Ok, I've noticed people asking how much boost to use in certain races on this site. What are the advantages/disadvantages to using more/less boost? Why don't you just use as much boost as possible all the time? Is this all done through a boost controller?

 

im not an expert, but yes itd be through a boost controller set to a higher point. and a reason you wouldnt would be gas, and or wear and tear. im sure someone will fix it if i said anything wrong or can help you more

 

Your turbo is like an air compressor. As it spools, it collects air and pressurizes it. The more pressurized air you cram into a cylinder head to be be ignited, the more power you'll make. This referred to boost, the measure of compressed air.

Now the more boost you run (i.e. 18lbs), the hotter the turbo and engine get. This will lead to premature wear. It also takes more time to spool/pressurize air (i.e. collect more boost). It's not always a good idea to run high boost because it does not provide adequate power during lower speeds.

This is just a REALLY brief explanation. Check out the tech reference pages...these communities usually have them for noobs to check out. You'll find answers to 98% of all your questions there.

Speaking of boost, I've got a brand new/never installed HKS EVC 5 for sale. It's the usdm version. Willing to ship it anywhere in the U.S. for $385

 

Im going to add something to sixtoo's great post . If you do run higher boost at all times and you drive like a mad man, chances are your going to kill yourself . Yes some of it is done through boost controllers, although there are manuel boost controllers that sell for $65.00 . I would not recommend that if you don't know what your doing. Manuel is basically (if think) you install it and you rotate it to increase boost and visa versa. Correct me if im wrong.

 

When you boost more, you send more air intot he engine, thus you need more fuel as well otherwise the car will be too lean and cause damage, but there is always a limit to how much boost you may run on pump gas without blowing hot air into the engine, which does not really give u much power increase. thus race gas is needed in order to run higher boost and is much safer to prevent detonation in the engine.

 

Cool, thanks guys- I'm learning alot here!

 

i run 21 psi all the time, but i don't drive too much, when im on the inerstate i sun 12 psi to save gas, its not bad to run high boost all the time, you just burn fuel like a mad man!

 

and another thing to add, your car wont run to lean, All DSM's run way to rich out of the factory... And these are egines that are ment for thrashing!

 

Well in general when you raise the boost to something like 30 psi, fuel is obviously needed. I read here on the forum that some people by just putting an open filter for an intake messes with the mass air flow sensor, so if u do that and try to raise the boost, it could cause knock. Go to www.howthingswork.com and search for turbochargers, there is a lot of great info on there that makes it very easy to understand how a turbocharger works with an internal combustion engine.

 

High boost doesn't kill your engine, heat and detonation do. With the right turbo set-up you can run 30 lbs all day long in a 4g63.

Don't mess with the boost yourself. Find a good tuner and go with their recipe or you'll end up with some expensive ashtrays. And I've watched a motor blow with an HKS EVC. This stuff isn't for a novice unless you've got lots of bling and don't care.