boost controller and gauge

[pitslayer]

i have asked sky how much it is for the following, and after being highly suprised, i might be going down the boost controller route. ive done some searching, but im not going through 500 threads.
so i have been wieghing it up, wether to go MBC or EBC. now what i have learnt, is that the MBC`s can spike horribly sometimes, where as the EBC is controlled. but the EBC is expensive, and the MBC isnt.
what i want to know, is which to buy.
a good cheap EBC-
a good cheap MBC-
a good boost gauge-

[Wodjno]

i have asked sky how much it is for the following, and after being highly suprised, i might be going down the boost controller route. ive done some searching, but im not going through 500 threads.
so i have been wieghing it up, wether to go MBC or EBC. now what i have learnt, is that the MBC`s can spike horribly sometimes, where as the EBC is controlled. but the EBC is expensive, and the MBC isnt.
what i want to know, is which to buy.
a good cheap EBC-
a good cheap MBC-
a good boost gauge-

Choice is totally yours :scholar:

[Nutter_John]

ffs Kyle , stop it , just stop it now

You have posted about problems with the vr4 on other threads with them ranging from rear cv joints to rear diff to fuel pump relay .

Look you have just bought the car why not leave it six months until you get used to driving a VR4 and then look for more power

[Wodjno]

ffs Kyle , stop it , just stop it now

You have posted about problems with the vr4 on other threads with them ranging from rear cv joints to rear diff to fuel pump relay .

Look you have just bought the car why not leave it six months until you get used to driving a VR4 and then look for more power

Ya Reckon he's FUBAR :speechles

[pitslayer]

because its my car, and i can do what i want with it/Nuuu :2thumbsup . im just asking for recomendations.
first thing im doing is sorting the noise out on the back and the fuel pump relays. as for being used to it, ive put about 2k miles on it since ive had it (whoops /lol) im used to it. if i choose to fit a boost controller and gauge then its my choice. and its not like im upping the boost dramatically, im going to 10psi, and thats it.
i just want some info, now so i can start to look out for any good deals, nothing wrong with that is there?
i want some personal experiences and comparison of what has been used and how happy people have been. ive read that some people have seen massive boost spikes, with an MBC, but i have also read that Kenneth has never had any problems with his ones.

i like to research things before i do anything to a car, all my cars i have planned out in my head when stuff is being done, whats being and how its being done.

[peter thomson]

i like to research things before i do anything to a car, all my cars i have planned out in my head when stuff is being done, whats being and how its being done.

That's what "search" is for and there is plenty of info about different types and manufacturers there. That's what I did and I'm very happy with the one I have.

[Kieran]

ive done some searching, but im not going through 500 threads....

I would if I were you - The info you're after is already there and even the seemingly irrelevant threads can throw up useful information. I know it's a ball ache but that's how the forum works - it's an eclectic resource and there's no right or wrong choice - there's good and bad to all.:scholar: As Wodj says - choice is yours.

I have to say though that without wishing to patronise you (it's your car after all) that I agree with John to some degree. Get the issues you have sorted first.


ive put about 2k miles on it since ive had it (whoops ) im used to it
I don't believe you. You've only had it since March 2nd - This would mean averaging 222 miles every single day since that date. Given that a VR-4 averages about 220ish to a tank, this would mean you'd already spent £450 in fuel alone.

You've got nothing to prove. Get a feel for it, there's no rush and there's other things you might want to consider before just wanging up the boost.

[pitslayer]

the only thing that really puts me off the mbc, is that you google it, and you got all the links, and most say, this is not a bleed valve. how can you really tell its a not a bleed valve. i dont want to buy an mbc that will ultimatly kill my engine....

if anyone needs me, i will be trawling through the search pages

[Kieran]

how can you really tell its a not a bleed valve. i dont want to buy an mbc that will ultimatly kill my engine....

This is exactly why you NEED to search. It's all there for the reading. The Library might be useful too.

[Nutter_John]

You've got nothing to prove. Get a feel for it, there's no rush and there's other things you might want to consider before just wanging up the boost.

This is the whole of my point , when i purchased my VR4 i did not upgrade the power for 7 months , but before i did i put on some brembos .

Get used to the car 2000 miles will not give you a full picture of what the car can do ,I have done nearly 62,000 miles in mine and would honestly say that i do not have 100% full knowledge of what the car can do .

[Wodjno]

I have done nearly 62,000 miles in mine and would honestly say that i do not have 100% full knowledge of what the car can do .

"STOP DRIVING LIKE A GRANNY"

/STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP /STP

[Nutter_John]

Git :P , you know what i mean

[Wodjno]

Git :P , you know what i mean

I know exactly what you mean /yes

Had my car 4 1/2 years.. And i would say i know it 99% :scholar:

But it's not thinking that i know it 100% :inquisiti That keeps Me, and It, in 1 piece /yes

Respect it :thinking: Or it won't respect you /pan

[Nutter_John]

well said Glenn and that was my point as well over confdience can kill

[pitslayer]

im not over confident in it, at the moment, im happy with my limits that i have reached with the car. i personally prefer to get into the car with a bit more power, and learn my limits in that car.
only because i can leave it months, and go yeh ill up the boost now, but then i will be completly used to the car, and up the boost, and still try and reach the same limits i was getting before. if i do it while im not use to the car, ive got a better chance of learning how it works.

so i have been looking at boost gauges, and at the moment, i just want something cheap and cheerful, im assuming this will work, as its just a boost gauge? or am i wrong?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370028926924&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX&refitem=140211947682&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&refwidgettype=osi_widget&_trksid=p284.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%252BIA%26itu%3DIA%25 2BUCI%26otn%3D4%26ps%3D42

[Kieran]

if i up the boost while i've not harnessed the power I have already got, ive got a better chance of finding out just how quickly a Legnum will go through backwards though a hedge.....

:thinking2

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with wanting more power - we all do. But I honestly think you should put your cash into maintenance and other upgrades like suspension and brakes first.

As for the gauge - If you're going that way (and a boost gauge on it's own can be useful), then get something decent. That's a very cheap looking gauge and I wouldn't rely on it reading accurately or reliably.

[pitslayer]

i will eventually be getting proper gauges, at the moment i just want an idea of what boost im putting out. wont be there to long, ive got to find somewhere out of site to mount some proper gauges.

now i have also been reading, that people are upgrading the BOV`s, which of course i will end up doing. but can the standard bov handle 10psi. the reason im querying it, is that. i have read, that the cars should put out 12psi, through the bov. now mine being the auto, will put out 7-8psi. correct?
so surely i shouldnt have to upgrade, the bov for an extra 3 psi? or am i wrong there. you guys know better

[Lillywotsername]

I have to agree with what the boys have said especially with K's last post ^^^^^

If you are seriously looking at upping power you need to look at up grading your brakes first. Legnums are heavy old beasts and you need to know that you can stop it... standard brakes just aren't up to the job imho.

Mods are great fun... but your own safety should undoubtedly come first.

Have a real good think about it Kyle.

[pitslayer]

im running EBC vented and grooved and drilled discs, with EBC red stuff pads, and i believe superblue racing brake fluid.
i do need to do a brake bleed on it though, im not happy with the pedal, its to sqaushy for my liking. my comfort in a brake pedal is one that is hard,

[Lillywotsername]

Fair enough.....

Was under the impression you were running completely standard.

[pitslayer]

no its all been done, apart from calipers, how ever im going to search for a replacement for the red stuffs, dont get me wrong there brilliant pads, just i dont use the brakes for about 5 miles, as im on a country road with hardly any traffic. and what little traffic there is, you can see. so when i end up getting to the town, the pads are still cold. but thats a different thread all together
edit: and besides that i know how quickly standard mitsi pads and discs can go wrong, and then loose there braking capabilitys

[Beastlee]

On the topic front I can heartily recommend the Profec E-01 if you can get a good price on one. A reasonable amount of setting up to get it right but very much worth it in the end. The link to an emanage blue ECU is useful as well, as is the logging facility.

[DickBarton]

I have a HKS Boost Controller - set to 0.8 and seems to do the job very well...I also have an alalogue boost gauge but to be honest, the HKS EBC tells me what I need to know - I don;t understand what it means but I know when I floor it the figure gets closer to 0.8, then it sits on 0.8 until I take the foot off (well I'm guessing it does, I tend to watch the road more than the gauge!).

When I first got the car I was getting real bad mpg - 11-15 but the boost controller was off, I switched it on and now get 23.5mpg - I suspect it was bad as I was just learning how to drive the car - 2 weeks driving and 5 fill-ups had me convinced I wasn't driving it properly, boost controller on and had a shot for another 2 weeks...better fuel economy and loads of smiles.

[Dan_G]

boost controller is the best upgrade in performance you can do to the vr4 imho..

like all i like my current setup and think it is the bestest...... after alot of research and hours of reading decided on apexi avcr... works very well...

fitting is also easy if you know your way round the engine...

but it really is up to the individual... get a unit that is good quality and has been proven to work...

[monkey]

I bought a Greddy profec-B2 boost controller. Got it for £150 off a mate, they usually sell on Ebay for that too. It's good because it has a boost guage, has hi+lo settings, and is fairly easy to install and set up.

[mpau009]

im going to 10psi, and thats it..

Thats what i said:P

I ran with the Gizzmo IBC about 18 months ago, it has less tunability that the likes of the more expensive controllers, but was cheap enough, and simple to set up. Gives you 4 settings that you can change on the go, and has the ability to self learn. Doesnt have the ability to set boost according to RPM, like the MAP2 and some other models, but did the job quite nicely. Certainly got the car up to boost, and held it steady well on the dyno day way back. Also has a digital boost readout, but i had a gauge already so never used it.

Since then iv done 30,000k's and worn out the front turbo.. but that was mostly due to a pipe cracking and coming detatched sometimes, and it sucking road crap for a month or so before i figured out what the hell was up.

PS screw everyone else, do it:afro: Its just a matter of deciding now how far you are going to go, in terms of investing in a 10 year+ car these days. Youd hate to decide in 6 months time that you should have gone for a piggyback instead or so on..

[Kenneth]

check this out! it isn't perfect due to the fact that my graph was skewed, but not bad.


Basic difference I want to highlight is exhaust vs boost controller. Exhaust wins.

/edit: In saying that, exhaust plus boost controller is even better still.

[mpau009]

thought i was going blind there for a sec:P

Thats very cool, goes to show just how much quicker you were getting on boost versus the stock exhaust + a muffler..

[Kenneth]

thought i was going blind there for a sec:P

Thats very cool, goes to show just how much quicker you were getting on boost versus the stock exhaust + a muffler..

Yeah, it does make you think you have double vision for a bit... lol

The boost response with a full exhaust system is just phenomenal... It is quite surprising to see how much the standard boost lifts (which looks like it must peak at about 13.5psi... pity the boost reference wasn't plugged in properly for that run) as it doesn't FEEL so aggressive to drive as there isn't a big lump, it starts pulling and doesn't stop.


Unfortunately The torque graphs are not comparable as the scale is different, however torque can be judged well enough by the power graph.

It would be interesting to overlay with Brads graph to see just how much he gets from the standalone ECU and more importantly, where that is.

[bradc]

unfortunately my graphs done by Gary are completely different to the Torque Perf ones. You can still plot my graph on top of someone else's if you spent a bit of time in MS paint and joined the dots.

[pitslayer]

unfortunately my graphs done by Gary are completely different to the Torque Perf ones. You can still plot my graph on top of someone else's if you spent a bit of time in MS paint and joined the dots.
i like dot to dots, especially the ones you can colour in afterwards :D /lol

basically ive said to sky this is what i want to do, how much is it going to cost me....i will be going to 10psi and i will be sticking to it, if there is ever an incident i dont want the assessor to go....well you werent running 10psi were you?
pay for one modification at at a time, i dont want to be 4k out of pocket and minus a car, for that extra bit of speed.

as for exhaust, im going to be getting a custom stainless catback made, if i can get my mate to be bothered to do it,
what i would like, is the boost controller, the catback, and flappy paddles done and declared to insurance, for japfest

[Beastlee]

I'm even more interested in the exhaust side now I've seen the above info. Mine is lovely and quick already but I think the exhaust would compliment the EBC nicely. My only problem is I wanted wheels and some other stuff too....decisions decisons!

[pitslayer]

the way i see it, is, you have one the most ultimate sleepers ever, performance before looks

[Beastlee]

True but when I don't have a safe way of putting that power down (or stopping it afterwards) then I have to fix it. In this case it's an opportunity to change the wheels which I may not get the chance to do again. In reality I only feel I need to change them in order to fit some Brembos so I may just wait out a while and order some good quality rubber all round.

[bradc]

imho a VR-4 with evo 7 or 8 wheels and brembo's just looks awesome, it only enhances the look of the car, increases handling and braking performance.

[Beastlee]

I'll have to see if I can get Evo wheels here. I couldn't agree more with the looks.

[Kenneth]

as for exhaust, im going to be getting a custom stainless catback made, if i can get my mate to be bothered to do it,
what i would like, is the boost controller, the catback, and flappy paddles done and declared to insurance, for japfest

For best results (and comparable to the ones I posted) you will need a full system including down pipes.

I cannot rave enough about the difference the down pipes make to the system.

[pitslayer]

i can get all that made aswell, just convincing my mate to do them aswell. will have a search for some specs of the downpipes