boosting levels
 

i'm well aware that the 10-8-10 boost pattern is for WOT, and for the most part, i have noticed my boost stays around 10 psi when the accelerator is fully depressed. occasionally i do see the needle bounce up to around 11-12 psi when i really push the car, is this something i need to worry about? also, the vacuum stays on '10' when i'm idling or just cruising without pressing the accelerator...is this a normal level?

10" is a little low but not scary. Is the engine ported?

11-12psi boost spikes are probably not going to cause a problem but when you add your next mod you need to deal with it. The solution is an adjustable boost controller to replace the wastegate solenoid.

yes, i do believe so. the engine was rebuilt at rotary performance in texas. i've been trying to get details about the rebuild, but for some reason they say they can't give me full details about it due to customer privacy? i think it's BS...from what they did tell me though it was rebuilt with 3 mm apex seals and porting of some sort. what kind i have no idea. i know that rotary perfromance is a popular shop for engine rebuilds, perhaps somebody on here can chime in and tell me more details if they've had their engine rebuilt with 3 mm seals as well?

i don't know if it will help, but they also told me that the rebuild cost around $8,000 when it was performed in their shop. maybe that can clarify what level of porting or rebuild was done.

any ideas?

In general, it's never a good idea to have boost you cannot control. If you are targeting 10 PSI and you are seeing higher, how do you know it want shoot up even higher at some other time. IMO, an electronic boost controller is something every FD should have....

so getting a boost controller is not the same thing as getting a power fc..as that is an ecu replacement correct? would i be okay just getting an apexi boost controller and running it with the stock ecu to have it maintain boost levels of 10 psi? it definitely would be more affordable than having to shell out 700 or so for the power fc.

power FC is just a fuel computer and isnt the most reliable way to control boost, get a boost controller, remember spending a few hundred on a controller is cheaper than rebuilding the engine if you have a crazy boost spike

good idea, thanks. what boost controller do you guys use?

The PFC does boost control two ways:
1) you can adjust settings used to control the stock solenoids - this has benefit for lightly modded cars
2) you can use the PFC to control an Apexi solenoid that replaces the wastegate solenoid and provides the flexibility and reliability of an aftermarket controller solenoid. I cannot speak for the interface/configurability, but it definitely works.