Electronic Boost Controlers? Which is best?

[Beavis]

Just what it says. Read alot about them(did search with no real conclusive results), but which is the best? What are people useing? and why? some of the fetures you like and so on. Depending on the results of this pole, this could be worth keeping around for a while. I have a manual one now and am tired of adjusting it. So please give some details on what you are useing and your mods for educational uses here for now and the future.

 

[Syclone#1992]

Ok this is my take on boost controllers.

I have a Blitz unit, and I love it when it is setup correctly. Rock solid boost control, 4 different settings, the spoolup is controlled in the gain feature. So all in all you can have four different settings, street, strip, slow spoolup, fast spoolup.

No matter what controller you have you will always be messing with it during different weather conditions. If you change anything having to do with the air flow, plan on changing it too. The four feature is nice because you can set it for humid, cold, ect. ect.

Now trying to get it setup right is the hardest part. You can try to have the boost controller learn your turbo/wastegate, but that can lead to a boost spike if the gain is played with too much. The other way to set it up which is the best way, is to use the ratio feature and do lots of testing to find the right setting. By setting a ratio, you can also control the gain more efficiently. The ratio mode is known as the manual mode, the target is known as the automatic mode, but can be inaccurate sometimes.

Now again with the four features you can have it set as a ratio in one setting and then have it set as a target in another.

Like I said it is kinda compicated, but when its working correctly it will give out rock solid boost with instant spoolup.

I have to reprogram mine, because I had the vac. lines reversed. Like I said when it works I love it, when I have to fool with it I get pissed.

Sometimes simpler is gooder.

 

[Syclone#1992]

Might want to add ANS to your list too. I know that some people have that and are very happy with it.

 

[QUIKSUV]

I have a Blitz SBC-ID and its a great unit. Rock solid boost and good spool-up. 4 different boost settings and has logging capability (crude though). Ran my wide band O2 to it with a straight line approx so it could display AFR (only accurate at WOT) when not connected to the laptop.

Big selling point for me was the use of english units (psi, inHg). I have a hard time with bar and kg/cm2. Unit will dispay whatever units you wish.

Little on the expensive side though.

My :2cents:

 

[smeagol]

Might want to post what wastegate setup you are using. No controller will work at all with the wrong setup, and the simplest one will work great with a good wastegate/combination. Don't expect anything to solve your overboost problems when you are running no cat on a stock turbo and trying to run 17psi of boost.

 

[Beavis]

Edit per Green:
I my self am useing 20G 12cm, with a Tial 35mm external and a Turbosmart gated ball and spring type manual controler that with no adjustment on install gave me an instant 2psi over base boost(.95 bar spring which equals 12psi when wastegate is fully open). So when I installed it, I started getting 14.5 psi(what I wanted) with a little spike of 1-2psi when pressure first hit it(delt with it as it's not so bad). Know with the colder weather, it's hitting around 16-18psi(overboosting). Maybe under higher boost levels this could be adjusted for, but for me and my stockish truck and stock chip, this is too much. So my thinking was that if I had more control (manual is on min setting) I would be able to overcome this little problem. And from what I've read others might be able to use this info as well......

 

[Beavis]

Might want to add ANS to your list too. I know that some people have that and are very happy with it.

If a mod can do this, I would thank you as I couldn't figure out how to do it.

 

[Typhoon #1133]

I installed the Greddy Profec B a few months ago. I got this controller because of price. It is one of the cheepest you can get that has dual solenoid design. I only have about 10 runs with this controller so my boost control is not perfect yet. I am still learning how to adjust it. I am using the mini gate and I tied shut my stock WG on my stock turbo. My boost holds with in about 1 PSI untill i shift into OD. Then it jump up about 2 PSI. I may just need to adjust my gain. Not sure yet. That is with running 20 PSI. Here is a link to reviews on different boost controllers. http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/tech/0207scc_boostcontrol/

 

[ed hess]

innovative msbc, i got one, hoovers got one. proven control to run 9's

"proven control to run 9's"

wow didnt think i would ever say that!

ed

 

[Ian Turgeon]

I have a BLITZ SBC-ID II, TDO6H-20g-12cm turbo, stock motor, open exhaust, and an Innovative Race Gate (15lb spring) on the exhaust cross-over .

my lessons: theres a billion settings on the blitz that dont matter, or will for the most part never get fooled with.

Without it's overboost feature I'm not sure I would like this thing at all. However, once the controller gets to the warning level, it opens the wastegate to a user-defined position (this can be bad if you dont understand it).

Well, my boost goes up as fast as it possibly could, slams into this warning and opens up. Sometimes its smart enough that it doesnt hit the limiter. (keep in mind its trying to keep boost within 1 psi here)

However - my boost line is awesome. It doesnt drop off, it doest go up, it sticks solid to 100+mph. there are slight veriations where you can see the controller working, but I'm very happy with it.

I want this thing to give me 17lbs of boost, set the warning to 17lbs (yes english units even) and there it stays...

Weather changes how much it hits that warning level, but it really doesnt change the effectiveness.

 

[Beavis]

279 times viewed and no one else has any info or expierence? I was hoping to get more info here as it seems that 2-3 times a month this comes up in a topic or 2. Not doing this just for me here. I think this could be valueble to alot of people, and am looking for more options and feedback for myself and others too. So far this is really good. More info would be great to add to this. Keep it coming guy's...

 

[tealty]

I'd take a vote for Innovative. Very nice features. Most of the big dawgs in the turbo world use it. I had the blitz dual solenoid one and it worked great...just in bar instead of psi...which sucked. One that you might wanna look at is this one from turbosmart. ITs the E-boost one and i'm hearing great things about it. I like the fact that it will fit in my gauge bezel.
http://www.turbosmart.com.au/boost_control_electronic.htm
later
Jordan

 

[crashing_sux]

I read the little review on boost controllers and they kept mentioning a "scramble" feature. What is that?

 

[Beavis]

From what I can tell, scramble boost is a feature that increases boost level for a short amount of time. Kinda like a "sprint" mode or temp overboost for a given reason. I think....maybe wrong, if so somebody correct me please.

 

[Ian Turgeon]

correct sir

 

[SYO237]

I'll vouch for Ians Blitz.....since it was originally mine

Nothing really more to add to what Ian said, other than its definately a good unit for retail price and does a great job with control.


I plan on getting a Greddy Profec B Spec 2.

Gives real time, peak boost, last display, warning and boost limiter functions. It can store 2 presets and uses an inline solenoid....works with both external and actuator wastegates.

They average for around $285 on ebay.

 

[kue]

I also have the Blitz SBC-ID 2. My truck has an external wastegate on the crossover, no cat, and ran it with the original 17c and 20g/14cm.

With the stock turbo, it was nice so I didn't have to play with a grainger valve in the engine compartment all of the time. With the 20g in there, the gain settings dramatically helps spoolup. Overboost protection is nice as is the four setting profiles. Nice, Convenient, and pretty consistant with the larger turbo....

 

[Beavis]

I also have the Blitz SBC-ID 2. My truck has an external wastegate on the crossover, no cat, and ran it with the original 17c and 20g/14cm.

With the stock turbo, it was nice so I didn't have to play with a grainger valve in the engine compartment all of the time. With the 20g in there, the gain settings dramatically helps spoolup. Overboost protection is nice as is the four setting profiles. Nice, Convenient, and pretty consistant with the larger turbo....

How much did it help with the spool time, and what converter are you useing? I'm still on stock, so my lag is way too long.

Also I've noticed some are "dual sileniod" and some are "stepping motors".Which is better? One will open the wastegate from full open to full close(dual sileniod) and the other will only open it as far as needed(stepping motor). Is one harder on the wastegate than the other? It seems they both would work well, but whats the difference between the to types? Can somebody shed some light on the subject?

 

[kue]

As it is winter, I don't check the board everyday, sorry for the delayed response....

As far as the 20g goes, right now I am still on the stock converter. I am going to swap the converter when I rebuild the tranny (hopefully this spring). Without playing with the gain the turbo took forever to spool.
With the gain adjusted, it does spool noticably quicker, but does not offset the need for a higher stall converter. It is hard to quantify the difference it makes as I have no concrete numbers on the difference adjusting the gain made. If anyone is really interested, when the truck comes out of winter storage I can test a bit to give actual numbers, but that is months away.

 

[HighPerformanceTrucks]

If you have a transmission setup with huge line pressure and tons of apply, you may suffer a big boost spike when the TC locks up in 3rd. In this case either an expensive feedback system would work or the BSTC Boost Command w/ the 3rd gear boost retard switch as an inexpensive alternative. Seems to work ok and maintains the factory boost control solenoid.