what exactly is a boost spike? Every one this forum writes and says that they are bad, but what exactly are they? thank you

 

When you get on the throttle and boost jumps up past what it should be at. It is different in boost creep in that creep is when boost slowly rises past what it should be at as RPM's go up, but with spikes, boost will jump up past what your normal boost should be.

 

The waste Gate allows exhaust gases to past arround the turbine (what makes the turbo spin) and lets say for instance that that waste gate suddenly closes and you are on the throttle 100% in 3rd gear at 4000rpm, well there are alot of exhaust gasses and pressure that cannot bypass the turbine and the turbo spools and spins very quickly to about 18 psi within the matter of seconds. Now imaging that your car wasn't desinged for this to happen. The extra boost causes your car to go lean because the car didn't have time to react and thus, detonation and a possible dead engine.