Aftermarket boost pill possibly affecting engine longevity?

[BravoZero]

Call me a turbo noob, I kind of am.

I have the GST boost pill in my RA with a custom version of the V2.6 basemap beta and the car is great, much different than stock. While I do enjoy driving the car with the power I currently have, I am also thinking about the longevity of the engine with the modified boost levels. I've read where having a boost pill other than the stock restrictive pill causes boost spikes even with a 3-port boost solenoid in some cars, and professionally tuned as well. I know it all comes down to how the car is tuned, but like I said I'm worried about longevity. I don't know how long the boost pill modifications have been around on turbo'ed cars, but my question simply this... as long as the car is PROPERLY tuned, not abused and taken care of, is an aftermarket boost pill like the one GST or AMS sells completely safe?

I'm sorry if I seem so worried, I'm just making sure that before I go further with spending money on power mods and tuning the car that the engine is safe with the boost pill.

[Madhun]

pushing car past stock power levels almost always compromise longevity.Its a risk we take to make the car our own,and mimic EVOs:)
I do however get anal about maintenance and do not "race" it often.
Ive had several Subarus with 280whp on a car that was 190whp stock.They lasted forever:)These are my experiences and opinion only though..

[Madhun]

BTW boost pills been around since turbo cars ,they were pretty big with the DSM crowd in the early 90s.You are messing with boost,so you are technically on your own,and trusting soemone's expertise.

[BravoZero]

Thanks Madhun!

Like I said, I'm somewhat of a noob with force induced cars, this is my first. And I am very uptight on maintenance and making sure the car is running well and looking good.

[MTZL]

This is my first turbo car so I am as newbie as you Bravo.

From my understanding,
Higher the boost = higher the temperature.
Doesnt help that the way turbo is design to take exhaust pressure/gas & rerouted back into intake/throttle body.

You want longevity, cool it down.
Oil Coolers is one, More ventilation, Additional fans, Upgraded Radiator.
Higher flow water pump?
Bigger Intercooler than stock RA.

Maybe if you have enough money, I would coat the piston with thermal & fiction resistant coats. Building the engine is worth a small fortune.

Timing chain is another critical one. Cryo treatment sounds interesting.

[Madhun]

no probs, im no expert,just had quite a few cars i modified.

[TurboAWD]

This is my first turbo car so I am as newbie as you Bravo.

From my understanding,
Higher the boost = higher the temperature.
Doesnt help that the way turbo is design to take exhaust pressure/gas & rerouted back into intake/throttle body.

You want longevity, cool it down.
Oil Coolers is one, More ventilation, Additional fans, Upgraded Radiator.
Higher flow water pump?
Bigger Intercooler than stock RA.

Maybe if you have enough money, I would coat the piston with thermal & fiction resistant coats. Building the engine is worth a small fortune.

Timing chain is another critical one. Cryo treatment sounds interesting.

Absolutly agree with this, and yes boost pills have been around for awhile, its more of a way to turn up boost with out a controller, be it manual or electronic, thing is with the pill once you adjust it you cant change it unless you hook up the computer and tune again, I personally have had many turbo cars and many different types of mods to change boost, electronic is in my opinion the best, but most expensive, the pill is designed for more reliable options, ie. set the power levels and leave them alone, again in my opinion creating MORE longevity over time, however not likely as would stock levels... also these cars are still new and fairly untested... as in when I had my 92 talon in 2005, the "kinks" were all figured out, we all still gotta go through the trial and error that modding anf tuning require, But in the end I agree with MTZL, keep the car cool, oil coolers are the first thing I think of when installing a boost gauge, keep the oil cool, keep the motor running longer. Correct me if i'm wrong guys!

[Drew]

I'm no expert either, but this is my third torbocharged, AWD Mitsu. I owned two dsms before the RA. It's all about knowing what you are doing. Both of my DSMs were comparable in power and boost levels to my RA now, and I beat on them ALOT harder than my RA because of the transmission. Both of those cars lasted over 100k miles with zero drivetrain problems. And that was with both of them being 2g's and everyone and their brother crying about the crankwalk scare. DSMs do not have a boost pill. They have, from the factory, boost control solenoids. Almost everyone who owned a dsm that I knew promptly removed it and replaced it with a mbc and turned up the boost. That is all that the pill does is increase the boost pressure. In short, if you are on a properly sized boost pill with a properly tuned car, you are no different than a stock Evo X. I can't see how that would feasibly reduce the engine life considering the Evo X comes with the exact same warranty as the RA.

[razorlab]

DSMs do not have a boost pill.

Yes they do, they are just in the solenoid nipple, not the hose. That was one of the "free mods", you pull the pill out of the nipple and walla! free boost.

Like this:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRydO0sVKNWIq0rNOmmSeAk6o4EFHT4e A344fJZt4542iyixX9zB0TrGF6Z

[Drew]

Those were not in line and separate, and NO ONE called those pills. That is like saying a section of reduced diameter vacuum hose is a boost pill

Yes they do, they are just in the solenoid nipple, not the hose. That was one of the "free mods", you pull the pill out of the nipple and walla! free boost.

Like this:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRydO0sVKNWIq0rNOmmSeAk6o4EFHT4e A344fJZt4542iyixX9zB0TrGF6Z

[razorlab]

Those were not in line and separate, and NO ONE called those pills. That is like saying a section of reduced diameter vacuum hose is a boost pill


But it is used for the same thing, a restriction in the line. So, they both do the same thing. Taking it out on the dsms raised the boost, and taking it out on the Evo's raise the boost.

Same thing, different locations. Instead of it being metal and in the hose, it was plastic and in the nipple. Both are removable.

[RalliAaron]

ANY mod done to your car will affect longevity, but your driving habits affect the longevity even more.