I got a $60 boost controller and am looking at getting the MAF and MAF burner with wideband 02 sensor. Not clear exactly what all that means but somewhat. My question is with boost controllers. I saw an Apexi AVC-R contoller for $550. It was digital and sure got my vote for looks. But, for the price, how does my $60 boost **** do the same thing? Can I use the Apexi with my MAF/burner set up????? Explain to me.....

Does anyone have a boost controller similar to the Apexi....pics????

Thanks for guidance. I figure for spending the extra money for Wideband 02 sensor, I don't want to cheap out on the boost controller. Thanks.

 

The APexi is a fancy electronic controller that is supposed to give you special features, such as different boost settings in different gears, some level of monitoring and play-back, intelligent logic designed to learn your boost curve to bring on boost asap without spikes, etc. They also have a fancy electronic head-unit as you noticed. Your $60 controller (with a good wastegate) should perform just fine. As long as it hold steady boost, do you really need anything else from a controller? I doubt anyone ever lost a race because the other guy had a flashy electronic boost controller. Either kind of controller will work with a MAF, and I agree the extra money is better spent elsewhere. (The wideband O2 is really a tuning device, to help you set the air-fuel ratio without a dyno. That is a big help when tweeking these cars for more power.)

 

Somebody who doesn't know exactly what a Apexi AVC-R contoller is and what it can do for him - should never get one!

 

We've got people blowing up their engines with Tial wastegates and manual-controllers... Add a programmable, speed/gear/RPM-based boost-controller to the mix and you're just asking for trouble, eh?

 

I am using tial WG and manual- controler and my motor has not blown up also using after market boost gauge.

 

A manual boost controller will never have as good or as quick boost response as an electronic boost controller, especially a good one. The manual boost controller just restricts the boost signal from helping the wastegate open until the boost level is higher, whereas a good electronic boost control swings the boost signal between 2 ports on the wastegate so it's actually actively holding the gate SHUT until boost is reached, then it flips the signal to the other port to quickly help the gate OPEN.

Follow the directions, think logically, and you're not going to blow up your engine hooking up improperly. Now, for interfacing with your MAF software, first you set your desired boost with the EBC, and then you tune the a/f ratio using your MAF tuner to get to your desired a/f ratio.

Sam

 

Thank you all! Sam Lin, the tuning part was my biggest concern. Great feedback. It's sure a lot of money vs the boos **** in my book still after reading your posts above.

 

The Blitz SBC-iD is my first choice for ebc, the AVC-R second - however, there are plenty of ebcs for between 100 and 200 that will get you into the advantages of an ebc for cheap, while giving 90% the performance of a fancy $500 ebc.

Sam

 

Any feedback on the Afterburner set up? LR sells this which allows you to have two BC settings. You can press a button on the steering wheel allowing for short bursts of higher psi for those hard to pass areas.

 

I think it's overpriced for what it is - all it is is 2 manual boost controllers and an electric solenoid to switch between them. Especially at that price I'd definitely go with an EBC with 2 settings - nearly all EBCs have them now. If you really want manual and 2 settings, BoostSciences sells manual boost controllers and solenoids, for about 125 in parts you'll have something that will work identical to the Afterburner.

You need to be careful with fueling with 2 settings - unless your engine management can scale with boost (like the Link), you'll only have one tune to run off of, meaning you're either too rich at low boost and perfect at high boost, or too lean at high boost and perfect at low boost.

Sam

 

Oh, btw, from a fellow Vette owner, <wave>

Sam

 

The system offers switchable wiring setup to automatically switch to a TUNE 2 map if you hook up these wires or you can select Tune1 or Tune2 if so inclined from the laptop. The purple and black wires are for the switchable maps.

I have the system and so far I'm very please with it, Stage II MAF with Mafterburner. I think one of the best features is the ability to input WBO2, data log the runs, then save it to put into an MS Excel file and look at the data. Clock your MAF between 9 and 10 oclock for the easiest tuning. If you put the metering device on top, hell to tune. I had to add quite a bit more fuel than Dave at idle, with regards to the start up file.

 

The Profec B, original version, falls into this category. I replaced my Profec B with the Apexi, but liked the Profec B so much better that I reinstalled it and stuck the APexi on a shelf in the garage.

 

Sam Lin and Ski

Great explanations and info.....especially pics. I hate being on the low end of the learning curve with all this turbo stuff. Okay, so my idea of the Afterburner is a waste.....especially if I can get an EBC to do the trick. But, without "Link" I am risking it all. Wow! Which one of you do I owe the $$$$$ to? Thanks!

 

No, without Link engine management you're totally fine - that's what Ski is showing - with Mafterburner, you have 2 maps to choose from, so you can switch between high and low boost and have perfect a/f on each.

The Link mapping method looks at boost as a variable, so it doesn't need different maps to be selected, it scales fuel with boost, so whatever boost you run it automatically correlates.

What NZ951 is driving at is that you're paying 1.5k or so for Mafterburner plus MAF from Lindsey, and for about 2k, you can get the Link2 standalone engine management, plugs right in.

Sam