Too much boost?

[BonnieBoy08]

How much is too much? I'm assuming there's red on the gauge for a reason, how long can it run there before I risk any real damage? Everything is stock.

[00Beast]

How many pounds does it appear to be? Stock should be 7-8, on the farther right side of the gauge. You can't make more than that on a stock pulley, unless something is seriously broken somewhere, but the limit is the pulley diameter and RPM.

[BonnieBoy08]

Can get to 9-9.5. It will only do it if I slowly accelerate once I'm in 2nd and take it thru that gear all the way to 5000+ rpm. Same goes for 3rd gear now that I think about it. Could be a smaller pulley but I would be shocked judging from the previous owner of the car....

[nos4blood70]

Post a picture up!

[SSEiMan01]

Mine consistently ran 9.5 psi on a stock pulley. Not a stock tune, but still.

[yourgrandma]

Depending on temperature it can go pretty high stock.

How much is too much is going to depend pn a number of factors, but your knock sensors will tell you. (whispers)You just have to listen.

[BonnieBoy08]

Here's a pic. Sorry about the clarity...but with high RPMs and speeds fastly approaching triple digits my adrenaline gets pumping and out the window goes my steady hand. That and the worry of a deer jumping out on the back country county line road I do most of my speed stupid activities on.

[yourgrandma]

Haha! That's actually a cool pic! I like it.

That's not crazy high but I've heard some cars are better than others with regards to the alignment of the oe lim gaskets. That can cause a restriction and higher boost readings.

[nubuilder]

So how high is too high stock? How much boost can a stock engine take (I guess is the real question)?

[redzmonte]

Well i would start by hooking up a different gauge to verify. i used Autometer mechanical Vac/Boost in the past. I have ran 3.0" on my L67 swapped Lumina and saw 13-14lbs on a cold night at WOT. I have a 3.4 & a 3.25 on my bonnie and saw about what you are seeing. I am at 5700 ft Elevation so you will see more then me... seems high for a stock pulley even at sea level (your in MN). the blower will read high if you have a restriction somewhere like a plugged cat.. basically it could be boost stacking, so the blower is not turning faster and creating more boost, you are basically backing up the flow which causes more pressure because it cant get out fast enough. Eaton blower are pos displacment blowers, so it creats boost by basically "Boost Stacking" in the lower intake, unlike a turbo which actually compresses in the turbo and makes pressure before the engine. This is why when you do headers or cam you will loose boost pressure on our cars.

Does the car feel a little sluggish or choaking up top?

S

[BonnieBoy08]

I just wanted to make sure running it in the "red" of the boost gauge wasn't going to do any damage to anything. It pulls strong all the way through the 5500rpm shift point at WOT. Doesn't hesitate at all. On a real hot or humid day I will notice some KR in the higher rpm range but I try not to beat on it in those condtions. I don't have an areoforce gauge to give me any readings but I can feel it in the car when the KR sensors are cutting it off.

[redzmonte]

should be fine if you are running a stock pulley. if you dont have a DP then this would be a good excuse to get one.. helps free up power and eliminate KR. Only way to know if its over boosting is to scan for KR.

[BonnieBoy08]

Yeah that's probably first on the list for performance mods, right now I'm sticking to cosmetics.