Signs of a dying turbo...

[j_sonel]

What are they? I know the audible dentist drill is a good one, but what are some others?

I have noticed my peak boost falling a little bit lately. In 6th, I hold between 17-18 psi, and in 4th and 5th, I hold near 19. :confused:

Will a turbo on it's way out produce lower, more irregular boost levels?

It might be K04 time soon.

[pinky]

if you're gonna go bigger, go BIG

[Yareka]

what were you spiking before.

You probably have a boost leak, which is really tough to diagnose, especially on an awp car. Before we pulled travis's out last weekend, I didnt realize how much vacuum tubing they had added to even the 01. Its like everything(brakebooster, evap, pcv) has two vacuum sources with a check valve added to keep boost out. Then you have all the braided lines coming off the manifold with those stupid one time use clamps.

What you might want to do is a visual check of all the lines coming from the manifold, especially the one going to the fpr. Check for brittle hoses, clamps that move around when you twist, or one that may have already popped off.

I know evan has a leak tester and it shouldnt cost too much to have him do this for you...its a good idea for any turbo car, almost regular maintenance.

[j_sonel]

if you're gonna go bigger, go BIG

The GIAC k04 equipped cars are getting good whp, and I don't want to rebuild my motor. Honestly, 250 WHP with quick spool is all I would ever want in this car.

[j_sonel]

what were you spiking before.

You probably have a boost leak, which is really tough to diagnose, especially on an awp car. Before we pulled travis's out last weekend, I didnt realize how much vacuum tubing they had added to even the 01. Its like everything(brakebooster, evap, pcv) has two vacuum sources with a check valve added to keep boost out. Then you have all the braided lines coming off the manifold with those stupid one time use clamps.

What you might want to do is a visual check of all the lines coming from the manifold, especially the one going to the fpr. Check for brittle hoses, clamps that move around when you twist, or one that may have already popped off.

I know evan has a leak tester and it shouldnt cost too much to have him do this for you...its a good idea for any turbo car, almost regular maintenance.

Before I put my Boostvalve in, I was spiking 22-23, holding 20. I have it screwed all the way in right now, which should let it go to 24-25 if it could.... but, the higher boost levels were with a different version of the software, so that could be the reason I am getting less now. I couldn't find anyone reporting held boost #'s on the tex. Am I the only one on here with X+ in an AWP 1.8T??? Any else care to post their held boost? :)

Also, the VAC is between 18hg and 20hg depending whether or not the fans are on. So I think that is normal. I am putting on a different SMIC this weekend and will check the hoses.

[Vampire Cockroach]

Am I the only one on here with X+ in an AWP 1.8T??? Any else care to post their held boost? :)

Which gear is this in?

I have an AWD with one generation earlier of the X+ software (the strong shit, lol) and I would be willing to post numbers, it just varies between gears.

I have the k03 non-sport turbo and a J valve, and 3rd gear sits pretty comfortably at 20-21 while fourth gear will settle in around 23 or 24 psi.

I would say that if your turbo isnt making a ton of noise and is still spooling normally and you are still feeling power, its not on its way out. Your vac sounds fine, I would suspect a small leak, such as around a vac nipple or something, that lets out a little bit of air when under fuboost (:laff: ).

Just my two pennies though, everyone on here knows im full of bs and have been proven completely wrong many times before :dunceblock:



Maybe you should just bring that thing over here to my dorm and let me take a spin to diagnose the problem ;) :upyeah:

[Vampire Cockroach]

do you have any kind of aftermarket downpipe?

Those numbers seem too high for any stock downpipe.

Also, i noticed when i was using my bleed valve that the more i unscrewed it, the less psi the turbo would spike and hold. Not sure how the boostmachine is, but it seems like there is a sweet spot in any mbc and wastegate combo that you have to find to get the most power.

[j_sonel]

do you have any kind of aftermarket downpipe?

Those numbers seem too high for any stock downpipe.

Also, i noticed when i was using my bleed valve that the more i unscrewed it, the less psi the turbo would spike and hold. Not sure how the boostmachine is, but it seems like there is a sweet spot in any mbc and wastegate combo that you have to find to get the most power.

I have an APR 2.5" DP with hi-flow cat, stock cat back.

The turbo makes a shit load of noise, always has since the TIP was put in. One of these weekends when I am in town I can go to Woodys and let someone drive it and see if all seems normal. :D

[Ak-Abe]

do you see any bluish or any kind of smoke ?

[j_sonel]

do you see any bluish or any kind of smoke ?

Nope, but it always smells rich, but I think thats the nature of the 1.8T?

[j_sonel]

Interestingly enough, a thread appeared on Vortex today about X+ boost levels..... Sounds like I am on average with what everyone else is getting. I think the most recent release has a bit less PSI than the proir ones, but still feels stronger. Sounds like better tuning to me. :confused:

[evan@absolute]

Interestingly enough, a thread appeared on Vortex today about X+ boost levels..... Sounds like I am on average with what everyone else is getting. I think the most recent release has a bit less PSI than the prior ones, but still feels stronger. Sounds like better tuning to me. :confused:
It is Garrett's speciality to tune for the real world. He has gone back and redone the x+ several times now. it has had the monster torque in the bottom but there were some cars that had part throttle surging(yours being one) he has addressed that and has maintained the performance levels if not increased them . He also has lowered the boost up top on all the S4 cars in a very similar change to the program. His concern with both is the aging cars with 80k+ on the stock turbos and tried to go a little easier on them especially in the high rpms. It is what you can get from a tuner with a little age on him. He understands that more boost/fuel is not the only angle. He makes his power with timing as much as anything. He could tune all his programs to run 23+ psi if he wanted but it wouldn't give more area under the curve on stock turbos then lower boost with a better timing curve. It ends up the higher boost is just working the turbos harder for no reason. This is of course from my personal experience and my interpretting his thinkng from emails and several conversations he and I have had on the subject not me directly quoting him.

[sflemon]

A quick lesson on why timing will yield more power than charge pressure, dork appeal:
http://tpub.com/engine3/en3_files/image012.jpg

Refering to the above diagram, a turbocharger raises the intake pressure above atmospheric, unlike the N/A cycle shown. This will actually allow net work to be positive at the bottom of the p-v diagram. But, realistically, when the combustion pressure in the cylinder around states 2 and 3 are astronomically higher than any boost pressure, by orders of magnitude, adding that tiny amount of work in the cycle can be insignificant compared to timing gains. Timing gains produce more heat addition from states 2 to 3, and consequently produces more work during expansion, 3 to 4. Turbochargers are great however since that scavenging is a minimal gain area compared to the gains of raising the charge pressure in the cycle using your heat rejected out of the cylinder.

Another reason tubochargers can be more effective than timing changes in a naturally aspirated engine is the fact that N/A engines get more efficient by utilizing the Miller cycles, not more powerful. Whereas turbocharges actually add power/work to the cycle, not just efficiency.

[j_sonel]

It is Garrett's speciality to tune for the real world. He has gone back and redone the x+ several times now. it has had the monster torque in the bottom but there were some cars that had part throttle surging(yours being one) he has addressed that and has maintained the performance levels if not increased them . He also has lowered the boost up top on all the S4 cars in a very similar change to the program. His concern with both is the aging cars with 80k+ on the stock turbos and tried to go a little easier on them especially in the high rpms. It is what you can get from a tuner with a little age on him. He understands that more boost/fuel is not the only angle. He makes his power with timing as much as anything. He could tune all his programs to run 23+ psi if he wanted but it wouldn't give more area under the curve on stock turbos then lower boost with a better timing curve. It ends up the higher boost is just working the turbos harder for no reason. This is of course from my personal experience and my interpretting his thinkng from emails and several conversations he and I have had on the subject not me directly quoting him.

Thanks for the input, sounds about right. :)