Centrifugal Supercharger
The Raptor supercharger essentially operates like a high speed fan (driven by belt from crankshaft) propeller / impeller, sucking air into the center of the supercharger and pushing it to the outside of the rapidly spinning (44,000 + rpm) impeller blades. The air naturally travels to the outside of the blades because of its centrifugal force created by its rotating inertia. At the outside of the blades, a “scroll” is waiting to catch the air molecules. Just before entering the scroll, the air molecules are forced to travel through a venturi, which creates the internal compression. As the air travels around the scroll, the diameter of the scroll increases, which slows the velocity of the air, but further increases its pressure.
The centrifugal supercharger enjoys several advantageous characteristics that make it the most popular supercharger design in the aftermarket world. First, it is simple and reliable because it has very few moving parts – just a couple of pulleys and the impeller. Second, the centrifugal supercharger produces very little heat because of its internal compression ratio. It is also small in size and very versatile because it can “free-wheel” and allow the engine to suck air through it or even flow air backwards. For this reason it can be placed anywhere in the intake tract – it can even “blow through” the throttle body, meaning it can be mounted nearly anywhere. It is also the most thermally efficient supercharger, meaning that it produces the lowest discharge temperature.
Raptor centrifugal superchargers have a self-lubricating system, no oil is needed from the engine. Due to this feature Raptor supercharger systems are very easy to fit and the supercharger is virtually maintenance free.
Raptor superchargers benefit the entire RPM range of your engine, improved low, mid range with excellent top end power increases.