How do I know when I am boosting too much!

[hollywood_ikr]

My profile is accurate as far as my upgrades... I have all the fuel upgrades and engine management.. but I don't know how much boost is too much if I never lean out... I'm at 16 pounds right now, but I don't want to hurt the engine... Do I just put a bad ass cometic head gasket and turn it up? Also I estimate I am running high 13's should I be faster?

thanks..

 

[xe0]

Well, in the world of performance, there is no guarantees. That being said, assuming your engine is healthy, has good compression, no leaks or any of that fun stuff, you shouldn't worry about hurting your engine with a good tune. I didn't see a wideband listed in your profile so how are you determining your not lean? If it's not listed, and your watching your a/f, and your tune is on, i say crank the boost and enjoy your smile

 

[white90gsx]

I SAY DON't crank the boost because he will not have a smile.

I would suggest not turning up the boost until you get some logging software..Do you want to spend $100 now or $1000 tomorrow when you blow it up..

 

[airmail96]

Lol most would say boost till you see knock.

 

[CanadianTSi]

I see no reason you can't run around 20psi with those mods assuming the tune is decent.

 

[xe0]

I SAY DON't crank the boost because he will not have a smile.

I would suggest not turning up the boost until you get some logging software..Do you want to spend $100 now or $1000 tomorrow when you blow it up..

Well, considering he has DSM Link, and I made a point to say if he had forgotten to mention his wideband in his profile to go ahead if the tune looks good I don't see the problem. Reading comprehension is important.

 

[white90gsx]

I think you miss understood me too...I typed that because I didn't want him to go and start boosting..But for a person to have dsmlink and all those mods and to ask a question like that I assumed he does not know how to use anything.

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

The quick answer to that is: "As much as you can run without knocking!"

There are a lot of factors that can determine what amount of boost is right for your car.

What type of fuel are you running? I assume it's the premium pump gas in your area?
It says in your profile 16g... Is that S16G, B16G, or E316G?

I would suggest starting out with getting a Wideband O2 sensor and working with DSMlink getting your AFR in line with what your target is. On pump gas I shoot for around 11.0:1 but it mostly stays at 10.8:1. Keep the timing conservative at first. Then when you've reached your target AFR and boost start adding some timing. Keep an eye on your knock count though.

Just for reference. I'm at about 22-23psi creeping to 25 on my S16G on about 10.8:1-11.0:1 AFR with a max timing of 19*. Then again I'm on the stock 1g compression of 7.8:1 and you've got 8.5:1 which means your tuning will need a little more finesse.

Make sure before you start any sort of tuning process to do a boost leak test and do another one when you think you are close on your tune.

Good Luck.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

I would go with what ProjectGS says; it sounds like he knows his stuff. I'm at the stage of my tune where I try to lean my WOT A/F down to 11:1 but I'm already having trouble keeping my tires stuck in the lower gears, and my clutch stuck in the higher gears. (I'm only at 13-14 psi now) I'm really going to need finesse with my 9:1 CP pistons.

Make sure you have a wideband, follow these steps, and you WILL be smiling.

 

[hollywood_ikr]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll also make sure to get a wideband...