nickhance

Thanks Paul for the boost enhancer! I'm very happy with it and I can definately tell a difference in the car. I don't know why you were unsatisfied with the unit, however I have noticed a big difference with my car. It might just be a bigger difference since I've got the Turbo S turbo.

Anyway, on with the questions:

1. I took the car out for a spin and I was hitting 16 psi with the boost enhancer. I do plan to turn the boost back down about 3 psi, however I'm wondering if I can cause any damage by running 16psi on an otherwise stock car? [I watched the A/F meter.. I wasn't running lean at any point through the RPM range.]

2. Until I buy a MBC, is it a bad thing to control the boost of the car with the LBE?

3. My boost rolls back to about 10psi. Understanding the method in which the boost enhancer works, it is not possible to "roll back" the boost any further than what the LBE is set at.. am I right?

4. Is it legal to have a car that this much fun? ;-)

Jax951

As long as you're not running lean, I see no problems running 16psi!

Have fun!!

tazman

Just keep in mind that you don't know how accurate your A/F gauge is unless you compare it to a wide band sensor.

nickhance

Will 16 psi harm the head gasket?

I think I'm going to back off a few threads just to be safe, but it's a really hard decision to make.

More power or Knowing I'm not pushing the car too hard... I can't decide.

tazman

It isn't the amount of boost that directly damages the head gasket. The excessive heat by running lean usualy burns through it from what I have seen posted here. There was somebody here who said they ran over 20PSI of boost with a regular head gasket and had no problems.

nickhance

Do you think it's safe to trust an a/f meter without knowing how it compares to a wide band sensor?

According to my A/F meter (Sport-Comp by Autometer), I'm running pretty close to rich (it hits the first green bar). I'd much rather be rich than anywhere near lean, however it does not smell rich and there is no smoke whatsoever from the tailpipe. (No noticable smoke).

I've knocked it back to about 5 threads just to be safe. The A/F mixture has not changed since I changed the setting on the LBE or since I've installed the LBE.

Luke

when I see lean on my guage I can usually smell it too....... Or am I jsut weird? It's a faint gun powdery smell..............................

You say you're boost rolls back to 10 psi? at what rpm?

nickhance

My boost rolls back around 6000 RPM.

Once the LBE opens, if the chips attempt to roll off boost below the level the LBE is set for, it will close once again and build boost once again, will it not?

For those of you who also have the Sport-Comp gauges by autometer, what level does your car seem to run at when you're at WOT?

adrial

Boost rolls back because of the stock wastegate and because the turbo just can't flow enough to make 16psi of boost at higher rpms...nothing to do with the chips.

Danno

"Once the LBE opens, if the chips attempt to roll off boost below the level the LBE is set for, it will close once again and build boost once again, will it not?"

Also there's no feedback loop for the regulation of boost with the computers. There's only a fixed duty-cycle curve that controls the cycling-valve. With the LBE inline with the cycling-valve, the LBE will always take precedence. For example, in the lower-RPMs when the cycling valve is switching on & off to give a nice and steady boost-rise, the LBE is holding the wastegate control line shut. So the CV can cycle all it wants, but no pressure makes it to the wastegate anyway.

Paul Bloomberg

Why do you want to rev above 6K?
Paul

tazman

I was under the impression you are suppose to shoot for a 12.5:1 fuel ratio (which is all the lights on with my gauge) at WOT. With my car I got it to run at around 13.2:1 unconfirmed with a wide band sensor since the only place I can find with a dyno in my area is Penske and they don't return my phone calls.

ribs

If you have some sort of chips that aren't stock, you should be fine running 16 psi. Thats about what I run, and because the chips enrichen the fuel a bit, I never see lean on my air/fuel meter. Boost doesn't harm your headgasket, its running hot from running lean like tazman said, and also detonation. As long as you are not lean, you shouldn't see any problems. BTW, I used my LBE to crank my boost up from 13 to 16 psi, and have had no problems with boost surges, etc. My boost also rolls off at high RPMs down to 10 psi or so, too. Its the fact that you are using a tiny turbo...go for the T66!