how do boost controllers work?

i dont really know much about turbo.. but from what ive read.. upping the boost is done by increasing the spring tension in your waste gate so it takes a higher psi to open the wastegate so you push more psi through the intercooler and into your intake mani. so if a boost controller is all electronic.. how does it control your boost?

or am i just completely confused as to what a boost controller is supposed to do? isnt it something that you use to adjust the boost so that you can turn it up for race applications and turn down the boost for daily driving?

sorry if im bein a total noob. haha

 

The thing you have to keep in mind is that boost controlers are ONLY for upping the boost, then returning it to where it was. What I mean, is that if you're running 8psi (you have an 8psi spring in your WG), you can use the boost controller to bump it up to 12psi (or whatever) for a night at the track. BUT, you have to make sure you're tuned for that up in boost, 4psi can make a huge difference, good or bad.

 

This is how my AVC-R works.

This only applies to external wastegates. The Tial wastegate has a diaphram, held down by a spring that is released with boost pressure. When the pressure is able to compress the spring by pushing the diaphram up, a valve opens allowing exhaust to move through and bypass the exhaust turbine. Thus regulating boost.

With the boost controller, you put another nipple on the top of the wastegate. Say I have an 8psi spring, I can set the AVC-R to produce 12psi in stead. The unit does this by simply allowing 4psi of air to go into the top of the wastegate. When you do this, you now need 12psi to compress the spring and open the wastegate.

Pretty simple really.

 

gotcha. so it really just adds another element to your wastegate and then you control THAT element with your boost controller right?

that makes more sense. i was under the impression that a boost controller just messed around with your existing waste gate and that didnt make any sense.

i think i get it now. hows the installation go on a boost controller? (generically. dont think im askin how to install one on my gti. i just wanna know how its done.)

 

Eh, the AVC-R wasn't too hard, and it's said to be one of the hardest units to install and set up. So overall as long as you follow the directions they give you (often times you'll have to read it a few times for it to make sense lol), you'll be ok.

Internal wastegate boost controllers work a little differently. I believe they will actually keep the wastegate from seeing anything at all and then will bleed off the excess boost and allow the wastegate to see boost. I have to do more research on it but I have an external one so it doesn't apply to me.