Question for those who have installed a boost gauge

[Apples]

I'm curious about the boost pressures, both tuned and untuned, folks are seeing?

I have the Ford tune, and under ideal conditions, with the traction control off (yes it makes a difference), and depending on the gear, the max boost is just over 20 psi.

For those who want to know, the after-market, Ford Mustang boost gauge kit works perfectly. I described that on a different post. The photo shows where I mounted the gauge. By the way, I had it lighted when I first installed it, but discovered it is a distraction when driving at night.

Why the photo got twisted, I have no idea.

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[importfighter01]

I want a boost gauge so thanks for posting. I too also have the FP tune and you have found it produces extra boost when traction control is off? How about different Transmission modes having different boost: regular, tow, sport? It seems there are many mysteries built into the FP tune...

 

[Apples]

I'll tell you what I know, and what I suspect is varying the boost pressure.

Part of the strategy to reduce wheel spin, is to ease up the throttle response. If that does't work, the brakes add their part to reduce the spin. This reduction in throttle easily accounts for the reduced boost associated with wheel spin. Turn off the traction control (it never really turns completely off!), and it allows for much more wheel spin, and hence boost. By the way, you will get a lot of wheel spin with the traction off. And, I do mean a lot. Enough in fact, the blue suited guys sort of frown on it.

Gear wise, in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, all I see is about 18 pounds. I suspect the shifts happen so quickly, and the throttle is eased up as the shifts occur, is the reason you don't see a full 20 psi on the gauge (see below).

If you have decent fuel in the tank (mine really likes E15), and the ambient is between 50°F and 80°F, and you haven't been driving it hard previously (intercooler heatsink), you'll occasionally see 20+ (≈22 psi as close as I can read it), in 5th, 6th, and 7th, especially on a hard pull.

A few more comments.

Don't buy a cheap boost gauge!! I've had two literally vibrate themselves to death! Remember, this is a 4 cylinder, with a lot of low-frequency pulses when idling. Good boost gauges have restrictions in them to reduce this effect. Paragraph two is the result. The one shown was about $45 as I recall. The molded case was $20.

I had the gauge lit for a while, but I've found that is is a distraction when driving at night. I'm sure not going to be looking at the boost at night in any case.

The Mustang kit was $40 as I recall. As I said once before, it is a bear to get to the connections, but it can be done.

I think you ask about using the trailer mode to force the tranny to sequentially shift the first four gears. It works, but does nothing to reduce 0 to 60 times.

If you want the best 0 to 60, turn off the traction control, use Sport mode, hold the RPM to about 1,200 (and no more), and then punch it!

 

[Polar Bear]

I'm curious about the boost pressures, both tuned and untuned, folks are seeing?

I have the Ford tune, and under ideal conditions, with the traction control off (yes it makes a difference), and depending on the gear, the max boost is just over 20 psi.

For those who want to know, the after-market, Ford Mustang boost gauge kit works perfectly. I described that on a different post. The photo shows where I mounted the gauge. By the way, I had it lighted when I first installed it, but discovered it is a distraction when driving at night.

Why the photo got twisted, I have no idea.

Hey man! I wanted to ask how you wired up the lighting...

 

[Apples]

Fuse number in the inside panel is #37. It is for the exterior heated mirrors, and is switched.

Fuse number 38 is 15 amp, and is used to control the trailer brake lighting. It is un-switched.

The LEDs draw so little power, the value of the fuses isn't important. I used fuse taps I bought from Amazon. By the way, I found that the light is a bit distracting at night, so I disconnected the lighting.

Oh! And just for the record, now that everything has settled in (just over 4,300 miles), the peak boost is 24 pounds. Most of the time, that number happens in 5th gear from about 2,500 RPM to about 5,800 RPM. Other wise, 21 pounds is the max with a drop off just right at the redline. With the tune, the soft limit is 7,600, but you don't gain anything winding it that high.

 

[importfighter01]

Fuse number in the inside panel is #37. It is for the exterior heated mirrors, and is switched.

Fuse number 38 is 15 amp, and is used to control the trailer brake lighting. It is un-switched.

The LEDs draw so little power, the value of the fuses isn't important. I used fuse taps I bought from Amazon. By the way, I found that the light is a bit distracting at night, so I disconnected the lighting.

Oh! And just for the record, now that everything has settled in (just over 4,300 miles), the peak boost is 24 pounds. Most of the time, that number happens in 5th gear from about 2,500 RPM to about 5,800 RPM. Other wise, 21 pounds is the max with a drop off just right at the redline. With the tune, the soft limit is 7,600, but you don't gain anything winding it that high.

I agree. These engine need some cams to breath up top for more power.

 

[Polar Bear]

Fuse number in the inside panel is #37. It is for the exterior heated mirrors, and is switched.

Fuse number 38 is 15 amp, and is used to control the trailer brake lighting. It is un-switched.

The LEDs draw so little power, the value of the fuses isn't important. I used fuse taps I bought from Amazon. By the way, I found that the light is a bit distracting at night, so I disconnected the lighting.

Oh! And just for the record, now that everything has settled in (just over 4,300 miles), the peak boost is 24 pounds. Most of the time, that number happens in 5th gear from about 2,500 RPM to about 5,800 RPM. Other wise, 21 pounds is the max with a drop off just right at the redline. With the tune, the soft limit is 7,600, but you don't gain anything winding it that high.

Thanks man. I find these fuses seem to be oddly sized and I don’t have a fuse #38.... very strange.

 

[Apples]

Well, maybe. The after market sells smoother turbo piping. The piping does help, with a bit of extra lag as the pipe volume is about 20% greater. You can add a bigger intercooler, but it too has about 20% greater volume. This almost requires that you install the larger turbo, which also adds lag. If you do it correctly, your cost is about $3,000, including the fuel system's requisite upgrade. So, if you're after low ETs, then of course this is the correct route. But if you drive the truck on the streets, the net result isn't all that good, and neither is the gas mileage. The latter is important, as you almost have to use E85 to get the numbers up.

The bottom line is, decide if you want a decent traffic light beast, or a dragster?

 

[importfighter01]

Well, maybe. The after market sells smoother turbo piping. The piping does help, with a bit of extra lag as the pipe volume is about 20% greater. You can add a bigger intercooler, but it too has about 20% greater volume. This almost requires that you install the larger turbo, which also adds lag. If you do it correctly, your cost is about $3,000, including the fuel system's requisite upgrade. So, if you're after low ETs, then of course this is the correct route. But if you drive the truck on the streets, the net result isn't all that good, and neither is the gas mileage. The latter is important, as you almost have to use E85 to get the numbers up.

The bottom line is, decide if you want a decent traffic light beast, or a dragster?

Good points, but in looking at the dyno thread all of them show a drop off in power starting at 5700rpm, even though the limiter is 6700. Even those dynos with turbo upgrades show that phenomenon in their dyno charts. There isn’t a dyno I've seen yet that holds peak power til redline. I’m sure its a cam profile trade off for more low end power vs top end power which is understandable, just looking forward to seeing results when aftermarket cams are available.

 

[Polar Bear]

Got her going! Thanks for the input man!

 

[importfighter01]

Got her going! Thanks for the input man!

looks good! What mount is that?

 

[ISUACE]

Got her going! Thanks for the input man!

Generally curious how/where you connected the vacuum lines to get the boost pressure from? Also... what gauge did you buy?

 

[Polar Bear]

looks good! What mount is that?

It’s a basic Equus from O’Reilley’s

 

[Polar Bear]

Generally curious how/where you connected the vacuum lines to get the boost pressure from? Also... what gauge did you buy?

It is a glow shift gauge from Amazon. I’m running the pressure from my cold side intercooler pipe. So I’m not getting a vacuum reading, only boost

 

[DT444T]

Got her going! Thanks for the input man!

What is that gauge monitor you're running?

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