Boost level

I'm still a T5 newbie so this might seem like a dumb question! My car has been 'chipped' with unknown parts, still need to investigate. Anyway i notice boost starting to come at around 2-2.5k which seems to be normal. At 3.5k the engine comes on cam and acceleration increases. At 5k the engine seems to go into overboost and the boost guage shows the needle at 2/3 in the white section- things get very quick at this point. From 2.5k to 5k the boost needle shows maybe 1/3 on the guage. Only annoyance is when i change gear the boost falls back off to this seemingly lower 225bhp level and i'm waiting then for the fun to begin at 5k again! Is this usual? the car does go very well but i'd prefer the power to be more linear. I'd maybe consider the Rica remap after christmas if that would help things

something does sound wrong but hard to figure out from the description(for me anyway) what is actually happening lol. what i would say though is that it's worth getting an aftermarket boost gauge fitted as the standard boost gauge is known to be a bit crap. very easy to do. two thirds into the white bit sounds like roughly 10psi which is what it's supposed to do as standard.

Trickier trying to watch the guage and watch the road! Think a proper boost guage will be a sound investment either way. I'll check as well when i get a fill of 98 octane next week. I'm only running 95 at the moment and maybe the ECU is detecting a bit of knock and pulling everything back to a safe level. Might be a result of the bleed valve though too. Can't see it being a boost leak, the car holds it very well.

when running with increased boost super unleaded should be used anyway. i cant remember when i last used 95 RON. it just increases the resistance to knock which can do bad things to engines. as for your boost, re-reading your first post i'd day something is definetly wrong. from what i've read on here and other forums, a standard T5 should be getting to about two thirds of the way into the white while on boost. also, you should be getting near enough full boost by 3k rpm (someone correct me if i'm wrong) also, just because boost is holding doesn't mean there isn't a boost leak. ask me how i know!! your turbo could be boosting at 20 psi for example but because of a leak could only be showing 15psi and holding it. in your position, the first thing i would do is to connect a boost gauge and see what vacuum reading your getting at idle and how much boost at full lick. also, do a search under "boost leak" and "stage 0", you should get a lot of info. hope that helps:)

From those readings I would say that your T5 is running a standard ECU

I agree with the other posters, that sounds very similar to my T5 when it was standard, if it had been chipped or remapped I would expect much more boost than that assuming the gauge is working correctly. It's not an eBay +25bhp "chip" is it? :D Cheers, John

Thanks for the replies everyone!! Ah well i was being optimistic expecting a perfect 150mph car for peanuts. Its still a very good basis for a project, i like messing about with the spanners so no big deal The next few jobs will be; 1.) Change PCV system, hopefully on Saturday if i get time. I'll check all the various pipework and replace any boost pipes that are shot. Change oil and filters too. 2.) Ditch the bleed valve and get a proper pillar mount boost guage 3.) Probably invest in a Rica remap, refit the standard airbox with a ITG panel filter. This will be after xmas tho... Don't think there are any Rica dealers in N.Ireland?? John, no idea what the chip is but i think something a bit more fitting for the car will be appropriate :) If its a fleabay jobbie it will be binned!! Cheers, William