Ok, when I'm full throttle, i hear loud wooshing noise but don't feel a whole lot of power....it stays at around 8psi. If i keep the throttle about half open, it still makes loud wooshing noise and is around 5psi but then gradually starts to drop until it stays at 0psi even if i'm still hearing the wooshing noise. and i feel a real lag in power.

I'm thinking it's a leak in the IC. I dont' think it'd be a leak in the wastegate (internal) flap because I'd think regardless of throttle position, i'd always feel a lag.

It's like at first, you feel a boost of power and then it quickly dies off...then you start to see the psi drop until it reaches 0psi and stays there. Any ideas?

 

you can check for leaks in your system by using a homemade pressure tester . for example, http://www.sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=49376
other than that....you can control boost with part throttle or by massaging the skinny pedal some turbo'd cars will make a "jet" noise when they spool.

 

What you can try is, have a friend sit in your car and have him goose the gas while he is doing this you have to feal around all of the couplers, welds and the intercooler in your piping.

If it is leaking you should fell little spurts of air comming out. I Wanna say its probably not couplers cause when a coupler blows off you get no boost at all.

GL