For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

[BadKenny]

I recently installed my own autometer boost gauge and was wondering what sort of vacuum readings other people at my altitude are getting...(calgary is ~3440feet above sea level)....

At idle (below operating temp): 12-14 in/hg
At idle (at operating temp): 16-17 in/hg
Between shifts (at operating temp): 17-18 in/hg

My engine is an UP chipped 1.8t AEB engine code....also I noticed that when its hotter outside I run more vacuum and more boost (on a 20+ day, I hit 16psi at WOT, and easily 17 in/hg vacuum, whereas on a cold day its around 14-15psi at WOT and 16-ish in/hg vacuum)...

Thanks for your responses!

[Jetta03]

Re: For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

I recently installed my own autometer boost gauge and was wondering what sort of vacuum readings other people at my altitude are getting...(calgary is ~3440feet above sea level)....

At idle (below operating temp): 12-14 in/hg
At idle (at operating temp): 16-17 in/hg
Between shifts (at operating temp): 17-18 in/hg

My engine is an UP chipped 1.8t AEB engine code....also I noticed that when its hotter outside I run more vacuum and more boost (on a 20+ day, I hit 16psi at WOT, and easily 17 in/hg vacuum, whereas on a cold day its around 14-15psi at WOT and 16-ish in/hg vacuum)...

Thanks for your responses!

On a 2003 1.8T Jetta (engine mods are RVM CAI, RVM 3" DP, Magnaflow catback, Revo 4bar software). VDO boost gauge shows about 18-19 in/hg at idle. At WOT it peaks at about 20PSI and holds 17-18PSI until it starts to trail off from about 5000 rpm down to 12 PSI at 6500 RPM. Thats in Edmonton so about 2800ft or so?

[NeonGTI]

Re: For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

I show about 1-2 psi below 0 at rest and at idle it varies with ambient conditions.

I cheaped out and got a gauge that only goes to 20 psi boost, so I have no idea where exactly it tops out at. I can tell you that it drops under 20 psi after about 4500 - 5000 rpm depending on weather.

[BadKenny]

Re: For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

OMG, with the insane temps this weekend, on Saturday, around 3pm (I was melting in my car) and when I floored it, it actually hit ~19ish PSI....needless to say I let off the throttle pretty quick...! Things like that make me wanna stick an electronic boost controller in to make sure even if its hella hot and humid out, it will NOT run more boost than I set it to run....considering the stock turbo is a K03 which maxes out (peak efficiency) at below 1bar (14.7psi)....

On a side note, the thing I don't get is why people even bother sticking a K04 in....Its got pretty much the same everything except a more agressive blade pitch/profile.... ...can I really waste my money? For comparable cost, a nice GT28R ballbearing Garrett turbo can go in, which is at least a larger turbo which (according to Garrett) is good to around 280whp and maxes out at 16psi....(mind you, running 16psi on a larger turbo produces more power than 16psi on a smaller turbo...think efficiency....)

[seanfournier]

Re: For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

OMG, with the insane temps this weekend, on Saturday, around 3pm (I was melting in my car) and when I floored it, it actually hit ~19ish PSI....needless to say I let off the throttle pretty quick...! Things like that make me wanna stick an electronic boost controller in to make sure even if its hella hot and humid out, it will NOT run more boost than I set it to run....considering the stock turbo is a K03 which maxes out (peak efficiency) at below 1bar (14.7psi)....

On a side note, the thing I don't get is why people even bother sticking a K04 in....Its got pretty much the same everything except a more agressive blade pitch/profile.... ...can I really waste my money? For comparable cost, a nice GT28R ballbearing Garrett turbo can go in, which is at least a larger turbo which (according to Garrett) is good to around 280whp and maxes out at 16psi....(mind you, running 16psi on a larger turbo produces more power than 16psi on a smaller turbo...think efficiency....)

Because there is no decent software for a gt28r. in fact, there is hardly any decent software for any bigturbo setup. And its not comparable cost at all. You're way off base. For the money, a K04 is a great idea. Programming is cheap and readily available, realiable. GT28R requires new manifold, oil/coolant lines, adjustable fpr, injectors, fmic, exhaust, software. You've just spent $4000cdn.

[BadKenny]

Re: For anyone with a boost/vacuum gauge... (long)

Because there is no decent software for a gt28r. in fact, there is hardly any decent software for any bigturbo setup. And its not comparable cost at all. You're way off base. For the money, a K04 is a great idea. Programming is cheap and readily available, realiable. GT28R requires new manifold, oil/coolant lines, adjustable fpr, injectors, fmic, exhaust, software. You've just spent $4000cdn.

Ah touche on the software part about the GT28R, but in terms of big turbo kits (at least for my Audi with the AEB block), APR, GIAC and PES make big(ger) turbo kits with decent software....but if you are going with a big turbo kit using standalone management (if you're really serious) like combining an AFC with and EBC and then some, but then again, most of us are bolt-on bandits anyways.....But the power increase by going to a K04 is minimal (for the cost) considering the price difference between a K04 kit and a GT25R (i.e. the one they use in the APR Stage III kit ) or the PES T-28 kit. In terms of reliability, don't say that to any TT owner with the stock K04. Remember, same compressor wheel, housing and turbine, just a more aggressive pitch on the blade = different peak efficiency range but same reliability in terms of heat resistance, etc. Plus, if you want to upgrade to a bigger turbo (which the K04 is NOT, it's peak efficiency is still 1bar/14.7psi it just can sustain it to higher rpm's than the K03) and *reliably* create more HP, you should be running bigger injectors, a real fpr and a better intercooler in any case.

I guess it really depends what your end goal is for your car, and how you want to get there. To be honest, I would go for the APR Stage III kit right away and thanks to EMCS (or whatever they call it) I could just drop it down to under 1bar of boost for reliable everyday driving (compared to my K03 running the same amount of boost right now with my UP chip) and go to whatever insane level they have it at for track days.....but to each his own!