Originally Posted by downwardspiral
Jesel belt drives are just funny to me, its not a bad thing to have. Its just a belt that replaces the timing chain (i think they only make them for chevy v8s) and it makes like 10hp more. The funny part is they cost $900. direct exhaust injection is a fool-proof idea that will revolutionize the automotive industry.
lol @ at the direct exhaust injection.
I just want to point out that I'm not trying to be at all down on "maverick". I may have used the word 'poo' in my original post, but that's to point out that most if not all electric superchargers are a waste. It's a fact of life, not an attack on "maverick". Think about how many engines are used in the world outside of the automobile world. Airplanes, boats, and trains use superchargers. Yet how many use electric superchargers? None! One might argue the reason why no-one uses electric superchargers is because they are some kind of secret, a technology pushed down by a secret society or a conspiracy. This is unlikely.
As Opticon so clearly points out, there are significant disadvantages in using an electric supercharger as compared to a belt-driven supercharger. The basic physics don't add up. The amount of energy required to provide 300hp @ 10 psi using an 80% efficient supercharger is 20 to 40 hp (Source: Corky Bell's "Maximum Boost".) An electric motor would therefore have to have a power source capable of producing 15 to 30 kW.
Let's say, for example, you can source a 12V, 200 amp alternator from a diesel truck or something. This alternator would still produce only 2.4kW. Charging a battery is an 80% efficient process, while discharging a battery is also a roughly 80% efficient process (these are just estimates, due to the internal resistance of the battery.) This means that the total amount of energy being generated is roughly 1/10th that required to make boost. Which means that for each 10 second burst of power, you need to let the car charge for 100 seconds. This is assuming a 200 amp alternator charging nothing but your "boost batteries".
This is why hybrid cars made by big companies (like Toyota and Honda) use electric motors to drive the cars directly through the transmission. One only incurs a battery discharge/charge penalty and a transmission loss. One doesn't need to sit there and waste energy going through a motor, supercharger, and an engine to generate more power.
Although I love cars, they are rolling temples to wasted energy. A belt-driven supercharger is a huge parasitic load, but they are used because they let you make boost when you want it and however long you want it. If you want to cruise at 150mph for 10 minutes running 10 psi boost, the supercharger will be right there, whining for you.
An electric supercharger has limited utility when you consider the effectiveness of a belt-driven supercharger.