Boost gauge line : boost leak?

Hi guys, so I installed my boost gauge with the line that came with it (a hard plastic line of say 2-3 mm diameter? I bought the new south gauge and kit from kerma.. in it came a larger peice of rubber that 'bridged' the boost fitting on the upper intercooler pipe to the hard plastic line.. basically the hard plastic line was held in by friction only. Well some oil residue has made it into the larger rubber peice and it no longer holds the line.. and some other attempts at fixing it have failed. In addition to this I think I was getting some boost loss through the boostvalve and the car woudl only hold 15psi of boost.. sometimes less. What are you guys running for boost lines? I'd rather run one continuous peice right from the intercooler pipe to the gauge to avoid any further oil residue issues. Also, has anyone experienced this odd 15psi max boost behaviour? I find it odd that the car is consistently boosting to only 15psi even though the tune is requesting 18psi. I thought it was my EGR valve but I have a race pipe in now and it feels liek the same power (can't tell currently as the boost valve is not hooked up). I'll do a log and see but I am hoping for a quick suggestion on some better boost line and where to pick it up? I thoguht about just running a vacuum hose? The smaller diameter stock line seems to be the perfect size for the line out of th eintercooler?

I just installed the same gauge last wednesday, haven't had a problem, I shoved the small hard plastic line into the large rubber line as far as I could and then threw a zip tie on it. You use a larger hose for that I'd expect there would be more buzz from the gauge.

sinc said:

I just installed the same gauge last wednesday, haven't had a problem, I shoved the small hard plastic line into the large rubber line as far as I could and then threw a zip tie on it. You use a larger hose for that I'd expect there would be more buzz from the gauge.

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Exactly the same thing I did with my N.S Boost Gauge, never had a problem with it in 1.5 yrs.
PS
find some cotton wadding and stuff in the end of the hose to eliminate the buzzing.

Did you tie your gauge into dimmer switch for stock appearance ?

Ok, perhaps I'll just try a long section of vacuum hose and a few zip ties and see if it works out. Didn't think of using the zip ties Mine is on the dimmer.

You could also use a small hose clamp or a 2 ear clamp as well

I used McMaster-Carr silicone to hook up my boost gauge - this stuff is great, never leaks or blows off and doesn't need clamps or zip-ties.

Local member blizzak can get it (McMaster-Carr won't ship to new customers in Canada ) - see this thread.

You can't leak enough air from the gauge tap to measurably affect manifold pressure, but a leak can cause the gauge to read low. If you are only sustaining 15psi when the ECU is requesting 18psi, the car should go limp and throw an underboost code.

Simon

Ok good point (underboost code). I must just be getting used to the power of the tune now.. never a good thing

JASONP said:

Exactly the same thing I did with my N.S Boost Gauge, never had a problem with it in 1.5 yrs.
PS
find some cotton wadding and stuff in the end of the hose to eliminate the buzzing.

Did you tie your gauge into dimmer switch for stock appearance ?

Click to expand...

Mine has been buzzing for awhile now. "stuff in the end of the hose to eliminate the buzzing". I assume you mean the end near the gage?

Ok, i used the vac line and ties as suggested and its working again.. and yes definitely no underboost.. I think I was enjoying my lack of awareness of sticky vanes and boost spikes

JimBo_KW said:

Mine has been buzzing for awhile now. "stuff in the end of the hose to eliminate the buzzing". I assume you mean the end near the gage?

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Yes, correct. A little piece from a QTIP will do,jam it in about 1/2" or so. Just don't add too much or you will throw off boost reading.

JASONP said:

Just don't add too much or you will throw off boost reading.

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You'll need this to check if your boost gauge is accurate



I found mine was reading almost 1.5PSI low, but it's perfect after recalibration

Simon

HA HA...Simon, I thought that was a taser when I saw the pic!

YOUR homemade boost gauge can be calibrated...not so sure about commercial units. (or at least not easily)

How can you recalibrate the boost guage?

Simon built his own boost gauge. It works off of electrical signal, so it can be calibrated. Technically, boost gauges you buy at the store should have been calibrated during manufacturing, but I don't think there is a way for an end user to calibrate it.