degradated

I am totally freaked out now after the stories I hear of people detonating when trying to max out their car, or just plain boosting in 5th gear.
Am I not supposed to boost at all in this gear? Sometimes while on a freeway, if I am on a hill, rather than dowshifting I will just mash the pedal a little so that I build boost, but can maintain speed up the hill. I might do so for like 30 seconds- 1 minute. I only build a few pounds of boost, not a full 7 or 8. Is this very bad to do? How can I approach the hill otherwise so that I am not risking damage to the car?

How does someone find their max speed with a turbo? It doesn't seem like it would take long to get up to 140 or so, but in the process, are you very likely to detonate the motor?

TurboInteg95

I try to keep off boost on the freeway. If I go up a hill that I cant make it up without boosting then I just put it in 4th gear and rev it up a bit more, that should work. 5th gear is just so much load. Just be smart about it. The key to having a good reliable turbo Honda is moderation and a light foot.

B17aTrbo

if i go hard thru 1st, 2nd, and 3rd im fine on my air/fuel but if im just in 3rd gear or say on the freeway and drop it in 3rd my air/fuel goes straight to lean i wouldn't even try it in 4th let alone 5th gear...does anyone know why this happens??? i would like to know what i can do about it since im gonna take it to a dyno and get it dyno'ed where they said they do it in 3rd or 4th gear depending on the car and start it in that gear at about 1-2k rpm's...id hate to have my car limping off a dyno because of detonation! thanks, later.
Corey

Tomakit

The stresses on a motor in 5th gear at WOT are almost exponentially greater than that of any of the other 4 gears. It's for this reason that you *aren't supposed* to boost in 5th, or do highway runs that take you well into 5th. If you have a built motor, I'd assume that 5th gear boosting would be fine.

Tom
(a light foot helps too , unless the punk mustang in the next lane is looking at you all hard. hehe )

degradated

So you're saying it's better to downshift to 4th and boost overall more to maintain speed than just mash the pedal slightly in 5th to keep a constant speed? Because the car will not only be at higher RPM in 4th, but more pedal pressure will have to be applied to keep the car from losing momentum.

Ah...that sucks. What can I do to the car to make it more sturdy for boosting in 5th gear? Right now I have an EGT gauge that I need to hook up....Will this give me ample warning if bad things are happening? Should I invest in an air/fuel gauge? I'm even thinking of a J&S safeguard.

But just building the motor will allow it to take the abuse better? I don't plan to build the motor right now...I do plan on Hondata engine management. I think it pretty much comes down to staying away from boosting in the higher gears, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

sporter

This does not make a bit of sense to me. I do it a lot on the highway (passing cars). It's normal. You can't just not boost in 5th. Give me reasons why it's harder than any of the other gears. Also the rpm is lower.

LEON

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this is odd. It is going to happen... how do you drive on the highway without boosting? I dont mean max boost, but I do hit a couple psi even during casual highway driving. My EGT never goes above 700 C so I'm thinking I'm ok.

Jared

That is because your car stays under boost longer in the higher gears with more stresses(hotter) and has more time to lean out.

Jared

RPM might be lower but the loads are higher on the engine since it is staying at a particular RPM longer, staying in boost longer, and getting hotter.

Jared

It's ok to boost a few pounds driving around, but we're posting against top speed runs and extended periods of time at full boost, under full load in higher gears.

sporter

Ahh, but that's common sense

Okay, just wanted to make sure.

Variance-EJ-6

I am boostin 13 lbs on my Civic, When Im on the freeway I have no problems, dont have my A/F guage yet, but oil press, and boost are at peak, no detonation problems here....

I don;t like to boost to much on the freeway unless a M3 or something comes near, but you should just drive in Vacuum most of the way, the built up boost should only be used if you are going to pass.....late

Speed PHreak

Hmmm, don't think i'll have a problem boosting in 5th. I've got a JDM S1 on a LS motor. I was gonna go all-motor but changed my mind, now i'm stuck with a really short gear tranny(ITR spec), till I change clutches(and trannies ). Tho with the shorter gears there isn't as much stress on the motor to pull in 5th, it just sucks to "top-out" at 120 mph, well for a turbo anyways..........

BluLuder

hmm, what if you have a 4gear automatic? worse or better?

GruvyTune

I just put my FMAX kit in and got my EGT hooked in.
I was driving around and found that as I get close to 4k rpms i go 750-800C on my EGT. My hondata is not tuned yet on the dyno so i'm being careful.
On the freeway, over 65MPH you can't help but generate a little boost when you accelerate in 5th.