Proper boost number on gauge

[ForYourOwnGood]

what conditions are you testing this? What gear... what rpm? Try a 3rd or 2nd gear pull from 3000rpm.

I can't speak for OP but my car in 2nd or 3rd doesn't even see 10psi, usually 8 max.

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[stangchief]

About 8-10 is my max. I have tested it under MANY conditions. Is there is a loose hose, etc. or pipe, would I notice any other symptoms? Again, not having driven another ecoboost, I am not sure that it accelerates, etc. or otherwise pulls normally. It seems to be fine, but not being familiar with turbos, should I feel the turbo "kick in" at some point?

 

[Arno_ecobeast]

symptoms are generally whining noise, car not properly vacuuming (vacuum sits higher) and then ultimately not hitting boost properly.
It has always been a really annoying problem to have. You need to check all hoses and clamps from turbo all the way to intake then check BOV as well. A lot of plastic parts and hoses on the stock setup... me no likey plastic :(

 

[JStang15]

You guys seeing 8-10 PSI max definitely have some type of issue going on. I would regularly see 17-18 PSI on the stock tune and would occasionally spike at 19 or 20 depending on the conditions. My first guess would be a leak but you would think a dealer could diagnose that...

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

You guys seeing 8-10 PSI max definitely have some type of issue going on. I would regularly see 17-18 PSI on the stock tune and would occasionally spike at 19 or 20 depending on the conditions. My first guess would be a leak but you would think a dealer could diagnose that...

My dealer changed my spark plugs and told me I was good to go. I guess I can try the old "soapy water" trick on the clamp areas and see if it blows any bubbles because I haven't found any leaks at all yet.

 

[Arno_ecobeast]

Hopefully you find it... as taking it to a dealer for not hitting boost and they replace the plugs LOL.
Sort of related... Anyone know how to change the boost gauge from bar to psi?

 

[8borerifle]

My 2015 Ecoboost Premium PP is stock and has always hit around 20 pounds boost. I had a 1987 Buick Grand National and when the wastegate solenoid wasn't working right it wouldn't let the boost go over 12 pounds. Could be your problem.

 

[85stang]

My manual ecoboost hits 21psi, but only momentarily. How many rpm are you holding WOT too? Mine usually tops out at 10 until it gets close to 5k rpm then hits the peak and starts to drop back off closer to redline. you wont see more then 10psi at 3-4k rpm. should really start to build after 4k. I also notice it wont reach 20 in most gears except 2nd. The computer is really conservative with the wastegate.

 

[dgc333]

One thing is the parallax error on the boost gauge is terrible and having it that far away and pointing straight back makes it even worse. Unless you lean way over to the middle of the car, almost to the passenger's seat, you can't even read it accurately.

My bet is if you think it is reading 10 psi, it might be closer to 5 psi. You probably have a boost leak and you'll want to check that quick. Many of us with 15s had the charge pipes blow off. With the charge pipe off the car is a pig and you don't want to try to fool with that on the side of the road in the winter.

Parallax from the drivers seat will make the gauge appear to be reading higher than it actually is. As you approach 20 psi on the gauge you are looking right down the needle so parallax error is gone.

To the OP a stock Ecoboost should see 18 psi at wide open throttle. Steady state cruising you will be on the vacuum side of the gauge around 10" Hg and will go to 20 under deceleration. Acceleration below WOT will give boost anywhere up to 15 or so depending on how hard you are pushing.

If you aren't seeing numbers like that you have an issue and need to get it back to the dealer.

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

So I'm going to resurrect this thread, I'm on a work trip and ended up getting a 2015 EB as a rental this weekend (usually its economy cheap car but this was the last thing they had left). This thing has almost 90k miles and being a rental I'm guessing they haven't been easy.

This thing is so much stronger than my car it isn't even funny. I was actually shocked at how powerful it felt. It hits 18PSI in 2nd (although it is an A6), I've never seen 18PSI on my car, not one time. I guess there must be a boost leak after all, or something wrong with the wastegate. I won't be back home to check on it for another month but it'll be detective time when I do get there.

 

[Arno_ecobeast]

I am not surprised. That rental has probably been in to service many many times and found something and fixed it.
With the amount of 'plasticy' pipes our cars use and mass manufacturing that is done to it there must be some build discrepancies from time to time.
you can easily go from turbo to intake and just retighten all those pipes firstly as an easy check. wastegate would be the next thing but how you test that at home i have NFI.
Do you have an aftermarket boost gauge or just the stock display?

 

[Marvinmadman]

I have a mightyvac for checking low pressure actuators. Boost leak, "manifold" gasket, wastegate stuck open or faulty WG solenoid.

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

Do you have an aftermarket boost gauge or just the stock display?

I was looking at the stock one, but seeing that it displays close to correct in others cars I think its OK, I do have a cheap mechanical one I plan to run a tube to when I get back just to try and diagnose it.

 

[tw557]

I have a mechanical gage I would like to hook up also. Anybody have any good ideas of where to hook it up to.

 

[OVRKILL]

Your stock tune should let you hit 18psi around 3200-3500. There is a documented issue of charge pipes being loose from the factory. Go ahead and check the connections on your intercooler - you might have to pull the bumper cover for this.

You might not even hear a boost leak because these cars are so well insulated.

While you're in there, you may as well swap in a bigger intercooler too.

Also, vacuum will look a bit odd, because it's measured in inches of mercury instead of PSI. I'm assuming Ford did this so it looks 'even.'

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