What is the difference between supercharge and turbo charge engines?
Both increase the pressure and therefore density of the air entering the engine.
This increases the power the engine can deliver.
A supercharger is an air pump, normally driven off the crankshaft, which rotates at a fixed ratio of the engine speed. These consume considerable power that the engine must supply.
A turbocharger is a turbine, driven by the engine exhaust gases. This rotates faster as engine speed increases as there is no mechanical connection, the ratio of engine speed to turbo speed is not constant.
The turbine drives an air compressor that pumps air into the engine. Turbo's absorb much less power than superchargers, as they utilise energy which would otherwise be lost in the exhaust, but initially they suffered from 'turbo lag' - a lack of response to accelerator demand because the turbocharger needed time to increase speed and deliver higher inlet pressures.
The maximum rotational speed of a turbo is very high, and can be in excess of 100,000 RPM. Modern electronic engine management systems have improved the response and drive ability of turbo systems.