JackoliciousLegs

1. What type of exhaust is this?

2. My boost is now consistently at 5.5psi w/ just exhaust. What's wrong? Could it be either of these? Dunno about the second pic. Someone told me that's what raises the boost from 5.5 to 8.7...

3. When my stereo gets loud (not even that loud), the power to the head unit just cuts off. No fuses blow. I just have to turn it back on. Aftermarket head unit and that's all.

Thanks,
Jack

JackoliciousLegs

One more thing to note about the boost: someone told me that when you turn the key to the on position, the gauge should read 0. Mine jumps a bit, but settles at -10mmHg.

Icemark

On your #3, it sounds like you have a speaker failing or a speaker short and the amp or head unit is going into protection.

$150FC

ok, check it:

1. no idea

2. you still have the stock downpipe. catback exhaust will not increase boost much. however you have an s5 tii and you should be running more boost than that stock. the first picture doesn't have anything to do with it. the second picture is your boost sensor, and i don't tnink they go bad often.

if you're running 5.5 psi, you're leaking boost somewhere, probably. check for vacuum leaks. i don't know as much about s5 turbos as i do s4 turbos, so that's all i can say.

as for the boost gauge, it's just off 10mmHg. it should read zero because there should be no boost and no vacuum when the car is off. it ought to just read atmospheric pressure, essentially.

JackoliciousLegs

so, since it sits low at -10mmHg, what does that mean? When boosting, it's going to show 10mmHg lower than it really is?

RETed

The tips look HKS, but the mufflers look weird. The piping is damn big though, so I guess it's safe to say HKS...


-Ted

$150FC

yes, 10mmHg lower. i don't think that's a lot but i can't convert it in my head right now

HAILERS

A. Looks like a stock exaust.

B. The boost/pressure sensor IS NOT the reason for the low boost, in any shape or form.

C. You will find that when you replace the pre cat and cat that is now on the car, that the boost will go up a couple of psi. They are probably a touch clogged/old/wore out/ stuffed.

D. The good news is that there is not anything seriously wrong with your car. Just old and tired cats.

E. The small tube going to the main cat is the split air pipe. Its shown in one of your pictures. Has that mushroom thing on it (check valve), and the rubber hose on the front end going to the intake manifold.

F. Be happy. At least you don't own a RX8 and are not making payments.

JackoliciousLegs

There's no way it's stock exhaust because there are still exhaust hangers (rubber loops) where the stock exhaust should be.

JackoliciousLegs

bump me :-) I want more opinions

walken

iTrader: (6)

1. looks like racing beat tips on midas mufflers (don't trust me)
2. check your boost controller
3. you stereo might be connected to the stock amps, this will short out your CD player.

NZConvertible

With the ignition on and the motor not running, the boost gauge should sit right on zero because the pressure in the manifold is atmospheric.

If it's reading low it's probably an electrical problem. It could be the sensor (pressure sensors can go out of spec over many years), the gauge (corrosion on the terminals of any of the gauges causes flakey readings) or the wiring in between (bad grounds or dirty plug connectors will effect the gauge's readings).

While you should be using a decent aftermarket gauge when modifying, you should also make sure the pressure sensor is sending the correct signals to the ECU. 100mmHg (it's not 10) is ~2psi, so you should check the condition of the pressure sensor.

JackoliciousLegs

thanks for the tip about the pressure sensor. I'll check it asap.

About the stereo, should i buy an aftermarket amp? Would that fix it? Why would connecting an aftermarket head unit to stock connectors short the head unit out?

Icemark

The stock amps are designed for a 7 watt input. More than 15 watts overloads them and burns them or the aftermarket head unit's internal chips out.

JackoliciousLegs

soo.... buy new (aftermarket) amp?

NZConvertible

Depends how loud you want it. If you install a new head unit you should always bypass the stock amps, since modern head units can out-power them anyway. I avoided the hassle by just running new speaker cables.

JackoliciousLegs

i hate electronics... the end

JackoliciousLegs

i'll let everyone know if it was the pressure sensor