Boost Control

[snowdog]

Trying to see what people are running and why. Trying to understand pros and cons. I planned on a manual boost controller however my tuner said he is against them (boost spike). I would love for the community to weigh in.


Manual boost control


Electronic boost control


No boost control


Other

[go_a_way1]

Do you really need a boost controller?? I am not going to be running one as I am only running 10psi

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

Do you really need a boost controller?? I am not going to be running one as I am only running 10psi

Do you really need a forced induction?? I'm am not going to be running one as I am only running naturally aspirated.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by JoeC

Do you really need a forced induction?? I'm am not going to be running one as I am only running naturally aspirated.

hahaha no I don't I love the car in NA form to be honest. I just ran out of other things to do to the car so that's next on the list followed by a BBK eventually but spending like 6 grand on brakes is a bit hard to swallow.

[Tectoniic]

This seems to be one of those things were people have no problem spending the money on the turbo kit and then try to cheap out on supporting mods.

The electronic one is going to be more precise, don't skimp out here.

[cdrazic93]

http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/09/...rol-questions/

Age old question, which is more reliable – an electronic boost controller or a manual boost controller, and why?

Turbosmart: It depends on what you are referring to in terms of reliability; boost control reliability or functional reliability. In terms of boost control reliability, an electronic boost controller has its advantages in its ability to maintain a reliable boost curve and include safety measures – such over boost shut down and warning alarms. Electronic boost controllers are also installed in a fashion so in the case of an electrical fault, the solenoid remains in a state which reverts boost pressure back to the actuator spring pressure. A manual boost controller does not have as much scope to tune the boost curve, but has better functional reliability as there are no moving parts and there is no requirement for power – meaning there is very little to go wrong. One thing to note with any turbocharged car (is that) there always needs to be an ECU based boost cut or engine protection measure, in case of a mechanical failure to the wastegate (or pneumatic lines to the wastegate) which can cause overboost situations outside the boost controller’s ability to manage.

[scmil95eg]

Originally Posted by snowdog

Manual boost control
Cheap, cheap, cheap, crude, inconsistent, no failsafe, but will add pressure to a WG spring for ~$50.

Electronic boost control
Stand-alone & programmable - so even if you're not a tuner or if you don't mess w/engine management, you can still adjust boost, set multiple boost curves/hp levels switchable on the fly, max boost warnings/cuts, gauge display, etc. I hope it goes without saying it's a lot more accurate & repeatable.

No boost control
What, like run a 6psi wg spring and call it a day? Have fun with that...

Other
The only "other" I'm aware of would be through your engine management. The "pros" would be similar to EBCs, the "cons" are: you'll need a laptop, software, comm. cable, and be familiar with the boost control strategies of your EMS (and corresponding trims).

Personally, even though I could do boost management through the EMS in my Evo, I choose to run a EVC6 so all boost control is completely separate from the management. This allows me to make changes or switch my A, B, & C boost settings (300, 330, & 380whp) on the fly with 1 finger, no laptops, no reflashing, no keying off/keying on (which I couldn't do via. EMS). + I have a boost warning set for 26.5 psi with a 2 psi drop if I ever exceed that for any reason/condition (which I couldn't do via EMS) so I'm never worried about flat-footing it when the need/desire arises. And the display is way cooler than a typical boost gauge.

[weederr33]

My pulley is my boost control

[armstrom]

This is a fairly common mistake that people make when trying to extract maximum performance out of a turbo installation. Just running wastegate pressure only is perfectly acceptable but you will be leaving a little bit of performance on the table. It's important to understand how wastegates work. I won't go into a lot of depth here but the TL;DR is that the wastegate actuator will partially open several PSI before it reaches the equilibrium pressure it is designed for. This will slow the rate at which the turbine spools, making it take longer to build boost. If you use an electronic boost controller with a solenoid valve that blocks the boost pressure from getting into the wastegate until target pressure is reached the turbo will spool faster. How much faster? Is it worth the cost? that all depends and is a much longer discussion.

If I wanted to run 10PSI of boost I would opt for a lower pressure wastegate actuator (say 5-7PSI) and pair it with a nice EBC for maximum spool.. but that's just me.
Edit: Most FA20 builds can't run enough boost/make enough power to justify an external wastegate but there are some interesting "upgraded" internal gate actuators that have both an upper and lower port which is really the BEST way to control boost with an EBC... Just blocking boost to a single port can only get you so far and you will still get the gate creeping open before your set point. A two port actuatator allows you to use boost to FORCE the wastegate to stay closed until you want it to open, regardless of the spring strength.
-Matt

[snowdog]

Lot of good comments on the EBC. Any strong supporters of MBC? or wastegate only?

[nickw14]

EBC's can do a lot more than mechanical controllers (obviously). The TruBoost for instance allows you to set alarms, has auxiliary outputs that are triggered for certain conditions (e.g. an alarm output, triggered when the alarm goes off) that can be wired to whatever you want... It allows you to set the "spring pressure", which can help you improve spool time (and/or overboost, be careful).

As mentioned, it has fail-safes in place if something does go wrong. I would recommend getting an electronic controller. Save yourself the hassle of running line from your engine bay into the cabin of your car and back out to the engine bay (manual controller).