hey i heard that adding components to help a supercharged engine breathe better; CAI, exhaust, etc. will help the power to a greater extent than a gas engine because the the SC engine is over compensated with fuel to lower chances of detonation. so more air plus more fuel natually equals more power....sounds logical, I just wanted to know what you guys think of this

must read for anyone interested in forced induction

Is it really logical? More air with the appropriate amount of fuel would equal more power - there isn't "extra fuel" - the ECU is tuned to inject the appropriate amount of fuel for the amount of air. That's what the fuel maps are about.

Cold Air Intakes work by lowering the temperature of the air allowing it to hold more oxygen. This is really important in forced induction engines since, if you follow Boyles law you would know that as you compress a gas, it heats up.

Supercharged (or turbo) engines can benefit from less restrictive exhausts, but you can experience the same loss of torque as in a normally aspirated engine, so it depends on what you want more of - torque or horsepower?

If you are serious about increasing power, you need to worry about custom ECU fuel maps, larger injectors, smaller pulley, and lot's of dyno work to tune and keep you from blowing your engine up.

There is no such thing as easy power

Yes! I know Corky personally. Genius!! Great reference!

"Is it really logical? More air with the appropriate amount of fuel would equal more power - there isn't "extra fuel" - the ECU is tuned to inject the appropriate amount of fuel for the amount of air. That's what the fuel maps are about."

I have a little bit of a problem with the above statement. Specifically the part about the ecu being tuned to inject the appropriate amount of fuel.

Manufacturers normally tune for what they consider "Safe" and emmissions friendly A/F ratios. These so called "Safe" ratios can be a little too rich (too much fuel compared to the amount of air in the combustion chamber) for optimal horsepower for engine configuration.

There is normally some performance left on the table in factory vehicles when it comes to Air Fuel ratios. Modding with CAI, exhaust, supercharger pulley will not change the fuel air ratio. However they will have an effect on performance. To adjust the ECU so it allows a little more or a little less fuel in the mix you will need some form of fuel controller as mentioned above and various guages that will tell you how the engine reacts to your manipulation of the mix.

Take some time to gain some more knowledge about each of the upgrade items you mentioned above and understand their individual effect on your motor. Then seek to understand how they will work together for an even greater effect.

Brad

Actually he said "appropriate amount of fuel"

Thanks for spotting that. Edited post.