Mechanical Boost Gauge

The key to getting horsepower from the turbocharged motor is to increase boost pressure produced by the turbocharger. More pressure means more air and fuel can be stuffed into the cylinder on each stroke, and more fuel in the cylinder means more power produced.

But too much boost can be bad. At some point the fuel system will not be able to deliver enough fuel to match the air that is being forced into the cylinder. The fuel-air mixture will become too lean, and will burn very hot. Those extremely hot temperatures can severely damage pistons and valves, and can destroy your engine.

This is not much of a problem early on in the modification process, but to be safe we urge you to install a mechanical boost gauge as the first modification to your turbocharged Eclipse. Yes, we know, there already is a boost gauge in the dash, but that gauge only gives a rough guess at the real boost level o it is not actually connected to the intake of the car. Instead, the computer estimates the turbo boost by using the engine RPMs and the approximate amount of air moving through the intake. (We use 'mechanical' boost gauge to distinguish from the computer's 'calculated' boost gauge.) When you install your mechanical boost gauge, you'll be able to monitor the intake pressure with much greater accuracy.

The boost gauge can be installed in a number of locations, but the A-pillar (the one that connects the dash to the roof) is a great place for it.

Next: High-flow air filters