Tuesday 10th August 2004

Test Your Turbo

New kit will make pressure testing easier

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With almost half the new cars sold in the UK now having turbochargers, Owen Developments (the UK’s only Garrett Performance Centre), have developed a universal Master Boost Pressure Gauge.

Service technicians can now easily and accurately check the boost pressure being generated by turbochargers for petrol and diesel car and light commercial vehicle engines.

Brian Owen, who designed the Master Boost Pressure Gauge said, "If a customer has any doubt the engine of their turbocharged vehicle is not performing as it should, it is now very easy, using this equipment, for a service technician to check the boost pressure is up to the manufacturer’s specification. The only way to test the pressure accurately is to have the engine operating in full load and maximum acceleration conditions. This can only be done on a rolling road or on the open road. Using this test kit immediately tells the operator if the boost pressure is too low and they can immediately investigate the fault, which could be an air leak, stone damage to the intercooler or a worn turbocharger. It does away with the current time consuming and expensive fault finding processes done by part replacement".

"The kit we have developed can be used on any make of turbocharger. It uses a large analogue gauge marked in Bar and KPA pressures and this fits using a suction cup and adjustable bracket to the inside the windscreen in the driver’s line of vision for safety. A pipe from the gauge is linked into the vehicle’s boost sensor hose with ‘T’ pieces supplied and the actual pressure being produced by the turbocharger under full load is then displayed inside the car. This system does away with the need to use the current workshop multiuse and static digital diagnostic equipment which will only give a snap-shot of boost pressure at any given time and not the full progression of turbo boost right through the engine speed range under load" said Owen.

The kit comes in its own protective box with foam inlay and is priced at £110.00 plus VAT.

 

[900T-R]

Er, I might be missing something - but what exactly is new about offering a turbo pressure gauge with a T-piece to plug into a vac line at the engine? Saab dealers around the world have had the same piece of equipment in their cupboard for well over a quarter of a century now...

[hansfree]

i got a boost guage and a boost pressure valve from Apex performance for £70 inc vat the pair which does the same job of telling me my boost levels and allows me to turn the boost up too if i wish.

and I can use the £40 odd quid to pay for the extra petrol my increased boost levels now require!

[900T-R]

Admittedly the one Saab dealers (used to) have is a bit bigger (figure 'station clock' ), more sensitive and and more precisely calibrated than your average 52 mm accessory gauge, so a price comparison might not be entirely accurate...

[Boosted Ls1]

I don't get this either. Go to any army/navy surplus store and buy a decent guage for a tenner. You can use it for liquid pressures as well. This won't be on my tool list for christmas.

[cptsideways]

Yep £25 quid for a calibrated station clock used in breweries, & a bit of tubing.