boost feels 'late'?

[arsenicpants]

1.6 TD / k14 / intercooled
This is my first turbo car, and yesterday i drove it for the first time
I can always hear the turbine whine, but it really only 'boosts' at a very late RPM
the k14 is known for it's quick spooling, apparently, so I'm a little confused

what typically causes this? boost leak?
or am I just expecting too much?

[Rabbit on Roids]

boost should come on almost as soon as you hit the floor with the pedal.

[Vincent Waldon]

Best bet would be to (at least temporarily) install some kind of boost gauge... it will help you understand what your butt dyno may or may not be telling you, will tell you about leaks, max pressure, etc. 

[arsenicpants]

i don't have my boost or pyometer gauges installed yet
waiting to get to a welder to install the bung for the pyrometer, and i'm trying to find the correct brass fittings to make the boost gauge tap into my intake port (i thought it'd be easy, but no one seems to stock the bits i'm looking for)

I guess i can wait then, I was just hoping to get some tips on what to check in the mean time

[Vincent Waldon]

I guess i can wait then, I was just hoping to get some tips on what to check in the mean time

T'will all be guesses and probably a bunch of dead-ends until you can actually scientifically see what's happening.   

[arsenicpants]

You can just tee the boost gauge into the line from intake to injection pump.  Most FLAPS will have an assortment of vacuum tees.

I assume FLAPS is some kind of hardware store chain in Arizona
but i've been looking around at various hardware stores here and haven't been able to find a T, or a vacuum hose fitting, or a plastic air line fitting that will work for me, not in the small diameter i'm looking for anyways

[Vangruver]

at least you can hear your turbo running.

i used to, but now that one of the injectors are knocking so bad, i only hear that instead of the spool.

[Vincent Waldon]

FLAPS is an acronym for your Friendly Local Auto Parts Store... NAPA, Autosource, Canadian Tire, PartsSource, etc.

NAPA, for example,  has a bunch of different vacuum tees in their on-line catalog:

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Results.aspx?Ntt=vacuum%20tee&Ntk=Keyword&Nty=1&N=0

Their Canadian inventory is usually pretty similar... just can't search over the web.

You may have checked already, but Canadian Tire's "generic parts" isle usually has stuff like tees etc as well. Mine came from a local hobby store... sized for model aircraft but worked fine... just another option.

If you want to get a nice one... track down the 42Draft Designs tee that has a built-in anti-buzz restriction...  these guys in Surrey are listed as BC dealers and should be able to get it for ya:

 HPA Motorsports
Surrey, BC
604.598.8520

[arsenicpants]

ya, it's not the tee to splice into the vacuum line, it's the brass fitting to stick it onto the back of my VDO gauge
i've already got a tee, i just used a washer hose tee from a mk3

[Vincent Waldon]

42Draft Designs sells a kit with the fitting and hose as well:

[arsenicpants]

alright, so i got the boost gauge figured out, it's installed and I can finally get some accurate readings
still don't have a tach, but i won't be getting one any time soon, so...

it tops at 15 lbs, (i want 20). from about half way through the RPM range it starts crawling up, and jumps from 8 or so to 15 very quickly, at about 3/4 or 5/6 way through the RPM range
I'm more worried at this point as to why my accessory fan STILL isn't coming on (really pretty angry about that), but i'll spray soapy water on my intercooler piping and try to find where it's leaking from

[Rabbit on Roids]

soapy water wont find a leak. you kinda need to load the engine to make boost.. and you cant really load it when the car isnt moving. unless you have a dyno you can work with..

actually, soapy water will find a leak, just not in this situation.

[Luckypabst]

You might have a hard time getting 20 psi from a K14 as it is...
But it sounds to me like you need fuel enrichment to come on sooner and may need to tinker with the boost aneroid. In my experience, a small boost leak (blown boost gauge line) made very little difference and more substantial leaks were audible, even from all the way back at the rear of the van, typically as a whistling sound from my intercooler fittings.

Chris