What exactly do boost controllers do?

[Seymour]

Sorry I'm a newbie at cars and I just want to know exactly what it will do.. and if i should put it on my civic.. Thanks..

and if you had a civic.. what would be the first things to replace to get it high performance? Thanks.

[Neutrino]

regulate how much psi the turbo is puting out. Is recomended to be used with a piggyback or a stand alone to reprogram the fuel/air ratio if major psi changes will be made.

welcome to AF btw.

[Polygon]

Like Netrino said, it is used to regulate the pressure of a turbo charger. This is a mod that is completely useless if you own a naturally aspirated car. Also, like Neutrino said, you will need an air to fuel ratio regulator to match the fuel with the air so you don't run too rich or too lean. You can get a piggyback to fool the ECU or you can get a stand alone which is easier to tune and gives overall better results. If you are going to get one, I suggest nothing except the standalone, it will save you money in the long run. As far as boost controllers go, I hear that the less complicted electronic ones are better than the ones such as the Apex-I AVC-R. That is just what I've heard, and I am going to look into.

If anyone else has some insight, I would love to hear it.

[SleeperCivic]

I have a bunch of insight. First, this is how it works:

You have (1) the control unit with the adjustment knobs and (2) the boost solenoid. Depending on which turbo you have will dictate how your boost controller is setup.

The basic function of a elec boost controller is to delay the boost signal produced by the turbo to the actuator (Greddy 15G) or wastegate (DRAG, FMAX, etc). The solenoid does this by receiving a signal from a boost monitor that you place somewhere in your vacuum line on the manifold. It monitor that signal until the boost hits the spot where you've set it. At that point, it lets the boost signal get to the actuator/wastegate.

On the matter of quality, the AVC-R performs other functions than just control boost (if you didn't know that), it's like a S-AFC and boost controller/gauge in one. They're very well known for boost spike, though, which, in a racing environment, can be disasterous.

The new mini Blitz model has a electronic boost gauge built in and a protection circuit to prevent overboost, which will destroy you.

The Greddy Profec B spec is plain with adjustment knobs, but is claimed by many to be one of the best, even better than the Profec A spec that cost more and has more features. I have the B spec and it has NEVER spiked on me.

Hope that helps!

[DOHcNEON]

hell yea i have the profec b too . along with the steeringwheel mounted switch. I love it.

[SleeperCivic]

Yeah, and your car is freakin FAST! What's your latest ET?

[Polygon]

Hmm... I ahve been thinking about that Prefec B as well.

[DOHcNEON]

i have been the the track for a while. my car was stolen in january, and they burned out the clutch. So i have since gotten a new clutchmasters stage 4 clutch which is really nice but very hard to get used to. But my car is now running and ready to go.

[SleeperCivic]

Sucks to hear that man. I remember when you first started posting and people were trying to talk trash about your car, but I know it's fast as hell.

[integramus]

Hey SleeperCivic, when you mentioned Boost spiking, you mean it allows for sudden unexpected surges in the boost right?

[SleeperCivic]

You would be correct.....

The majority of boost spikes occur when boosting really hard, not usually under normal driving conditions.