Dan87951

Just curious how many of us actually have electronic boost controllers installed in our cars? I'm thinking about making the plunge to a electronic controller, but I want something simple to use. Is it true that electronic boost control manages the boost better? Currently I'm having problems with my MBC spiking the boost to 16-18psi in some gears. Will this be eliminated with an electronic unit? I heard the APexi is very difficult to setup, and to get working proparly. True? Any thought or comments on the subject would be great.

Thanks
Dan
87 951 42k miles
HR Stage 3 MAF, 3" testpipe, Manual Boost controller, Huntley Racing Chips, ARC2, and autometer gauges.
87 951 200k blown oil cooler seals
Huntley Racing Chips, Manual boost controller, and Bursch 2.5" testpipe.

DanD

Apexi IS dificult to setup and learn. But, not impossible. The data logging features are somewhat lame, but get the job done. I just discovered a new data loging feature yesterday after having it for 2+ weeks. You also have to deal with where to put the glow in the dark controller. Maybe some of the other brand guys will speak-up and say theirs is 'easy'.
DanD

adrial

The lower end controllers are much easier to setup. Something like a Greddy Profec B will give you X psi boost in every gear if the car is capable of making X psi of boost in every gear.
You'll need an aftermarket boost gauge to set low and high boost levels, but after that it's "set it and forget it."

I dont have one, but this is what I have read and also what makes sense.

rage2

The Apex-i isn't hard to set up, it's the manual that's written really poorly. Totally useless manual IMO. A quick lesson in getting the Apex-i set up :

1. Set gear judge, drive in 5 gears, any speed, AVR-R will know what gear you're in based on speed vs rpm.

2. Choose Program A or B. Set target boost level (say, 1.00kg/cm3)

3. Start at a low duty, say, 50%.

4. Set to monitor the boost, then do a run in 3rd gear to redline (you'd want a highway)

5. If boost too high, lower duty. If boost too low, raise duty. Repeat step 4.

Once the target boost is close enough, the AVC-R will then set a duty curve automatically to get to your target boost level. It'll keep learning as you drive.

Final step, if you're not getting enough boost in 1st and 2nd, you can use the start duty for the individual gears and raise the initial start duty cycle to get boost to shoot up quicker, and hit your desired boost. It's a dangerous feature IMO, cause you'll overboost in those gears going uphill.

Of course, this is if you want to get the most out of the boost controller (get to max boost quicker without overboosting). You can use it in what I call "dummy mode" where you set a flat duty cycle and just get the same boost level at all rpm's (if your turbo can provide) with a small sacrafice in turbo response. That takes about 10 seconds to setup.

Hope this helps.

DanD

Rage2,
Thanks for the instruction. I'll give it a try. Nice and simple, just the way I need it..
DanD

pikey7

I went for the HKS EVC controller. Couldn't get any simpler!!

Dan87951

Thanks for the advice so far. I guess what I head is for the most part true. Thanks again.

Kierf - ¿§?

Anyone have pictures of these controllers installed in your car? Where did you put 'em? I know some of the electronic boost controllers like the AVC-R are about DIN size.

rage2

Here's some snapshots of mine :

Dan87951

Looks nice rage. Hey I just notice your car has a 180k miles on it. Does your car still have the orginal motor? My first 951 has close 200k and it doesen't even look like it. These cars hold up so well!

rage2

Thanks! Yes, my car has the original motor. It's gone through a few rebuilds though. Dealer broke timing belt, top end rebuilt (poorly) by them. Oil starvation on cylinder #2, bottom end rebuilt. Oil pumped LOOKED ok so it wasn't replaced. I just completed a full top end rebuild and refreshed the bottom end. Replaced the oil pump because there was some damage. We'll see how long this lasts =).

Honestly, if it wasn't ME that was driving this car, I doubt it'd need to be rebuilt this many times. I drive quite hard on the streets (live out in the boonies, so there's no cars on the back roads) and really hard on the track.

Dan87951

Looks like she needs a good cleaning tho Rage2? A lot of my family members (they swear by american cars) are mechanics, and they were suprised when I told them the car had 200k on it. They were like I was thinking 70-80k miles on it max. To say the least they were impressed. The things that I had to do was the engine seals, timing belt, new clutch, trans rebuilt with Guard torque biasing diff, and now new oil cooler seals. I have service records all the way back to 93', and the bottom end plus top end have never been touched. I even have the head off now for the oil cooler change out, but I'm not going to touch it because I'm curious how long this car will go without touching the insides. Ever had to replace the oil cooler seals on your's yet? The oil cooler seals sound like a common problem with 951's?! When I had the MAF, chips, and 16psi boost I ran a 13.104 @ 109mph with this car. Man it ran good can't wait to get her running again. Shes my first Porsche and I can never let her go. Shes part of the family now!! Plus I saved awhile to get her.

Kierf - ¿§?

Hmmm...that looks like its sort of in the way. Have you had any problems with it moving around? Was the mounting bracket drilled in or did you just use the sticky tape?

Dan87951

Above is a picture of my car with 200k on the clock with orginal paint, and has been driven year round in the Michigan weather since day one. She is starting to get a little cancer about 3" long on the very bottom driver side front fender near the back of the wheel.
Above is the picture of what a 200k mile Porsche interior looks like with proper care.

Above is another picture of the outside. It does take some buffing to get the paint looking this good. But not bad for a car this old been driven year round.

John H. in DC Area

I thought I'd chime in here, I've been lurking for ages. I have an HKS-EVC mounted in the glove box and I'm very happy with the unit and the mounting location. I have an EQ and a radar detector mounted under the stereo. I recently added some interior aliminum accents, including window switch surrounds, door handle surrounds, parking brake, and door locks, I'm pretty pleased with them. Hope the picture post. http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/GloveBoxEVC.jpg
http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/AlumTrim.jpg
http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/AlumTrimClose-Up.jpg

John