So I've searched everywhere for an answer to this, but I can't come up with anything.. As far as I can tell roots and twin screws have the same pros but the roots has more cons. The main one being very high heat.. So why ever use a roots?. What does a roots offer that a twin screw doesn't? I would think there has to be something since they are still being made and people are still buying them, and they are used in extreme drag racing.
I've had A LOT of supercharged vehicles through the years and have used Centrifugal, Roots, & Twin Screw. The main difference between Roots & Twin Screw is Roots act like air pumps (not compressors) and Twin Screw have a axial-flow design and act as Compressors (not air pumps)
Roots create much less heat because they will almost always come oem with a Water to Air Intercooler. Twin Screw can be ran without intercoolers but they do create a lot of heat (mostly because people go much bigger when they switch from a oem roots to an aftermarket Twin.
I've found the Roots are INSTANT power from the crack of the throttle but boost tends to drop off at high rpms (sometimes they will actually fall on their face). Since your usually going bigger Liters with Twin Screw they will make a lot more power and at lower boost levels and lower timing levels, so most find them much more efficient overall.
I've run
(4) Eaton M112 Roots (112 cu in 1.8Liter)
Roush M112 Roots
Kenne Bell 2.2L Blowzilla Twin Screw
Whipple 2.3L Twin Screw
Kenne Bell 2.3L Twin Screw
Kenne Bell 2.6L Twin Screw
Kenne Bell 2.8H Twin Screw (Race Version)
B&M 871 Roots
A good example is the 871 Supercharger, they move a MASSIVE amount of air, I believe it's equal to 436 cubic inch. Because it's so big you only need to run very small boost levels to make massive HP. I've run 20 - 25lbs on all my Roots Superchargers but on Twin screw usually I run 15-18 lbs. On the 871 Roots I ran only 8lbs but made close to 1000 RWHP on a Solid Roller 502 in my old Pro Street Sierra.
In my opinion NOTHING is nicer than a 871 Roots Supercharger but make no mistake THEY ARE HUGE
My Old Sierra
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