[TurboHusker]

I have always admired turbo cars of all kinds, but this is the first one I've owned.


Questions:
Does AutoZone or somebody rent a boost guage?
What is the stock boost (in psi please) of an '88 900 Turbo?
The previous owner of my car had the wastegate actuator turned down so that his kid could drive it without getting in trouble. Is there an easy way to tell when I've gotten back to the stock setting?

I'm not an idiot, I've worked on and admired Turbos forever, I've just never had to be the one in charge of a project. So get as technical as you can.

Thanks, folks.

 

[TheRedBaron]

Hi there,

I don't know if I've heard of renting gauges, but you can get them for pretty cheap online. Autozone may have a cheapo too. For a little over $30 you can get a nice VDO gauge which won't look out of place in a 900 cocelkpartskpit if you want something more permanent. Also, you can order calibrated pressure gauges from industrial suppliers for much cheaper (like $10-12 at some places if I recall correctly).

Stock boost should be something like 11 psi or so as limited by the APC. The boost gauge on the dash should read at about the line between yellow and red. Lowering base boost (the wastegate setting) may make this less, as will a tired spring inside the wastegate actuator. For some great FAQs on the APC system, visit the APC forum on www.900aero.com.

If you want to eyeball it, you should adjust baseboost till it is about 1/3-1/2 of the way through the "yellow" part of the stock turbo/APC gauge. If you do it with a proper gauge, it should be half of full boost, or 5.5 psi (give or take). Try a search for "base boost" and maybe throw in "adjustment" and see what that returns.