Manual Boost Controllers

[pixel8r]

Saw these on ebay - JRD Manual Boost Controller.

It says its 'not a bleed valve' and claims 'faster turbo spool' and 'eliminates wastegate creep'.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/JRD-Boost-Controlle...1QQcmdZViewItem

Sounds like a cheap option - am tempted to get one, but would like to know people's thoughts on reliability etc.

If its claims are correct it sounds pretty good and easy.

[fergo308]

yeah,it's not a bleeder,it's a needle valve. it works by restricting the airflow to the wastegate,as opposed to a bleeder which vents off a set amount of the incoming air.

get an EBC. don't waste your time with cheap rubbish. you'll still get spiking with this thing,and they don't make the turbine spool up any faster.

Justin...

[pixel8r]

yeah,it's not a bleeder,it's a needle valve. it works by restricting the airflow to the wastegate,as opposed to a bleeder which vents off a set amount of the incoming air.

get an EBC. don't waste your time with cheap rubbish. you'll still get spiking with this thing,and they don't make the turbine spool up any faster.

Justin...

EBC's are extremely expensive. Probably wont ever end up getting one. But if I could get away with raising the boost level cheaply with one of these I'd definitely go for it.

Not sure how any boost controller could make the turbo spool faster.

Plenty of people using bleed valves - so I figure they must be fairly reliable?

When you get boost spiking - does it just keeping going up indefinitely or is there some boost limit it will hit??

I'm still using the stock solenoid (stock boost - set to high-boost mode).

[AlexCim]

I run my jaycar EBC daily (quite cheap, $75+$50+$10) and its a great little unit, highly reccomend it to anyone. Check out the jaycar thread started by SK.

Ive also run that exact manual boost controller and its a great $22 mate. If i was doing any troubleshooting and wanted to remove the EBC (like I did when I was using that BC) that little thing is great.

Holds boost great and doesnt spike or anything. I rate it

I still use the EBC daily though, the jaycar units so simple to use/great.

[fergo308]

by spiking I mean that the boost control fluctuates. you'll get a peak value of course,but don't expect it to hold it steadily.

$22 is a lot cheaper than $200 I agree,but it really depends on what you want to do. and yes,a lot of people use bleed valves,mosylt because they're lazy,they don't know any better,or because the don't want to spend the money on proper bost control. you can always afford to do things properly. you could afford to buy the car right? what difference is another few hundred dollars going to make?

if you just want a few extra pounds,go for it and use the bleeder. if you want to tune for best ,and reliable power,you need to use an ebc.

Justin...

Edited September 17, 2006 by fergo308

[pixel8r]

by spiking I mean that the boost control fluctuates. you'll get a peak value of course,but don't expect it to hold it steadily.

$22 is a lot cheaper than $200 I agree,but it really depends on what you want to do. and yes,a lot of people use bleed valves,mosylt because they're lazy,they don't know any better,or because the don't want to spend the money on proper bost control. you can always afford to do things properly. you could afford to buy the car right? what difference is another few hundred dollars going to make?

if you just want a few extra pounds,go for it and use the bleeder. if you want to tune for best ,and reliable power,you need to use an ebc.

Justin...

Thats a good call.

I agree with that - no point spending hundreds on an EBC just for an extra 5 psi boost, although it depends what the long-term plans are - and what other mods you have (to get better value from the ebc).

For the money I guess $22 is pretty good. My only worry was spiking as in overboosting. But if it doesn't do that then its something that can easily be plugged in or removed. And for that money if it didn't work well I could always remove it and return it to stock - easy.

Just out of interest - how would it compare to the stock solenoid? My stock solenoid holds 8psi boost very well. drops off a bit at higher revs but otherwise holds boost very flat across the rev range.

[AlexCim]

Well, I use my stock solenoid with my EBC which holds perfect.

mate for $22, go for it. like above, use the EBC when you are ready to tune/set a solid map (aka, wont be screwing around with the mapping all the time)

[Ska]

BAH I got an ebc too, but bought one of these off the ORIGINAL manufacturer, Mark, do a search for "$22 boost controller turbotech", and IT WAS THE BEST $35 I SPENT!!! On my R33 I had a turbosmart bleed valve and it used to spike like a mofo, so I am never buying a bleed valve ever again.

The TurboTech is a bloody good boost controller, easy to fit, no mess, no fuss, and holds boost BRILLIANTLY and the turbo definatly spools quicker.

Plus I have not had it spike EVER! goes straight to 10psi and doesnt move from that spot!

Brilliant, works great, no spike, cheap and effective! I would reckomend the JRD one mainly because it is exactly the same design as Marks, which is not an extremely complicated item either, and in that "$22 boost controller" thread most people who buy the JRD one have the same results.

So The EBC has been removed, Long Live the TurboTech Boost Controller!

If anyone wants to buy my EBC they are more than welcome to it, it is a GReddy Profec B, $200 delivered

[Ska]

Here is the thread, I read all 27 pages (at the time) before I bought mine.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...=73375&st=0

[pixel8r]

GREAT!!!

Glad everyone has had good results from this unit.

For more control over boost and more tunability I guess an EBC is the only option - but for people like me who just want the ability to raise the boost level a bit and hold it this JRD boost controller (or similar manual boost controller) sounds like the best bang for the buck.

I've already bought the thing from ebay and should receive it in a week or two.

Probably wont change the boost much for now - but will be handy if it spools quicker (?).

Now I just need an SAFC (or similar - anyone know if SAFC version1's are still useful? cheaper thats all), exhaust and fmic and i'm done.

Hoping for around 150-160awkw from my car and that will do for mods for me. Not after a race car, just a wagon with some reasonable go.

Thanks for the responses guys.

[leetom]

anyone know if powerup manual boost controller [$69 autobarn]is the same as $22 controller, easy to use safe etc,thaks leetom

[32vspecII]

EBC's are extremely expensive. Probably wont ever end up getting one. But if I could get away with raising the boost level cheaply with one of these I'd definitely go for it.

Not sure how any boost controller could make the turbo spool faster.

Plenty of people using bleed valves - so I figure they must be fairly reliable?

When you get boost spiking - does it just keeping going up indefinitely or is there some boost limit it will hit??

I'm still using the stock solenoid (stock boost - set to high-boost mode).

one may well ask what you are doing driving a 99 rs4 if you cant afford an ebc

i picked one up for 150$ on these forums , an old blitz sbc . great boost controllers.

on the stock turb a bleed valve is a waste of time , spike will mean if you set it to 12psi it will stay at 12 for some of the rev range , then spike to 15 for some of the rev range , then drop back down in the top end

as you can only run about 12psi on the stock ceramic turbo your going to have to set your bleed at 9-10 psi to cope with spikes .

do you have a full turbo back exhaust ? without it there isnt that much point bosting it up , certainly not the 2-3 psi your going to be able to raise it anyway . the exhaust will just choke any power gain your going to get . if you do change your exhaust the lack of restriction will raise your stock boost levels to about 10psi + anyway

[fcruz3r]

one may well ask what you are doing driving a 99 rs4 if you cant afford an ebc

i picked one up for 150$ on these forums , an old blitz sbc . great boost controllers.

on the stock turb a bleed valve is a waste of time , spike will mean if you set it to 12psi it will stay at 12 for some of the rev range , then spike to 15 for some of the rev range , then drop back down in the top end

as you can only run about 12psi on the stock ceramic turbo your going to have to set your bleed at 9-10 psi to cope with spikes .

do you have a full turbo back exhaust ? without it there isnt that much point bosting it up , certainly not the 2-3 psi your going to be able to raise it anyway . the exhaust will just choke any power gain your going to get . if you do change your exhaust the lack of restriction will raise your stock boost levels to about 10psi + anyway

Does this mean that boost spikes never ever happens on ebc's? I guess im asking coz I have a blitz twin solenoid boost controller for sale and i recall someone asking if it had any boost spikes....i've never installed the ebc so i wouldnt know.

[32vspecII]

no if the ebc does its job right it will hold the same boost from when it 1st comes on until the turbo runs out of puff or redline

[pixel8r]

one may well ask what you are doing driving a 99 rs4 if you cant afford an ebc

i picked one up for 150$ on these forums , an old blitz sbc . great boost controllers.

on the stock turb a bleed valve is a waste of time , spike will mean if you set it to 12psi it will stay at 12 for some of the rev range , then spike to 15 for some of the rev range , then drop back down in the top end

as you can only run about 12psi on the stock ceramic turbo your going to have to set your bleed at 9-10 psi to cope with spikes .

do you have a full turbo back exhaust ? without it there isnt that much point bosting it up , certainly not the 2-3 psi your going to be able to raise it anyway . the exhaust will just choke any power gain your going to get . if you do change your exhaust the lack of restriction will raise your stock boost levels to about 10psi + anyway

Yeah i've been thinking a bit more, now that I have the manual boost controller...I'd probably rather pay the extra for a full ebc.

They're more tunable and hold boost reliably and they usually have the ability to have 2 presets that you can switch between from inside the car.

I've now got the full 3" exhaust and it now runs 10psi. The turbo is a gt30 (ball bearing, all steel wheels) so no probs with boosting it up a bit.

Still have to put the safc on it and get it tuned but I want to put the boost controller on it at the same time and tune the boost first and then the safc to match.

Just for the record however, the manual boost controller mentioned is not a bleed valve and many people have mentioned above that they hold boost very well.

[32vspecII]

i know the 22$ needle valve thing , it is slightly better than a bleed but it is a similar thing , in terms of it uses a fixed mechanical level of restriction that doesnt change as the turbos boost characteristics change . and that means spike .

if youve got a gt30 things are a bit diferent . i would definetly get an ebc because the more you boost above the std wastegate level the more you will get spike .

what are you going to do about the factory ecu boost and air flow cuts ? the safc does not get rid of them and you will soon start to hit them if you boost your gt30 up . basically when your stock ecu senses lots of boost or lots of airflow it will cut power to the engine.

you can get your neo ecu remapped and cuts removed but when i had an auto gtt r34 neo i found it hard to find places that could do it , atleast here in wa . most aftermarket ecus wont support the auto gearbox so im afraid you cant put in a power fc or something similar.

if your stag is a (rare) manual then dont worry about it and get a power fc instead of the safc and boost up the gt30 as far as you can

[R31Nismoid]

I've used a bleeder for 4 years on all my different setups, never had a spike

Its all how you set it up really.

[pixel8r]

i know the 22$ needle valve thing , it is slightly better than a bleed but it is a similar thing , in terms of it uses a fixed mechanical level of restriction that doesnt change as the turbos boost characteristics change . and that means spike .

if youve got a gt30 things are a bit diferent . i would definetly get an ebc because the more you boost above the std wastegate level the more you will get spike .

what are you going to do about the factory ecu boost and air flow cuts ? the safc does not get rid of them and you will soon start to hit them if you boost your gt30 up . basically when your stock ecu senses lots of boost or lots of airflow it will cut power to the engine.

you can get your neo ecu remapped and cuts removed but when i had an auto gtt r34 neo i found it hard to find places that could do it , atleast here in wa . most aftermarket ecus wont support the auto gearbox so im afraid you cant put in a power fc or something similar.

if your stag is a (rare) manual then dont worry about it and get a power fc instead of the safc and boost up the gt30 as far as you can

Its an auto so pfc is a no go.

I'm not planning on boosting it high enough to get any fuel cuts etc. Just around 12-13psi should do fine I think.

Turns out the safc i have is version1 not 2 so I'll be selling it and getting a new one. Bought the current one from a member of this forum and was told that safc2 came in a v1 or v2 with same functionality but one has buttons and the other has the round knob. It is the blue screen one - but from what i've read since it looks just like a safc1 and I think i was scammed. Should be able to sell it again and recover my money.

So now i'm looking at something like a SAFC2 and AVCR. Will talk to the workshop I'm taking it to and see what they recommend first tho.

[mad082]

i use one of these controllers. the only time i've had spike was just after i put the front mount on and had the controller receiving its reading from the bov hose. took the nipple off the old cooler piping and put it onto the pipe from the turbo to the cooler and the spiking went away.

i have an rb25 and i'm running 14psi on the stock turbo (yes i know you shouldn't run them above 12, but it goes much better, and when it goes i have an excuse to get a bigger turbo). i don't get any spiking, but i do have bleed off at high rpm at WOT, but i have put this down to the turbo maxing out rather than the controller.

and i'm about to take the controller off to go to an even cheaper setup that should be more reliable again, as it won't be leaking air out of the system at all.

i can't see the point in spending hundreds off dollars on a boost controller that most people won't notice any more power from.

as for how a controller can make boost build earlier, as the boost builds the wastegate starts to creep open and is fully open by the pressure it is set to. when you put a controller like the turbotech in, its design stops prssure getting to the wastegate until a higher level, so the boost has already started builing when the wastegate starts to open.

[32vspecII]

Its an auto so pfc is a no go.

I'm not planning on boosting it high enough to get any fuel cuts etc. Just around 12-13psi should do fine I think.

Turns out the safc i have is version1 not 2 so I'll be selling it and getting a new one. Bought the current one from a member of this forum and was told that safc2 came in a v1 or v2 with same functionality but one has buttons and the other has the round knob. It is the blue screen one - but from what i've read since it looks just like a safc1 and I think i was scammed. Should be able to sell it again and recover my money.

So now i'm looking at something like a SAFC2 and AVCR. Will talk to the workshop I'm taking it to and see what they recommend first tho.

i have seen people get boost cut on the stock turbo at 13-14 psi , so with a big gt30 your going hit that earlier . lots have people have struggled with the factory limits at about 200rwkw but it does seem every car is different to a greater or lesser extent

check out your options for re-mapping the stock ECU that will get all the of limits removed and be much better than the SAFC