
Supercharger Comparison Chart
The supercharger has proven to be one
of the most effective means for obtaining increased
power from an internal combustion engine without having
to make major engine modifications. This is accomplished
by compressing combustion air before it enters the
cylinders, which increases density. This results in
improved cylinder filling, allowing more air and fuel to
be burned in the combustion cycle, with dramatic
increases in torque and horsepower.
Vortech superchargers operate on
fundamental and proven turbomachinery principles, first
described by Euler's turbomachinery equation developed
in the 18th Century. This principle states that the work
imparted to a fluid by an impeller is related to the
change in angular momentum of the fluid. From these
humble beginnings, the centrifugal compressor has
evolved and found its way to becoming the most efficient
and reliable means for delivering charge air at high
pressures. Vortech has seized upon these known
performance advantages and has developed its line of
centrifugal superchargers to a performance level that
clearly establishes Vortech as the performance and
technology leader in aftermarket supercharging.

Advanced Compressor Stage
Here's where the rubber meets the
road. Vortech's compressor stages are highly evolved,
thoroughly tested designs, resulting from more than 20
years of experience and thousands of production
supercharger units. A simple visual examination clearly
shows the difference. All Vortech compressors
incorporate sophisticated impeller designs, coupled to a
parallel wall diffuser, with a progressive scroll, or
volute exit stage. Impellers employ advanced aerodynamic
features such as optimized inducer blading, splitters,
and in some cases, exit rake and backsweep... all
depending on the particular pressure/flow objectives.
Rather than a simple change of blower speed to effect
different "models", each Vortech supercharger is
optimized aerodynamically so that best performance is
attained for a specific vehicle application.
In order to effectively take advantage
of impeller work, flow must be efficiently diffused so
that pressure rise can be generated with minimal losses.
Unfortunately, a simple "cut-and-paste" won't work.
Instead, the diffuser is optimally matched to the
impeller flow physics, with many iterations tested and
verified until maximum efficiency is achieved with each
supercharger design. Finally, a matched volute
effectively collects and diffuses further, resulting in
additional pressure rise. The result? Isentropic
efficiencies as high as 83%! In fact, all Vortech
compressors achieve at least 72% peak efficiency, with
better than 65% efficiency achieved over a majority of
design flow range (surge to choke).
Componentry
Vortech componentry has garnered a
reputation for its "best in class" execution. Blower
casing components are cast from A356 aircraft-spec
aluminum alloy treated to T-6 condition. Modern CNC
production cells ensure that part tolerances are held
into the "tenths" (of a thousandth of an inch) - to, and
in many cases beyond aircraft tolerances.
Impeller
The heart of any centrifugal
supercharger is the impeller. We make impellers from
both investment cast and billet materials. Our
investment castings are from an extremely strong but
light-weight proprietary aluminum alloy (similar to that
used in turbochargers). This special heat treated
material is used because of its stability and enhanced
properties at high operating temperatures - which may
reach 400 degrees F under extreme conditions. At this
temperature, the Vortech impeller is up to 36% stronger
than even 7075, a common structural aluminum material
used by others. The investment cast process secures
close dimensional tolerance and excellent surface
finish. Beyond this, our billet racing impellers are
second to none. These are made from custom forged blanks
of a proprietary metallurgical blend, that ensures exact
tolerances. And finally, multi-plane dynamic balancing
to better than ISO G0.4 tolerances delivers smooth
operation. The historical use of these same procedures
in building aircraft turbomachinery components for the
most demanding applications proves its durability.
Drive Gear
Drive gears are manufactured from 8620
and 9310 carburized billet alloy steels. These premium
grade materials possess exceptional strength and
durability, with enhanced core toughness properties. The
gear teeth are CNC precision ground. The internal
step-up drive system is engineered to reliably support
impeller speeds exceeding 70,000 rpm.
Bearings
Vortech bearings are ultra-high
precision (ABEC 7/ABEC 9) pieces that originate from the
best precision bearing manufacturers in the world. Most
are custom manufactured to our specifications. Aircraft
quality is truly an understatement here, since these
bearings experience speeds as much as twice that of a
jet engine.
Lubrication System
Vortech offers both engine-oil-fed and
internally lubricated superchargers. Our V-3 units are
factory prefilled with our special synthetic fluid - so,
no oil supply or drain lines are necessary. Our
traditional V2 oil-fed units make use of the host engine
lubrication circuit, which may optionally be
fine-filtered before introducing to the supercharger.
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