The concept in turbo and supercharging are basically the same: forcing
air into the combustion chamber, which speeds up the compression burning
process resulting in faster revolution of the motor. The difference actually
has its pros and cons. The basic difference is the way the compressor is
powered to spool air. In a supercharger, the compressor is driven by the
crankshaft pulley. The faster the motor is turning, the more air is being
forced. The good part about this is that there's no "lag." Forced induction
begins right when the car is started. The con is that the supercharger
puts out as much power as the motor can turn. In a turbocharger, the compressor
is driven from the exhaust. Once exhaust gases leave the exhaust manifold,
it re-circulates into the turbine which spins the compressor. An advantage
of a turbo is that it's not as limited; the more exhaust pushed through,
the faster the compressor. The con is that it takes a good amount of exhaust
air to spin the turbine to catch up to the amount of air needed to start
off. Since there's no straight breathing of the motor, it relies on the
turbo to feed it air. This is when the turbo "lags."