We’ve lost count of exactly how many customers express regret after spending a whole lot of their hard earned cash on “fuzzy logic” boost controllers and the programming temperament ( or lack thereof ) of said hardware. When you have the proper facilities or want serious drag performance in a front wheel drive vehicle, electronic boost controllers can always be helpful but to the average enthusiast some of the methods in which to dial in the electronic boost controller can be dangerous.
When you are building a car or modifying one, complicating a factor to must be adjusted or tuned for your vehicle to run at it’s optimum is not always the best course of action. tuning your vehicle. Which is why we’ve always advocated the use of a manual boost controller, especially for street driven cars given the overall cost / operation equation as well as a very high reliability factor.
Today we’ll be installing a Hallman Evolution Manual Boost Controller into a 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST and showing you several options when it comes to manual boost controller itself. While this install is specific to the Hallman manual boost controller, any manual style boost controller install should be very similar, if not the exact same.
As with any kind of bleeder type of valve controller, the manual boost controller is merely a valve that controls the level of boost ( pressure above atmospheric ) being produced by opening the wastegate mechanism in your turbocharged vehicle. Inside this controller is a very simple design of varying qualities, but the principle behind the idea is almost always the same.
Pressure from your intake tract pushes up on the valve, which is pushed closed by a spring and a ball or other plunger type of stopper in the mechanism. The spring rate of this internal spring will dictate when your wastegate will open and thus control the level of boost you produce.
Advantages of a manual boost controller vs an electronic one :
- Ease of operation – Twist of a dial. You will not need to “program” anything in this style of boost controller
- Cost – You can find diagrams and part numbers of how to make your own boost controller for very cheap.
- Ease of Install – No wiring to go over or modify, just two vacuum hoses.
These manual boost controllers from Hallman have years of experience being in cars from hardcore racer to weekend warrior and are engineered to last unlike some “homemade” units.
We are installing a Evolution Hallman Boost Controller, but chances are the manual boost controller you are installing will not need access to the dash unit, please skip ahead to the MOUNTING or vacuum routing portion of the install.
Then we drop the lower dash plate on the drivers side. We will be running the hard line through the driver steering boot. We used an Xacto knife to cut a small X into the boot, and used a screwdriver to push through both layers of the boot itself.
Have a friend feed you the hard line from the engine bay, be very careful around the vacuum lines and any electronic connectors.
Insert the cable into the back of the knob assembly provided in your Evolution boost controller package. Tighten the hex screw with the tool provided.
MOUNTING :
Locate the mounting strap in your package and mount your boost controller in a safe spot away from any moving parts. We mounted ours on the fan shroud of this particular car. If you have another style of boost controller and do not have a strap, make sure to secure your boost controller safely.
We ran the cable under the air conditioning piping, and zip tied the cables together securely. Make sure that the cable will not interfere with your timing belt assembly.
Connect the nipple on the side of the Evolution boost controller (output) to the vacumn hose supplied in your kit.
Connect this vacumn line to the nipple on your internal wastegate, if you have an external wastegate you will want to access the side port of the wastegate with either a barbed fitting ( most likely 8th inch NPT ) or similar style of fitting.
Since this vehicle retains an internal wastegate, we will be hooking the actuator side directly to the wastegate. Now you must connect the lower part of your boost controller or the pressure source. Connect the nipple on the bottom of your Evolution boost controller (input) to a pressure source. If your turbo has a pressure fitting on it, you can use that, if not use the pressure nipple supplied in your kit in a intercooler pipe as we did.
Now mount the adjustment knob using the screws and backing plate supplied in your Hallman Evolution Kit. You are now ready to enjoy one of the best made manual boost controllers available on the market today!
Q : What if I have an external wastegate?
A : On an externally gated turbo vehicle, the line from the output of the Hallman Boost controller connects to the side port of the external wastegate, the top port of the wastegate should always vent to atmosphere. Do not connect anything here.
How to Install a Electronic Boost Controller
Happy Boosting!
- Pro Street Staff
- www.prostreetonline.com
[…] One of the most common ‘free mods’ for this vehicle is to remove the plastic restrictor, giving you 1-2 lbs of additional boost. For more information on how to manipulate, install or replace your boost controller or boost solenoid check out our How-To on Boost Controllers. […]
[…] you are installing a boost controller at the same time, now might be a good idea to check over our How To Install a Boost Controller page for further details. If you have a factory turbocharged vehicle like our Evolution, or if you […]