what is the difference between a greedy BOV that runs $120 and a ebay cheapo thats $30

 

Quality and sound.

 

quality....

you get what you pay for....
TwEaK

 

the diaphragm. there was a comparison in super street or one of those mags where they took both apart. that was the only difference.

 

It's also probably safe to say that the knockoffs save money by using a lower quality alloy, thinner and lower quality coatings and lower quality hardware.

 

The difference is that the quality product will cost you more initially but will be reliable in the long run.

The cheap knockoff will be cheaper initially, but cost you more when you are far from your tools/garage and it breaks. The cost of this will be greater because of repairs, towing costs, etc.

 

A failed BOV won't cause the car to stop working though. So worst case, just don't drive much under boost until you replace it.

But then the cost will be the price of the knockoff + the price of the quality unit.

 

That's true, but if I lost something like that, I wouldn't want to drive my car. If it was stuck open, it would throw your AFR's way off because of the extra air the engine would be sucking in.

 

The Greddy one is mad tite JDM and the ebay ones are not. So basically when you go to a meet you won't get to hardpark with the cool kids cause you have fake ****...hahah...thats probably the only difference b/w the two.

A BOV is a simple component, if the ebay one works I would have no problem buying it. Lets rephrase the question, has anyone ever had problems with the ebay knockoffs?

If your BOV stuck open (an unlikely event that that would be, since I've NEVER heard of a BOV being stuck open), all you'd have to do is plug the vacuum line and drive home.

 

Oddly, I've had two fail lately.

Back when I used to build other people's cars, I would generally mention that eBay BOVs are a good way to save some money if funds are tight, with the understanding that they are knockoff quality and could fail at any time. Never had a problem.

Recently a friend with a turbo 1st gen had a Tial style eBay BOV stop working. It would just not open, with no obvious cluse as to why. All the internal parts checked out and we even replaced the spring with a lighter one. We gave up and he installed a TurboXS. Another friend with another turbo 1st gen had a TurboXS knockoff which never really did work right.

 

in all honesty picked up a knock off. looks like a fire hydrant and sounds waaaaay louder than any other bovs that are around. (when i say louder i mean the wooosh sound of course, not a squeaking or shrill noise).

so far so good. if you got the money buy a name brand at least. the only thing that has gone wrong with mine is i can feel it blow off a little earlier than normal ones...could be though that im running a pretty high boost and the spring inside the bov needs to be firmer...but that's a cheap fix to if i was to just replace it.

Those things being said, i still stand by knock offs if they sound good and are functioning properly.

p.s. always keep in mind too, if they aren't installed properly (which is pretty hard to screw up) they will fail pretty awesomely too.

good luck!

 

dont ever buy a ebay knock off ssqv. I my car killed two of them within 30 minutes. i am not exaggerating. they couldnt tolerate the heat of the engine bay. the plastic circle valves would come loose from there mountings.

 

The other side is them sticking closed. Goodbye turbos and engine

 

i have used them on 2 different 400whp Rx7's

2 of my brothers have used the same one on there hondas, (650whp civic, 700+ whp integra)

never had a problem... but i bought a real Greddy one for my FD when i had it just to have it.

i have also used stock Skyline BOV's on a turbo AE86 and another TII, both worked well also. from my own experience. anything will work when set up correctly...

 

just to add, my mother (yes my mother) has a skyline with a real deal over priced BOV, the damn thing is always surging...lol

 

Buy a synchronic one, problem solved.

 

To get the best of both world (quality and price) is to buy a used good condition authentic bov @ rx7club.com classified section.

 

^very true

 

Um...if you can't distinguish the sound of compressor surge from a BOV venting you deserve to have a blown engine and turbo.

 

meh, I've been running anywhere from 16 to 21psi without a BOV at all for a few thousand miles now. I don't think it matters that much either way. There's a difference between relieving charge air back through the inlet (when throttle is released) and actually running the turbo at the surge line under load (lots of exhaust applied to hot side). The turbo bearings are fine, my motor and turbo have not exploded. i might get a BOV eventually but it's not a priority.



I have not been able to locate any OEM or other technical literature indicating that pressure relief on deceleration (without a BOV) damages anything, just that it makes noise. However, it's pretty well established that having a turbo which significantly outflows the engine (runs at surge line on the map) will damage the compressor.

 

No BOV on an engine with a throttle body = bad. Compressor surge is not a good thing people. If you can't afford a decent BOV, then sell your turbo car and buy one that's N/A. LOL! J/k... But try not to get a cheap knock off. I'd rather have a high quality used part than a low quality knock off.

 

does your turbo have an anti-surge compressor housing? maybe thats why you havnt had any problems???

having it surge a few times isnt going to break anything or really do any harm. but over time from the air forcing its way backwards towards the turbo, will wear out the bearings giving it shaft play. and if continued can break the turbo sending pieces of the blades spinning into the motor. this would take a while to get to this point, but could eventually happen.

 

these are the two turbos I have run without a BOV venting on decel (first the left one, then the right one). You can see there's no anti surge housing. The anti surge housings are to reduce the chance of violent compressor surge from the compressor wheel operating outside of its efficiency range when under load. Now I haven't put 50k miles on these turbos either, but you figure they have vented back out the inlet thousands of times by now.

I guess we'll have to find out. I haven't noticed any lateral or thrust play so far. I'm not saying we should all go out and throw our BOV's away, I'm just saying that for these kinds of applications I don't think a BOV matters either way. And if I'm wrong, I guess I'll eat my words.