How does supercharging increase performance?
Superchargers achieve performance gains by increasing the density of the air/fuel charge within the combustion chambers of an engine. This increase in density is achieved by forcing additional amounts of air (beyond the amount of air that normal atmospheric pressure would force into the engine) at the lowest temperature possible. Temperature is important because cooler air is more dense and therefore more powerful. Cool air also safely allows the use of factory ignition timing, while the presence of excess heat can cause detonation and requires the use of ignition retard (which can substantially reduce power). In more technical terms, supercharging increases both the volumetric efficiency of the engine and the mass air flow through the engine.
