silverEVO8

iTrader: (12)

An article in the Sport Compact Car of July 2002 had a very nice article of a comparison of boost controllers. Their final opinion was that a cheap ball valve was about as good as the 6 sophisticated electronic controllers they tested...... However, in my chats with people who've used both, the general consensus is that the MBC (manual boost controllers) do not hold the boost nearly as well as the best ECBs. A fellow I spoke with said that changes in temperature could cause spikes and overboosting and he had to get out the car, lift the hood and futz around with the MBC a lot of the time.... That's not so good in my book.

Now, the best ECBs tested were the Blitz SBC i-D and the GReddy Profec B. Both of these products did a very good job of maintaining and conrolling boost levels at various speeds. The Blitz is a particularly versatile unit and has a ton of extra functions (which I might never use...). Anyway, it looks like the judicious use of one of these could yield very impressive performance improvements without undue risk (as long as the boost levels are kept within safe range).

Has anybody used these products in their cars? If so, what is the result? I would love to read about the pros and cons of these units.... BTW, I'm not interested in the other EBCs out there. Several of them really sucked in that test....

stvbreal

iTrader: (17)

I have the Profec B spec. It's simple and easy to use. Looks nice and small too. Holds solid boost. I dig it.

silverEVO8

iTrader: (12)

Any noticeable performance improvements?? Any other mods??

Thanx

stvbreal

iTrader: (17)

Definite improvement in accelleration. Set at 22psi. I also have Buschur 3" turbo back with test-pipe and air filter kit. Boost gauge and A/F ratio gauge. S-AFC and turbo timer are next. Runnin pretty rich so the S-AFC will come in handy.

EvoRevo

Running 22psi daily? Sounds like alot to me, I am fairly new at this but is that reliable on this motor? I thought 19psi was alot.

stvbreal

iTrader: (17)

19psi is stock max. THe 4G63 can handle 22psi. Plus, I don't run it to 22psi everytime I drvie.

silverEVO8

iTrader: (12)

22 psi is a lot, but I guess the engine might handle it. It seems to run very rich.... Anyway, i guess with 100 octane racing gasoline, you'd have a decent margin of safety too....

Anyway, Isn't it beneficial to run the EBCs just to keep the boost up longer ? I thought that a good bit of improvement comes from the way the EBCs hold the 19 psi (or whatever boost you dial in) for longer time and more linearly. The stock setup begins to open the waste gate sooner than the boost controlled cars do because the signal to the wastegate grows stronger as the boost rises to the maximum design numbers, right?
In other words, you make the boost quicker and hold it longer, plus you can specify different boost levels for different speeds or gears (depending on the unit). Also, the (better) EBCs will not allow boost spiking as does the typical MBC.
Another good feature is that some EBCs also have an integrated boost gauge. That is a very cool and useful feature. It's worth a good bit of money in and of itself.
I'm definitely leaning towards the purchase of one of those two units....

N10S

iTrader: (4)

An MBC is a simple tool for managing boost pressure. I have an XBC brand precision MBC, which I used on my heavily modded WRX, and it worked great! Very minimal spike, and dead relaiable.
I currently have it installed in my Syclone because I am having some FBC problems.

MBC pros:
1)Immediate spool-up with "right now" power characteristics.
2)Will hold adjusted boost through redline
3)Inexpensive($50-$200)
4)Easy to install/remove

MBC cons:
1)No intelligence/MAP sensor, and will require "weather adjusting" with any major temp changes. This isn't a huge deal BTW, but is a manual process.
2)Because the MBC's bring boost up immediately you can run into part-throttle high EGT issues. The manual nature of a ball and spring MBC results in some boost spiking.
3) No boost ramping or tapering across RPM range. This helps cause the spikes, and also can result in high boost conditions under heavy engine loading creating detonation.

The EBC's are a much more sophisticated tool for managing boost. The factory boost controller (FBC) is really just an integrated EBC when you come right down to it. I have owned an Apexi AVCR, and it allows you to map boost against RPM, and provides the ability to run multiple programs. Lots of neat features including gauge read-outs and graphs, but also very complex and not as good as some of the dual solenoid boost controllers at holding boost(particularly higher boost levels seen with the EVO).

If I were going to get an EBC for my EVO the the Blitz SBC-id and Dsbc, and the simple Greddy Profec B would all be decent choices. These all rated highly in the SCC boost controller test.

The Profec B isn't as sophisticated as an AVCR or SBC-id, but it does seem to work extremely well, and is simple and effective to use. I believe it provides a two level boost setting program and can even be triggered by a remote steering wheel mounted button.Maybe the best value for dollar?

Greddy and HKS also both have some new dual solenoid, RPM mappable EBC's available now as well...just don't know how well they work!

EBC pros:
1) In cockpit boost control. Use of stand-alone map sensor helps minimize the weather temp boost control.Minimal boost spikes and excellent boost control using dual solenoid controllers.
2)Multiple boost level settings with many sophisticated features. RPM/speed mapping allows boost ramp and taper.
3)Cool looking with true functional benefits, as well as aesthetic appeal.

EBC cons:
1)Some are very complex. Anyone who has ever dealt with the AVCR knows what I am talking about.The more features the more decisions you as a user have to make. Good learning tool though.
2)More difficult to install/remove.
3)Price is more expensive ($250-650)
4)Some EBC's don't hold boost well, and are also prone to spiking as well.
5)EBC's just don't seem to bring boost-up quite as quickly as an MBC(this is purely subjective based on my experiences so don't fry me here;-).

At the end of the day either an MBC or EBC can both work wonders. I am thinking about the same thing right now for my EVO.

Heres a link to a new MBC from Hallman. The one that looks really promising has a remote adjuster, and a light spring/ceramic ball or heavy spring/stainless ball option.The red anodized would fit right in I think:-)
http://www.boostcontroller.com/

Shahul X

iTrader: (3)

Im installing a HKS EVC V on Thursday, i need an AFC... need more money

-Shahul

MalibuJack

iTrader: (5)

Anyone try the APEXi S-AVC (the sister product to the S-AFC)?? Although I don't care about brand, it would be nice to maintain a consistent instrumentation look.

georgeu2000

The SBCi-D was rated very highly in some japanese magazines. I have one and it works fine, but it is not on a evo. It doesn't spike at all.

mayhem

iTrader: (9)

What's your A/F ratio looking like when running 22psi? I realize the Evo runs pretty rich but I figured when adding 3+pounds of boost would lean it out significantly.

Also, if running the profec-b can the controller be turned off and the boost go back to stock levels? Then that may present another problem if people are reporting new exhaust resulting in an additional 1-2psi.

Coolguy949

iTrader: (10)

I know with the AVC-R the solenoid is kind of weak and it cant hold boost very steady sometimes. I heard that the new AVC-R II has fixed the problem. Don't know if it's out yet though.

Ulf Wafflestein

I'm new to japanese cars, having previously owned a 1968 camaro, but I was way into supras before I got the camaro. Anyways, does anyone have experience with the greddy profec-e01? I'm a sucker for the big LCD but the price is kinda high for me. Is there a good one out there for less thats still got the large display like the e01?

Coolguy949

iTrader: (10)

the profec B or the HKS EVC...the profec B is the smallest but packs great features.