Banjo Bolt/Wastegate
 

Those of you with APE Stage 2 chips and non stock/modified wastegates. Are you running with APE Banjo Bolt or Stock Banjo Bolt ?

Would appreciate any information/opinions

Thanks.

If you are running a shimmed waste gate then you can not run the banjo bolt at the same time. I would run the banjo bolt with the chips since them have been programed to that level of boost.

I should have also included those with adjustable boost control devices. Thanks.

Eugene.

Eugene,

I would guess that as you are running a modified Wastegate, It's going to be able to allow more boost. In theory, if you close off the air thats getting to the wastegate, you can't run full boost! Add a boost enhancer in your system, and you won't be sorry!!

Uhh... it's the other way around. If you close off all the air that's going to your wastegate, even the stock one, your boost will go through the roof (21-25psi+) and you'll detonate your engine to death within seconds. This is actually one of the tests for a failed wastegate, which is to clamp shut the vacumn line going to it and SLOWLY drive it with increasing throttle. Boost should build much quicker and higher than boost (don't floor it).

Best bang-for-the-buck value is to shim your wastegate yourself and use an adjustable boost controller. That's because even with the APE banjo-bolt restrictor, the weak spring the in stock wastegate will bleed off boost at high-rpm. With the stock turbos, you lose boost at high-rpm due to maxing out the turbo anyway, so you want to extract the most out of your wastegate as possible.

How does one shim the wastegate spring?

Justin

Piece of cake. Just add some washers under the wastegate diaphram. First you have to remove the wastegate from the car:

Shimming the wastegate is a simple matter of prying the diaphram upwards with a chisel or screwdriver (after undoing the 3 allen-head bolts). Then slipping in three 3.5mm washers (one per bolt). If you can't find 3.5mm washers, you can make up 3 stacks of washers (make sure they all add up to same thickness). Then put the bolts back on and put the wastegate back on the car, that's it!.

The increased spring preload should allow the wastegate to hold the set boost to redline now (exhaust pressure won't force the wastegate open on its own). But this is provided that your turbo doesn't run out of steam first.
http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/ShimmedWastegate.jpg