High Stock Boost part 2

[BrianV]

As many of you know, I earlier posted about my stock boost peaking at 8 PSI. Some people thought it possible, some think I'm lucky, etc.

Anyways, I hit 9 PSI today stock (cold outside). It was a spike because after that 8.5 was the max I could hit.

Anyways, I then remembered I was a bit curious why my boost guage read 1 PSI when I took it out of the box. With the car off it still reads 1 PSI. When I start it vaccum brings it to 0 (where the pin is {this guage doesn't read vaccuum}). All of my other FI cars I could've swore the guage would be at 0 when the engine is off or when the guage is disconnected. Knowing what I know about boost and vacuum I am almost certain a guage should read 0 at idle.

Please advise, I think I'm going to contact autometer tomorrow.

Pending the rest of my guage is accurate, 8 PSI - 1 PSI = 7 PSI which sounds close to the 6.9 PSI max others are seeing. The 9 PSI hit today was probably just a spike of some sort.

Please let me know your opinions.

Thanks!

 

[AutoBox]

gauge may be uncalibrated

 

[BrianV]

I don't think I'm ignorant, but I wasn't aware boost guages could be calibrated.

 

[BrianV]

FYI/PS - The guage is a 0-35 PSI Autometer Ultralite, purchased from Jegs last week.

 

[gixermixer]

with the cold weather, i can't keep the damn wheels on the ground! I am bone stock, but i know i am boosting over what I was in the summer. wheel hop like a mofo in first and second, it sucks, i guess the better mounts are in my near future

 

[Fatman0203]

You have a bad gauge, when I bought my AutoMeter one for my FD it had the same problem. Return it and get a new one (just my .02).

 

[BremertonMSP]

I don't think your gauge is bad, just not very accurate. Neither of my Autometer boost gauges reads zero when the engine is off. The one in my Mustang reads about 2in of vacuum, and the one in the MSP reads about 1in of vacuum.

I feel that having a gauge that reads 0-35psi will have more room for error when youre only measuring 8psi or so. It would be better and more accurate to use a gauge that reads say 0-15psi.

Also, there are production variations in all the parts used in our cars. If you have a car that just happens to have the entire variable stacked to say the upper side of the toleration limit, you would end up actually running more boost then other MSPs.

Your best bet would be to go to a shop that has a calibrated pressure gauge to find out the actual boost level.

 

[BrianV]

I called Autometer and he said it's definitely defective, it could've been dropped or something.

I ordered a new one from Jegs, I went for the 20 PSI one that shows vacuum, for some reason I didn't see it before.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Got_boost02]

any problems returning it? i have the same problem with mine from jegs.

 

[Fatman0203]

I called Autometer and he said it's definitely defective, it could've been dropped or something.

I ordered a new one from Jegs, I went for the 20 PSI one that shows vacuum, for some reason I didn't see it before.

Thanks for the help guys!

Thats a very good one. Congrats on the pick.
(cause I got it)

 

[SaaBaaDoo]

with the cold weather, i can't keep the damn wheels on the ground! I am bone stock, but i know i am boosting over what I was in the summer. wheel hop like a mofo in first and second, it sucks, i guess the better mounts are in my near future

I don't think it's a change in boost pressure, I am reading 8-8.5 on my guage that I installed while it was still hot outside. I am getting the same thing with the wheel hop like a mofo in second. I personally think it's the tires against the cold pavement. I don't even have to do anything but shift it easily into second, go easy until it hits about 3k on the rpm, then floor it, tires go crazy...no grip! I can even get them to break loose for a sec going into 3rd if i try hard enough.

Just can't wait until it gets warm again!!!

 

[BrianV]

Jegs said, you just ship them back the part, fill out a form that's on your invoice and they'll reimburse you for the part. I told her I sort of needed expidited care, she told me the best way is to buy another one online, once you get it, ship the old one back, then they'll reimburse.


I did find an old thread in here from June where someone else stated he had the same exact problem. At that time, members of the board were telling him that it's ok/normal.

We'll see if the new one is the same way, if it is I'll assume it's normal or that Autometer just has issues.

 

[WillisW555]

So I just got my autometer ultralite boost gauge 30 in.Hg/20 PSI today.

It reads almost 1 PSI right out of the box? So Autometer said that's a bad thing... it's defective, right?

 

[BrianV]

Ok, I think we've found an issue here.

I've never owned a boost guage in my life that wasn't at 0 when the engine is off, or when it's in the box.

I assumed I was a single case of a bad calibration, but now it sounds like several people are having this problem or confusion.

Either an entire batch of boost guages from Autometer in the last month or so are bad, or we're receiving good parts that are designed that way.

I called the Customer Service number for Autometer and told him that it reads 1 PSI when the engine is off. He said it could've been dropped and lost it's calibration. He recommended I get a replacement (which I did).

I called, Tel. (815) 895-8141; someone else should call asking a similar question.

Perhaps there's a reason for it, like boost is at 1 PSI due to the atmosphere we're in. If this is the case, we should compare it to numbers read from other guages. For instance, 11PSI on an Autometer guage might be the same as 10PSI on an Apex or Greddy.

Someone else call and let me know what they say.

Also, I'd be interested in seeing if there's a trend of people with 1PSI Autometer guages also seeming to have a bit higher then normal stock boost pressures. Mine is 8 PSI stock (peak PSI), 6.5 at redline.

 

[www.03msp.com]

I've seen many autometers do this in the last five years. Not that consistent in a single batch, but definitely seen it and owned them. I no longer use Autometer mechanical gauges (electric is okay). I am now using a FAZE boost gauge www.fazegauge.com. I'm very pleased and it is accurate as my $150.00 SPI I had on my GSX>

- Brian

 

[BrianV]

If it proves to be the case where these things are inheritently different (bad build quality) then I will probably switch brands. I've owned several Apex-i EL guages and had 0 problems.