What’s the performance difference of a screw-type supercharger and centrifugal superchargers?
The major difference between the positive displacement screw-type supercharger and today’s centrifugal superchargers is the rate of boost. The screw-type supercharger creates boost the instant the throttle is touched usually reaching full boost by 2000 to 2400 rpm. The centrifugal supercharger is a belt driven turbo that has a lag time while it “spools up.” The centrifugal commonly does not come into boost until 2600 to 3000 rpm and they commonly do not reach full boost until max rpm. When the centrifugal superchargers do reach boost though, it tends to be greater than the screw-type. Whenever the screw-type has more boost, your engine has more power giving you far more net power, especially in the lower rpm ranges. This is why screw-type superchargers are more preferred for towing applications.
