$2 boost controller.

[mazdaspeedjay]

so let me get this straight. you simply Ted into the top hose that goes from the wastegate to the stock boost controller? i have read that the ecu recognizes this after some time and returns boost back to stock. let me know how it holds in a week or two.

Yes thats what i did. Put a T into the top line going to the WG control solenoid and put the vacuum restrictor at the end of the T with the brass end face outward I don't think it will cause no matter what the bleeder will be bleeding off pressure to the solenoid which should keep it from working the way it should but not over boosting. IT's working great right now but i'll update after two weeks of driving. i drive my car everyday literally so we'll see. It worked great on my SRT4 without my stage 1 and with my stage 1 and 2 but those were two completely different engine management systems so if not and it starts to go back to normal i'll put my MBC on that i had from my SRT4 thats sitting in my trunk. the only reason why i didn't use my MBC is cause i like to modify my car and try things that you can still use the factory systems and not have to worry about CELs or drivability which was a big issues with my SRT till i got a bigger and after market FMIC.

 

[laloosh]

you said your holding 18psi, how are you not hitting boost cut?

 

[Jays07MS3]

I can't see how you can hold 18 psi to redline without the ECU closing the throttle plate thus lowering boost or hitting fuel cut as laloosh mentioned. Can you take a vid of your boost gauge and tach? Sounds too good to be true. Even people that take the ECU out of the equation and just use a MBC can't hold 18 psi to redline. Maybe 5500 RPMS but thats about it.

 

[nypest]

Ok IT WORKS. It works beautifully. i only had my high boost left over and it hits and holds 18PSi from WOT to redline. I just tried my stock on i ran out and bought one and it hits and holds 16PSI to redline. damn i didn't think it would work but it works perfect. no sputtering no hesitation it's like it's stock or suppose to be that way. here's pic of it installed sorry if it's bad quality i had to use my cell phone camera but it works. What i did was just take the vacuum line going from the top of the Waste gate to the waste gate solenoid. i removed the factory hose and put a new on i it's place in case it didn't work i didn't want to mess up the factory unit. run the hose from the top of the WG to the solenoid and put the T fitting somewhere inline to it. just did a 3rd and forth gear pull and it worked. I had the DSC turned off only at the test run the TCS was on just pushed the DS buttom right before i nail the throttle.

All in all this is not bad for a $2 mod. perfect in my eyes for someone that wants to run stock boost but just wants it to hold till red line. or if you want to run 1 PSI higher just take a drill bit and drill out the brass restrictor just a hair and i mean just a hair bigger every step you make it bigger usually ups the boost 1 PSI. WARNING though if you drill out too much it will over boost so find someone with a Great drill bit set and find the size it's really tiny that fits in the hole perfect and just drill out one step bigger to up the boost a hair.

Nice man! Cobb mentioned this in there How the MS3 boost works PDF.... they gave it a big warning though.

Mechanical Tuning
You can mechanically tune the boost control system by changing the size of the center hole in the restrictor pill; since this
restrictor pill is actually pressed inside the compressor housing nipple, we highely suggest you leave the stock restictor pill in
tact). The middle of this restrictor pill has a lengthwise hole precisely machined to a certain specification so that it works with
the factory wastegate actuator and the wastegate duty cycle settings in the stock ECU. The size of this center hole can be
changed in order to mechanically assist boost control.
A smaller diameter hole in the center of the brass restrictor pill will have a higher tendency to create boost spike in the
system and require less wastegate duty cycle to run higher boost. The larger the diameter hole in the center of the restrictor
pill, the less chance the boost control system will boost spike and the greater wastegate duty cycle you will need to run in
order to produce higher boost. If you have a stock turbo and are running an AccessPORT map, you have no reason to
modify your restrictor pill. If you have installed a new turbocharger and you are using the stock boost control system to tune
boost, please verify that the vacuum line coming off the compressor housing contains a restrictor pill with a hole machined in
the center of the pill.
The stock boost control system most commonly uses a restrictor pill with a center hole size of 0.0415” +/- 0.003”
For larger-than-stock turbochargers or turbochargers with a stronger mechanical spring in the wastegate actuator you will
need to use a restrictor with a larger center hole, something along the size of 0.042”-0.060” +/- 0.001”
For similar-to-stock-sized turbochargers with a weaker mechanical spring in the wastegate actuator you will need to use a
restrictor with a smaller center hole, something along 0.028”-0.040” +/- 0.001”. Be very careful when using a restrictor with a center hole of this size, there is a higher tendency for the system to boost spike and you will need less wastegate duty cycle
to run higher boost.
NOTE: The hole in the restrictor pill can always be machined to a larger diameter. Be sure to make very small increases in
the diameter of the hole. If the center hole is machined too large you will not be able to hit your boost targets…even with
100% wastegate duty cycle.

 

[mazdaspeedjay]

NO i'm not holding 18 PSI right now. with the stock valve in there i'm holding 16 PSI to red line. the 18 PSI was a one run 3rd gear pull with my old high boost valve out of my SRT4 i just used it to see if it worked. I know i couldn't run that valve so i took it out and put the stock on i it's place which spikes 17 PSI if i shift from a 3rd to 4th gear pull but holds 16 PSI to red line. Sorry for the confusion. you're right if i ran my high boost valve at 18 PSI i've have to get a FCD. BUT if you buy the restrictor and leave it alone DO NOT DRILL IT OUT you'll keep everything stock just hold 16 PSI till red line. I have three valves on stock one stightly bigger which is a 17 PSI valve and one high boost 18 PSI valve which is stlightly drilled out bigger then the 17 PSI valve. swapping them out takes two seconds. Right now and for the time being i'm going to be happy with 16 PSI.

I don't like running a FCD cause unless you're running a wide band and can moditor over boost that way i don't like running too much boost without means to protect if for some reason something happens. running things the way i am now i'm running factory boost maybe a hair more but still retain the factory systems to protect my car. Next thing i'm buying is a wide band or just taking the one out of my race car since i don't really need it anymore in that car but i try to get what i can on a budget and with being as stock as possible or using stock systems and just trying to make things alittle better.

 

[mazdaspeedjay]

ok what cobb tunning looks like there doing is something simuliar to what i did BUT they're drilling out the factory restrictor to do this. I kept all that in place and i guess the concept is the same but mine is put after the waste gate going to the WG control solenoid. Basicly what your doing will more then likely work on any internally waste gated car that uses a factory solenoid to control boost is bleeding some and VERY VERY small amount of the air going to the control solenoid so that it doesn't over boost or boost to much it just helps prevent boost drop off in the high rpms that tends to happen. Basicly if you want more boost you just drill out the bleeder hole bigger which in turn bleeds more air which will keep the WG closed a little more which ups boost. using the restrictor i use and T'ing into it and not messing with the size of the hole keeps boost pressure at stock levels just helps keep it there at higher rpms. But can also be used to raise boost also. hope i explained this in a way that makes sense.

The only down side to cobbs method i can see is if you don't like it your screwed cause you can't put that material back and you'd have to buy a whole new turbo housing to replace that. The method i use if you don't like it or want it back to stock you just put the vacuum lines back to stock and your done

 

[nypest]

ok what cobb tunning looks like there doing is something simuliar to what i did BUT they're drilling out the factory restrictor to do this. I kept all that in place and i guess the concept is the same but mine is put after the waste gate going to the WG control solenoid. Basicly what your doing will more then likely work on any internally waste gated car that uses a factory solenoid to control boost is bleeding some and VERY VERY small amount of the air going to the control solenoid so that it doesn't over boost or boost to much it just helps prevent boost drop off in the high rpms that tends to happen. Basicly if you want more boost you just drill out the bleeder hole bigger which in turn bleeds more air which will keep the WG closed a little more which ups boost. using the restrictor i use and T'ing into it and not messing with the size of the hole keeps boost pressure at stock levels just helps keep it there at higher rpms. But can also be used to raise boost also. hope i explained this in a way that makes sense.

The only down side to cobbs method i can see is if you don't like it your screwed cause you can't put that material back and you'd have to buy a whole new turbo housing to replace that. The method i use if you don't like it or want it back to stock you just put the vacuum lines back to stock and your done

Makes sense to me !

Thats why i was saying nice job, seems your way does it with out having to mess with the stock pill RIGHT ON !

 

[mazdaspeedjay]

here's the pulls :
1st gear spike 17psi settles and holds 15-16psi
2nd gear spikes 17psi settles and holds 15-16psi
3rd gear spikes 18 psi settles and holds 16psi
4th gear spikes 18psi settles and holds 15-16psi 16 more so drops to 15 at the rev limiter
5th gear spikes 18-19psi settles and holds 16 psi
6th gear spikes 19-20 psi settles and holds 16.
when i say spikes i mean it hits it for like a mina second or spilt second not enough to bog hesisatate or for even the pcm to notice the only thing i worried about was when i hit 6th gear and saw it spike as high as 19 but it jumps right down to 16 but with some thottle control i could get it to not even happen and this was with all tcs and dcs systems on so boost is also set alittle higher then if they're turned off. the car pulls hard to red line and i stil have stock exhaust and stock air box just some holes drilled i nthe bottom of my air box but still using stock filter and all. i do notice i can hear my turbo spooling when i get up to high rpms sounds nice.

 

[silverspd3]

Thanks for the info. I think you have given me my next mod after I get some sort of boost guage. Keep us informed if the computer starts to change boost pressures.

 

[mazdaspeedjay]

yea still working good. the only thing i'm alittle worried about it the boost level in 6th gear and 6th gear only i'm hitting as high as 17 psi if all systems are enabled ( tcs and dcs on ) when the car is kind of still cold. when it gets heat soaked it's not as bad and if tcs and dcs are both turned off it's not as bad since the pcm tries to lower boost levels. with just the dcs only turned off it's the same as if it was on. so we'll see. Next mod i need to get will be a wide band so i know whats going on. or take the one off my race car since i only use it for tuning and don't really need it right now cause the season it closed for the winter. i'll update in two weeks

 

[Jays07MS3]

yea still working good. the only thing i'm alittle worried about it the boost level in 6th gear and 6th gear only i'm hitting as high as 17 psi if all systems are enabled ( tcs and dcs on ) when the car is kind of still cold. when it gets heat soaked it's not as bad and if tcs and dcs are both turned off it's not as bad since the pcm tries to lower boost levels. with just the dcs only turned off it's the same as if it was on. so we'll see. Next mod i need to get will be a wide band so i know whats going on. or take the one off my race car since i only use it for tuning and don't really need it right now cause the season it closed for the winter. i'll update in two weeks

The TCS/DSC systems do not do anything to alter boost. It only alters the throttle plate. I've logged quite a few runs with different combinations of them on and boost levels are always the same. I think your mind is playing some tricks on you.

 

[blacksheepms3]

Subcribed

 

[sfalexi]

So now, did I read this correctly in that it also results in the 1st and 2nd gear resulting in full boost (not being limited by ECU)? And it seems from what I've read that it'd be pretty safe so long as you monitor it.

 

[Dr_Combustion]

I guess I must have missed it, but where did you buy the restrictors from? Thanks.

 

[Davidb]

Ok so I tried it. I had everything to do the job but the restrictor. I went and got one at advanced auto parts. Hooked it up the way he described it and the way it looked in the picture. I did not drill out the restrictor. I gained 1psi for a seconed or two and boost fell off just like normal. I might have done something wrong but its a pretty simple install to mess something up...I guess I try to drill one out tomorrow.

Oh and I just have a cobb sri and a autometer boost gauge...

 

[mazdaspeedjay]

ok you buy the restrictor from autozone or advanced auto parts they';ll be in the vacuum T and fittings sections. is the only place i f ound that has them like stated above. Mine works fine the way it sits. it sounds like you hooked it up right it's really easy and hard not to install it right but if it's still dropping a little your car may just be acting alittle different then mine. they're all suppose to be the same car but for some reason they all act alittle different to different mods for some reason. but try drilling out the restrictor VERY VERY slightly. if you drill it out too big then you'll be over boosting. basicly like i said if you don't have a really good drill bit set find one and you want to find the size that fits threw the restrictors brass end no problem. then just go one size up from that. the drill bits are really really small and thin so just be careful. as of today it still works good and keeping the same boost. I am running a stock air box with just holes drilled into the bottom of the box but i don't think your SRI would affect it.