Mercedes to drop Kompressor supercharger technology in favor of turbos

http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=02421781

Oh well. I guess it's just called progress. Somehow, 230T or 230 Turbo Sport Sedan just doesn't have that same ring to it...

 

That would be cool. Turbo usually have a lot more top end capability. Plus they sound cool, epecially with blow off valves

 

A Turbo is still a Kompressor! Both are Forced Induction with the same principles and effects on the engine. Just two diferent ways to get more air in the chamber!

 

but with the turbo, isn't there a "cool down" period of a minute or so if you really push the car on that drive? My new car will be turbo so i guess i gotta read up on that turbo cool down period. I don't think there's a "cool down" period necessary for the kompressor.

IMO, compared between the kompressor and turbo, the turbo gives a little more "power" feel, like more pushback into the seatback (comparing a 1.8T to a 2.3K) but kompressor sounds cool

 

if you drive the car hard yes there should be a cool down period. my brother has a 1.8T and has this device that will keep the engine runnig until the turbo has cooled. he added this to his car.

 

True, but in German (auf Deutsch):

Supercharger - Kompressor
Turbo - Turbo



I'm sure their marketing types will retain the name with your logic!

 

Also dont turbos work on feedback from the exhaust or something, so low end power is rubbish isnt it? or not very good?

 

Super chargers are cool but a turbo motor can really be juiced with an after market chip. Its not unusual to see hp improvements of 100 hp. No dice with a super charger.

 

Funny thing is, I came across an article online explaining all the different supers and turbos and it turns out the Roots type supercharger (the one in our cars) is the only one that doesnt actually compress the air as it goes! I wonder if anybody ever completed that screw-type conversion, since it's capable of higher compression and better thermal efficiency...

 

Turbo technolgy has come a long way. First, it was two smaller turbos (biturbo) that spun up so quickly so as to eliminate turbo lag. Now, like the MB article read, there is almost no turbo lag in modern designs.

 

yeah turbos work off the exhaust of the engine. the more you spit out the faster the turbo spins.

 

actually, i was surprised with the 1.8T. I was expecting huge turbo lag but there wasn't! kicked in about 1900 RPMs till redline!

 

my brother has the 1.8T. he's added in an intercooler, diverter valve, chip, etc. and his turbo kicks @$$.

 

sweeet. I'm thinking of chipping the Audi after breaking it in...still deciding tho. Number's look good:

Stock:
170hp
166Tq

Chipped:
202-205hp
195-200tq

price $490....hmmmm...

 

I believe our Supercharger really is only going to operate at boost with the throttle at or near Wide Open. Just like a turbo would do. Otherwise you are actually in vacum. Get a boost gauge and watch it to see what I mean. Turbo's run off exhaust gases, so as the engine revs up under load the turbo spins faster and builds more boost til it hits its set limit of boost pressure! When letting off the gas the turbo still spins faster and thus a Blow Off Valve relieves the pressure, as well as a Wastegate to relieve when the Turbo hits its set peak psi point! Superchargers of course are belt driven so there limit is how fast the engine belts will spin the pulley. When you let off the gas the SC spins slower as the engine revs down. SC'es give more instant power, but turbo's have had technoloical advances as well to produce almost no lag at all.

 

since it's spinning off the belt, it's always working, just you hit peak when your RPM's high...

 

turbo lag is one issue but another is the excess heat...which requires all the additional components, the harder you drive a turboed car, the hotter the exhaust which would require more cooling. Both komp and turbo do the same thing through different means though, the belt driven komp has no lag since it instantly spools up with the engine.

Would actually be pretty cool if someone made a turbo for the existing C. I remember reading that article about that Saudi rally driver that had a c32 and added 2 turbos to it, since the regular c32 was too slow. Any one know of any tuners that make turbos for the w203??

 

Nope - that is completely wrong.

If a roots type supercharger doesn't compress air, then why would they put it there?
If it isn't compressing the air, then all you'd have is a naturally aspirated car, running at atmospheric pressure.

By the way - superchargers are capable of pushing much more air than turbos, it just depends on how they are set up.

 

I didn't mean it exactly zero compression... I was more joking about that. But here's the reason that I decided to say that:

 

Just because it is spinning does not mean it is compressing more than atmospheric pressure! Also does not mean the Bypass Valve is not open and evnting to atmosphere either! The SC is not always pumping more air into the intake, it is bypassed when cruising down the highway. Actually it is bypassed most of the time to get better fuel economy. The old SLK230 and C230K sedan from the W202 body style had a clutch on the pulley for the SC to bypass it and thus save gas. They took the clutch off later and installed a better Bypass Valve or something!

 

Hey are u getting the 1.8TQM or just the 1.8T?

 

I'm assuming 1.8TQM is the Quattro

Yes, here are the details

2005 A4 1.8T Quattro
6-Speed Manual
Moro Blue Pearl Metallic
Platinum Leather
Premium Package (homelink, moonroof, leather interior, drivers side power, auto-dim rear view, digital compass)
Cold Weather Package (heated seats, ski-sack)
Sport Package (17" 5-Spoke wheels, low-profile A/S tires, Factory Lowered, Sport tuned suspension)
Infotainment (250-watt Bose, 6-cd indash changer, XM radio)
Lighting Package (projection xenon's, heated headlight washers, lighting sensors)

pretty much loaded up (minus rear sunshade and rear side airbags) should be in my hands @ the end of the month!!!

Gotta have quattro for NE winters, hehe.

 

Yeap, 1.8TQM is the turbo Quattro manual

I went for a test drive before I got the Benz, very nice car, built quality is great I ended up with the Benz because of the poor customer serivce I got from Audi.

You might find the Audi lacks a bit of punch in factory form though but I am sure an exhaust, chip can change a lot of things.

 

Acutally, I was surprised with the stock turbo...more than I expected

For stock, it does well on my commute, passing, highway, city combined I may chip it after a while

 

or you could drop a K04 in there incase you ich for more power after the chip