Apexi Power F C Boost Control Kit

[Birds]

So what's the go with these, pros/cons of using these with a PowerFC? Seems to me the compatability with a PowerFC would make for ease of install and tuning? Or is this just gimmicked by Apexi?

Are they operated using the hand controller or do they have their own controller/switch/knob?

Are there better options out there? They seem to be priced similarly to most reputable dual stage boost controllers.

Cheers.

[Piggaz]

Its all done VIA the hand controller.

I scrapped it and went and got myself a Blitz Duel solenoid item. Much much better. The FC unit only controls the duty.. not the gain. Much better controllers out there.

[TiTAN]

convenient in that they just plug directly into the ecu and are controlled by the hand controller, it is essentially the apexi AVCR solenoid. you then get the boost control functionality in the powerfc, setup wise you just tell the powerfc what boost pressure (in bar) you want to run and it does the rest for you.

the downside being if you want to run more boost than the map sensor it is bundled with can read it wont let you do it, if someone has one installed and can check (i used to have one when i had a powerfc but never bothered to check as it was only the stock turbo) what the max boost it allows you to set is. keeping in mind if you plan to run more than that you need something else instead.

[paulr33]

it runs the same solenoid as the AVC-R kit, but a different map sensor

the map sensor in the powerfc boost kit is rated to 2.3kgcm2, but be sure to note that vacuum and positive pressure, so it peaks at 1.3kcm2

most map sensors when they quote rated to or max pressure usually only quote them as single rating, ie most people say ive got 2 bar map sensor, which actually means 1 bar positive boost and 1 bar negative boost (aka vacuum).

the kit is a loom, solneoid (same as AVC-R) and a map sensor (different to AVC-R) - its a generic denso map sensor

you re-use your cars existing boost soelnoid wires (GTST has them) and you plug the supplied solenoid into that

you run the map sensor in the back of the plenum like the factory gauge and then set on the hand controller target boost you want and duty cycle

it's a set and forget unit and that's all you need to do. there is no gear judge or gain.

when you enable the boost kit and connect it up

BOST sensor is enabled under ETC, SENSOR SW CHECK

BOOST is displayed under MONITOR

boost correction is used on the maps for fuel correction and temp (ie back out timing on boost etc) - im not %100 sure how all this works

fuel cut if boost exceeds target by 0.25kcm2

boost logging enabled in datalogit

so if you have your boost set to 0.85kgcm2 and your vac line is mangled or something fails and you run unlimited boost

the powerfc will see boost fly past it's target and cut fuel at 1.0kgcm2 as std protection

this will make the engine stall and you will go hmm why did the car stall

other controlls may beep and flash and some controllers won't do anything

neither will cut fuel unless you manually wired it in that way

i had the HKS EVC before the boost control kit and got rid of it as it had a fault

the HKS EVC was alright, messy wiring (installers fault) but the rest was OK

the powerfc kit install is easier, quicker and more nicer (less junk and wires) and its all via the same interface

did you know you can actually wire up the map sensor by itself without having the actual boost kit

so you can buy the loom seperately and the map sensor (must be the same) and plug it in and boost will be displayed

i did this on my car originally, ditched the EVC and then brought the solenoid

so i never brought mine as a kit, just as parts seperately - it was also cheaper in seperate parts (go figure)

[Birds]

Thanks for the info guys, very detailed response Paul and I'm glad you've had experience with both the PFC kit and a well known alternative. Is gain control really worth it? I'm minimalist when it comes to in cabin electronics so if I can do a two birds with one stone thing by having hand controller run the boost then I don't have to find a place for an electronic boost controller to sit.

What is the PFC boost kit MAP sensor rated to in psi? About 18?

[TiTAN]

1.3kg = 19psi

[paulr33]

yep, it's bang on 1.3kgcm2 of positive boost pressure

anything past that and i suspect it will cap it's voltage range and won't show past 1.3kgcm2

i believe and this is my understanding only (dont hate the player, hate the game) that gian control/gear judge are really for poor mans traction control

that is, stomp the throttle and depending on criteria ramp slowly to target instead of instantly or non-linear, that is, fixed duty, regardless

vs a fixed gain cycle regardless of road speed, pressure, RPM etc

for most applications i assume std duty is OK?

this is my assumption, i think gain / scramble / gear judge is required for misbehaving wastegates, actuators and non-linear turbochargers?

ie lightswitch style or turbochargers with mega size rear's that output mega rwkw

[Birds]

Ahhh, 19psi should be plenty for now.

Makes sense to me...I'm with you...I like the throttle to be my traction control. I like static functionality so that the human can be the dynamic when change is needed.

[paulr33]

if you want next meeting ill show you it in my car

it's pretty basic and not much to it, set and forget

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

if you're saying it only reads up to 1.3 bar, I see readings of 1.42 bar on mine when it spikes... I have my boost set at 1.3 bar and my duty cycle at 62, so initial boost hits harder, but also spikes a tad then falls back to 1.3 bar.

I believe it reads much higher than 1.3 bar, if not it would have just maxed out and read only 1.3 bar all the time. I once accidentally set the boost on 1.4 bar and and it spiked all the way to like 1.49 bar.

So yeah

[paulr33]

nevermind, i am stupidhead, you are correct, when you use the powerfc boost control kit it can read upto 2kgcm2 boost

its only in the english FC Rx7 maunal it caps at 1.2kcm2 as it retains the factory sensor

i made the error of assuming it was the same map sensor used in all kits (it's not)

so yeah peak boost of 2kgcm2

[89CAL]

I like my PFC Boost control kit

Mines been tuned at 12psi with the kit, I havent touched it in ages and it always hits boost the same and holds the same. One of these days i might have a play with one of the empty boost settings to see if I can get boost to come on harder but overall I like it

Purely because I dont have an extra thing in my dash, its consistant and you still get 4 boost settings if you really want to have all 4

I get what people say about it not being as feature packed as some of the others out there but for basic users it is a good controller I think. The only thing is its a bit of a pain to set at first, but once you work out whats what its alright

[Birds]

if you want next meeting ill show you it in my car

it's pretty basic and not much to it, set and forget

Offer accepted! You coming to the one on Tuesday week?

It really does sound like what I'm looking for.

Thanks all.

[paulr33]

yeah i should be there tuesday

oh and forgoet you get 4 boost profiles

so you can set boost to say 0.80kgcm2 with 60 gain as profile #1, then profile #2 you can have 0.85kgcm2 and 70 gain

ie you can have "switchable" boost if you want to run different boost settings

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I wonder why Apex'i decided to put 4 in there, really you would need maybe 3 max?

1 - tight arse fuel saving boost say the minimal

2 - slightly higher boost, but not what your car is tuned at for warmer days

3 - for cooler days, etc..

[paulr33]

no idea, i guess they had the space on the screen, why not use it haha

[Adriano]

So what is required to fit boost control to a d-jetro, just the soleniod? Can i use a mac valve i wonder?

[paulr33]

im not sure, but have wondered, logic says it should re-use the same map sensor signal automatically

but i bet on Djetro if you do MONITOR, 1 CHANNEL, BOOST, does it display boost pressure (aka manifold pressure)?

if so, then all you need is the solenoid and the solenoid harness