DIY boost controller /boost gauge

[steveNZ]

Having a few days left till i have to return to work i have decided to have a go at making my own boost controller

Got some good ideas on controller from searching the web, being a turbo novice ive got some questions regarding boost gauges, I am presuming a boost gauge is simply a air pressure gauge?

Secondly as i have no inter cooler what would be the max recommended level of boost for my 4jb1t and dose this boost have to measured with engine under load or simply revving engine up

as always info greatly appreciated

regards

Steve

[steveNZ]

one more thing do i need to test from the inlet manifold or from the pipe that runs to the wastegate controller

[wbski007]

Boost must be done under load Steve, just reving the motor won't give you a true reading,15 LBS is about all you can hope for, which is good, I'm running about 14LBS and yes, all a boost gauge is a down sized air pressure gauge. Do your test at the intake or pipe leading from turbo to intake.

[wbski007]

this where I have mine steve, tapped into my intercooler, its the white plastic one the other metal line is for my intercooler temp gauge.

[98Rodeo]

Why not jsut buy a boost controller off ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Turbotech-manual ... 335e98a59b
i bought this one, easy to use, just plumb it into the actuator line after the boost gauge and set it at the appropriate boost, had mine running at 12psi for a while now and takes the spike out a little

[geeves]

Dont reinvent the wheel with the boost guage. Repco have cheap ones for sale that work well.

[steveNZ]

Thanks Wayne

Started off today with doing a pressure test on system had a huge amount of air escaping from the cold start choke between turbo and manifold

catch can 019 (Small).jpg

Decided best thing to do was remove the mechanism from it housing and block off the holes as i have never needed the cold start feature even when its been -8

catch can 023 (Small).jpg

Retested the system and no leaks

moved on to boost controller had seen 2 or 3 different ideas online went with this one.

catch can 028 (Small).jpg

quick trip to the nz-hosed and i had the bits

catch can 037 (Small).jpg

Took a bit of experimentation to get the spring length close to correct first i plugged it on air compressor set to approximately 12psi tuned the valve to release around there, only did a small trial on truck its self, I was able to increase power a bit and decrease back to normal, so the theory works

Decided to leave it off truck until i can get access to a boost gauge to test it properly think the gauge will have to wait a few weeks as money a bit short now

Will be interesting to see how well it works when setup with proper gauge

Will let you all know

Steve

[wbski007]

Steve, I have a boost gauge that I'll never use, a friend gave it to me and as I already have one, you can have it, send me your address on private message and I'll post it rite off to ya, call it a early Christmas present, I was wondering what to get you anyway

[steveNZ]

Thanks Wayne
Will pm now

[steveNZ]

OK should have boost gauge this week so got a question
If i run at say 14 psi not having a inter-cooler am i going to have to worry about my EGT getting to high ?

[geeves]

I dont know how much an intercooler affects egt. If anything its likely to run cooler without one. The reason for this and it will cause much discussion is that the mass of air that you actually get into the cylinder is less without an intercooler for any given pressure. This is due to the higher intake temp. Also the EGT is a function of fuel burned so unless you increase the fuel the EGT is unlikely to change.

[steveNZ]

Thanks Alan
I see the theory behind this now, obviously i have tweek'd my fuel pump a bit but not to level of excessive black smoke
Still a bit curious as to with a standard turbo RHB5 boosted to 14 psi, none EGR inlet manifold, standard air filter and standard exhaust system if i am in danger of over heating things,
I understand that if you are upgrading turbo better air supply and a bigger bore exhaust you can burn a lot more fuel and therefore over heat things
Trying to avoid any unnecessary damage

[turnturn]

You can actually get a combined EGT/Boost gauge. I have seem them on the net before. I'll try and find the site again and post.

[turnturn]

Found some.
http://www.westach.com/gauge_images/3C86T14.jpg
There is also another style of the same combination of gauge on this site but I cant find an image I can post a link to.

Here's another.
http://www.mcnallyelectronics.com/boost_psi_egt.htm

[steveNZ]

Thanks turnturn

[Caboolture]

Thanks Wayne

Started off today with doing a pressure test on system had a huge amount of air escaping from the cold start choke between turbo and manifold

catch can 019 (Small).jpg

Decided best thing to do was remove the mechanism from it housing and block off the holes as i have never needed the cold start feature even when its been -8

catch can 023 (Small).jpg

Retested the system and no leaks

moved on to boost controller had seen 2 or 3 different ideas online went with this one.

catch can 028 (Small).jpg

quick trip to the nz-hosed and i had the bits


Hello how did you pressure test your system? Cheers Peter

catch can 037 (Small).jpg

Took a bit of experimentation to get the spring length close to correct first i plugged it on air compressor set to approximately 12psi tuned the valve to release around there, only did a small trial on truck its self, I was able to increase power a bit and decrease back to normal, so the theory works

Decided to leave it off truck until i can get access to a boost gauge to test it properly think the gauge will have to wait a few weeks as money a bit short now

Will be interesting to see how well it works when setup with proper gauge

Will let you all know

Steve

[Caboolture]

Hello how do you pressure test the system? Cheers Peter

[steveNZ]

Hi
First i sealed off the pipe that feeds the turbo from the air filter i found a can the right size to block it off and jubilee clipped it so from just before the turbo to the engine was sealed
Then i removed the pipe that runs from the manifold to the boost compensator on top of the fuel pump
modified a pipe from my air compressor to attach to the manifold ware the boost compensator pipe fitted
only filled my air compressor with about 10 psi opened the valve and listened for leaks also i poured washing up liquid and water over the setup so i could see any small leaks as bubbles
The leak from cold start was so bad it hissed vary loudly
This method is safe providing you don't push to much air pressure into system as that could blow a seal or gasket that's why i only used 10 psi

hope it helps

Steve

[Caboolture]

Thanks very much for that

[steveNZ]

Boost must be done under load Steve, just reving the motor won't give you a true reading,15 LBS is about all you can hope for, which is good, I'm running about 14LBS and yes, all a boost gauge is a down sized air pressure gauge. Do your test at the intake or pipe leading from turbo to intake.

Hi Wayne
You are running 14psi of boost have you had any problems with you EGT getting to high?

Steve