[Daniel]

I've only being in one supercharged car, and that is the C230 Kompressor of my brother. If all supercharger sounded like that, especially the TRD one, then no way in hell am I buying that thing, even if it give me over 300hp. I like the quietness of the car, and this is what most Lexus buyers like. One advantage Lexus car (except the IS I think) has over any of its competitors is that its cars are always quieter, and I like that.

 

[Daniel]

I guess you haven't heard the supercharger in those C230 engines. They sounded like a diesel car, very very loud. If it is a sound like turbo, then I don't mind since the only annoy part is that little whine you hear when you don't have other noise. Supercharger on the other hand, usually generate more noise than turbo, so I am more reluctant to go into it. Plus the fact that they are harder to tune then turbo. With a turbo system, I can just throw in my EVC IV I have sitting in my room and go to higher boost by just a click of the bottom, whereas with Supercharger you will have to change pulley and other mechanical parts.

 

[Daniel]

trust me, it is loud, really really loud.
As far as turbo and supercharger goes, here is some basic. Turbocharger contains a compressor and a turbine, the turbine is driven by the exhaust flow and in term spins the compressor (like a turbojet). The speed the compressor/turbine spins dictates how much boost you are inputing into your engine, so by controlling the amount of exhaust used to spin the turbine can essentially control the speed of the compressor which controls the boost. The wastegate is used to regulate how much exhaust is used to spin the turbine, and with a boost controller such as EVC IV, it will trick the wastegate into allowing more flow to the turbine (I am not going to go into the detail on how boost controller works), therefore more boost with a touch of a button.
On the other hand, a supercharger is driven by a pulley system connecting to your crank. To increase boost you need to increase the speed of the compressor, and to do that you will need to the pulley on your supercharger so it will get more rpm per crank rpm. Unless someone develops a variable pulley system, like VVTI-L or VTECH, there will be no way to change the boost of the supercharger by pushing a few buttons inside your ****pit.

 

[Daniel]

thanks for clearing that up. I am pretty surprise that MB didn't do anything to make that engine sound better, it is just awful noise.
Hopefully TRD uses something that will keep the supercharger quieter if they do ever decide to sell one. If that is the case, then I may think about getting one.