i am looking into shimming the wastegate of my turbo while i have the engine all apart for the new headgasket and i am wondering: is it really safe? where exactly do u put the shim? how many washers do you use? my car is completly stock although i will soon be putting a k&N FIPK intake and many more mods later on. Any info on this or any other cheap performance mods that are safe would be greatly appreciated.
shimming the stock wastegate and other cheap/free performance mods.
- Thread starter 88SupraTurbo
- Start date
shimming the wastegate probably causes some premature wastegate failure.
how many people that shim the waste gate though plan on keeping the stock turbo, or switching to some type of boost controller in the future?
i have about 4 or 5 shims which has raised the boost to ~10 pounds.
its a good, cheap, affective way to raise the boost. but you should plan on getting a good EBC.
how many people that shim the waste gate though plan on keeping the stock turbo, or switching to some type of boost controller in the future?
i have about 4 or 5 shims which has raised the boost to ~10 pounds.
its a good, cheap, affective way to raise the boost. but you should plan on getting a good EBC.
This should answer most the questions.
http://www.supras.com/04/resources/index.php?id=18&q=shimming+the+wastegate
I had my wastegate shimmed on my old car, I only had it done for maybe a month then the car died (rod knock, nothing to do with the turbo) and now the turbo is being put on my friends '87. I used 5 washers and would barry the stock boost gauge.
http://www.supras.com/04/resources/index.php?id=18&q=shimming+the+wastegate
I had my wastegate shimmed on my old car, I only had it done for maybe a month then the car died (rod knock, nothing to do with the turbo) and now the turbo is being put on my friends '87. I used 5 washers and would barry the stock boost gauge.
ok so if this is truly safe (?) then there is a good chance i will be doing it but do i need a bov?
I shimmed mine with four or five washers (I can't remember) then took it out on the road and buried the stock boost guage. It was fun while it lasted. It was only 15 or 20 minutes later (after I was off the highway) that I noticed my temperature nearing the red area. I also had my a/c on for the first time of the season however so maybe that had something to do with it.
88SupraTurbo said:
its safe. as long as you dont use a FCD it is safe. you will hit fuel cut before you can wreck your motor.
I would recommend building your own MBC (Manual Boost Controller) instead of the wastegate shimming method. It costs about $15 to have enough supplies to make two AND you can control the boost amount. As for the increase in risk of a BHG...well, anytime you mod something, the reliability factor decreases. Personally, I would not run anything over stock boost until I have at least an intake and a cat back exhaust. I would also recommend you re-torque the head with some ARP bolts to about 75ft. lbs., but then again, you're talking to someone who just replaced every gasket on his car except for the front and rear main seals just for the added security and peace of mind.
I shimmed my waste gate for all of the last summer without any problems. I would recommend it as a safe means of temporarily increasing boost before a turbo upgrade.
DrakeMK3 said:I would recommend building your own MBC (Manual Boost Controller) instead of the wastegate shimming method. It costs about $15 to have enough supplies to make two AND you can control the boost amount. As for the increase in risk of a BHG...well, anytime you mod something, the reliability factor decreases. Personally, I would not run anything over stock boost until I have at least an intake and a cat back exhaust. I would also recommend you re-torque the head with some ARP bolts to about 75ft. lbs., but then again, you're talking to someone who just replaced every gasket on his car except for the front and rear main seals just for the added security and peace of mind.
Theres mixed opinions on this but I wouldn't retorque a stock headgasket if its never been touched before. If its a stock gasket that has been replaced in the past then you should be fine with a retorque, but retorqueing an 18yr old gasket may very well crack/kink it and cause more bad than good...
i shimed my wastegate with two washers when i replaced my hg this winter. i only did two washers and am running 8 psi now. i do plan on getting a mbc soon. i would suggest this as a TEMPORARY way to increase boost. you can get an mbc cheap and i could imagine some damage to the wastgate spring by teh shims. and if you want to go super sketchy with your boost increasing, you can take a needle and poke a small hole in the rubber signal line going to the wastegate. this will bleed off some of the pressure going to the diaphram and so it will cause the turbo to have to make more pressure before teh wastegate opens. i've never done this but i want someone else to try it to see how it goes.
lagged said:
no this isnt a bad idea...it works well actually...its just VERY ghetto...
another GHETTO idea for a boost controller is to just take a hose and put it on the compressor side.... the length of the hose coming off of it relates to how much boost...the shorter the higher the boost... the longer the lower the boost...
HOWEVER IMO all of these are ghetto and shouldnt be done...including shimming the wg...i mean how hard is it to make a mbc if you want to be cheap about things....
and its crap like this that gives mk3 owners the "cheap" stereotype...
Idealsupra said:
running the wastegate actuator line to the intake manifold (what you were suggesting?) seems to me to be a MUCH better solution than poking a small hole in the line.
to me, damaging a part for "performance" is not an option to replace a real modification (even if thats shimming the wastegate)