Losing 7psi of boost!

[GodSpeed135]

Hi all, I am new to 1addicts here, but I have been a reader for a year or two now! I have had my 1er for about a year and a half. So let's get down to the meat and cheese of the post! I just installed Ar catless dp's last week along with a Cobb Accessport tune. On the first drive out of the shop the car threw a P30FF fault code with the orange engine light. I did my first datalog and noticed that my car was running about 7 to 8 psi of boost while I should be running 14 to 16psi of boost with the stage 2 aggressive map! I investigated under the hood and noticed that there is a small gap about a mm between the charge pipe and the throttle body. I also found that one of the diverter hoses running into the charge pipe was loose compared to the others. My question is could these problems be causing me to loose 7psi of boost! Thanks and I apologize for the long post!

[infinitekidM2C]

yes

[GodSpeed135]

Thanks for the response! I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow to fix a weird steering noise that is coming from the steering rack, and I am gonna get them to check out the gap between the charge pipe and throttle body and the diverter hose too!

[Tony135]

Chargepipe indeed blew off. your best bet will be to get an aftermarket one because the stock doesn't seem to hold the power of a tuned car.

[gdub]

Yea my chargepipe blew off once and my car sounded crazy but didn't go anywhere. Popped it back on and tightened the clamp. Real easy fix. Probably wouldn't take a car with dps to the dealer though, just a heads up.

[John Dempsey]

Did the dealer give you any hassle for your mods?

[GodSpeed135]

So far they haven't, I've been here for a couple hours with no problems. I come to Century BMW here in Greenville,sc quite often for warranty work with no problems, and I've had mods for a while. So far so good on the catless downpipes though, no problems as of yet!

[GodSpeed135]

Okay so the dealer first off did not give me any problems with my mods. But they said that the charge pipe/throttle body connection was fine, and that the diverter valves were fine also! Unhappy, I decided to install the cobb ap again to see if anything had changed. Wow, the car felt great and I could definitely tell there was a lot more boost, I could actually feel the tune. However, today i decided to let her go WOT down a straight away, and I got the same pre-controll boost leak code at about 4 gear and 6300 rpms. I know the wastegate is fine from the duty cycle readings im getting, and Ive checked every line I can see and the ones under the valve cover. Any suggestions on where the boost leak could be/what the problem could be?

[thebigragu99]

Gospeed I would check all you connections on the intercooler.

[GodSpeed135]

If I had a bad connection somewhere involved with the intercooler, wouldn't that mean that my charge intake temps would be high? Because my temps are very normal, 100F at WOT.

[moveswiftly]

Well any leek is either at: Charge pipe / Diverter Valve area, or Hot or cold side of intercooler. If the dealer is right and the charge pipe and diverter valve area is fine then the intercooler is the next logical step.

[HondaGoneRogue]

Lol, it is can't believe no one else has told you that your downpipe v-band clamp bolts are blocking your wastegate a actuators not letting them build full boost. I suspected this just by the thread title but as soon as I read downpipes, I knew. Just rotate the clamps.

[GodSpeed135]

Thanks HondaGoneRogue! I'm definitely gonna get that baby up on a lift this week and check that out! I checked the intercooler lines and they all look good. Hopefully the v-band clamps are the source of my problem!

[GodSpeed135]

If this indeed is the problem, do you think my wastegate actuator arms have been damaged?

[Brian135i]

Originally Posted by GodSpeed135

If this indeed is the problem, do you think my wastegate actuator arms have been damaged?

No, your actuator arm is fine.

[HondaGoneRogue]

Updated my post with a pic. I thought I added it yesterday. Should help to see what I'm talking about.

[GodSpeed135]

Thanks for the pic HondaGoneRogue, this will definitely help me when I get her up on a lift!

[GodSpeed135]

Just got home from my friends shop, it turns out that the v-band clamp was the source of the problem! The clamp was pretty much completely blocking the wastegate actuator arm! Thanks to HondaGoneRogue and all those who helped me out with this problem! My car has been transformed, the first pull I did WOT left me with a load in my pants! Lol I did a data log on the way home and I hit about 16psi! I cannot wait to drive my car again!!

[infinitekidM2C]

that's great GodSpeed! glad you found the problem...boost is addicting lol

[HondaGoneRogue]

[ken1137]

Originally Posted by GodSpeed135

Just got home from my friends shop, it turns out that the v-band clamp was the source of the problem! The clamp was pretty much completely blocking the wastegate actuator arm! Thanks to HondaGoneRogue and all those who helped me out with this problem! My car has been transformed, the first pull I did WOT left me with a load in my pants! Lol I did a data log on the way home and I hit about 16psi! I cannot wait to drive my car again!!

Just a follow up...how is the boost ? Still ok ? I have the exact same problem after the install of my AR DPs. Let me know...b/c I will do the same if you are still ok.

[GodSpeed135]

Ken1137,

All of my boost is still there! All 16 to 17 psi of it! I would definitely recommend putting your car on a lift and checking it out, it is most likely the problem if you have the same symptoms. The car is just a blast to drive, look forward to it everyday!!