed to compensate for altitude. In fact, early turbo designs were designed to be altitude compensators for piston aircraft.
Cheers!

 

[gpsdesigns]

You are correct, a supercharger is driven from the crank, so it’s speed is constant and related directly to RPM. The turbo is not tethered to RPM directly, so can increase speed to compensate for altitude. In fact, early turbo designs were designed to be altitude compensators for piston aircraft.
Cheers!

ok, i appreciate the info! i guess i'll have to pull out the ole abacus and try to figure the power loss.... my guess is i'll still end up with the manual V6, just more fun, and probably plenty of power still for my needs. i can't imagine i'll ever end up on a track.

 

[TomE]

The rule of thumb is 3% power loss for each 1000 feet of altitude for NA and SC engines. It’s why the Pikes Peak racers use turbos as they maintain the same power.

The other way to look at it is it’ll feel like you’ve had a free power upgrade every time you go on a road trip down to sea level

 

[gpsdesigns]

thanks for the help everyone. the AMG (without tune) is predicted at 360hp..... the V6 produces 400hp. at 7,500' would only grab about 310 of those horses. yeesh... PLUS, post warranty i have heard the AMG can be easily tuned up to around 420hp. well shoot... not sure i want to let go of the manual transmission, but definitely something that needs to be considered.