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SUPERCHARGING THE TECHNOLOGY
Supercharging has been around since the early 1900’s and has its origins in the aircraft industry, more particularly fighter aircraft including the 27 litre V12 Merlin engines in the famous Spitfire. 
The problem with the higher altitudes and performance of the fighter planes was diminishing air density at high altitude and as such performance was severely affected. Solution....Supercharge the engines, which allows for cruising at higher altitudes with no drop off in engine performance. Of course we are not saying that Supercharging won the war it was just one of the many developments that translated into the world after the war finished.
The development of Supercharging in Automotive applications has seen the acceptance of the technology increase significantly in the past 15 years with many OEM applications. The technology has emissions and performance benefits, which have become more significant in today’s motor vehicles.
 Supercharging and more particularly, positive displacement, screw type superchargers are considered the most efficient with intermeshing rotors displacing a set amount of charge air from the air inlet system to the discharge port with each rotation of the twin helical screw rotors. The Supercharger is driven by the crankshaft and as such is matched very consistently to the engine, with the benefit of immediate boost delivered as and when required by the driver. The screw type supercharger actually compresses the air between the rotors and the housing, differentiating it from all other types. It is this feature that allows it to be more efficient than other types.
In addition to twin screw superchargers there are a number of other types; Centrifugal, which has a rotating impellor to accelerate air to high velocity, creating pressure as it backs up within the port. The Roots style blower, which will positively displace a given amount of air into the discharge port, again creating pressure in the manifold as a result of overfilling the engine.
Additionally as with all Supercharger applications boost can be eliminated to reduce load and enhance economy with a simple by-pass which diverts boost when it is not required, for example when cruising on the motorway or freeway.
It has now been established that as most car manufacturers move towards smaller engine capacities to meet demanding emissions and economy standards, that Supercharging provides one of the most effective solutions for increased performance from smaller capacity engines without the penalty of higher emissions.
The patented Sprintex Supercharger is a positive displacement unit with its patented twin-helical Rotor profile unique only to Sprintex. This allows for lower discharge temperatures and higher volumetric efficiency, which in turn assists with engine bay packaging. The Sprintex unit in low boost configuration, in most cases, will not require inter-cooling. It operates effectively in both OEM and aftermarket installations and has been the subject of many years of ongoing research and development.
Screw superchargers have long been the choice of engine builders in extreme motor sports such as Drag Racing. As an example, the Sprintex Supercharged Triumph produces 1,600 BHP from 1400cc and currently holds the Australian top speed and quarter mile records, as well as being the 2004 Australian Top Bike Champion.
Sprintex has over 25 years of dedicated Supercharger experience, from prototypes, OEM concepts and production, aftermarket and high performance installations.
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