MBC advice please?!!?

[AlanG]

Hello everyone.......Have just changed my ecu for an HLM stage 1 (Rica280) and the results are stunning! I'd certainly recommend it to any T5 owner. Probably most surprising is the way the car drives. Very flexible with no apparent loss at low rpm and a serious kick when it spins up. Turbo whistle more notable (a lot more) and dash guage nudging it's stop.
My q is this.........would an MBC benefit me more (think I'm getting the bug!)?
I see one selling on flea bay for £30 by a company called R-Spec. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
One last thing.........big thumbs up to HLM!! ECU arrived within 2 days and having spoken to the main man,what I received was exactly as promised. Can't praise them enough.......
Anyway MBC?

[stevie69]

get a boost guage and adjust your actuator.

[Dangerous Dave]

I fitted an RSpec mbc to my LPT engine. Originally I bought the wrong one, and they sent me out the right part straight away.

The mbc is fine, I've had no problems with it yet (only had it fitted a month)

I don't know anything about running an mbc and a remap sorry.

[p fandango]

you can run a MBC along with a remap but personally i don't recommend it, the remapped ECU will have the boost protection either raised or removed altogether so if you do turn the boost too much you stand a good chance of it bending a rod

[callyuk]

what he said above

[AlanG]

get a boost guage and adjust your actuator.

Thanks Stevie,gettin' back into it I suppose. Last time I tuned a car it was a mk1 Cavalier with a Piper Magnum 285 cam!!!!!!! As far as the actuator goes,all I've done is adjust out any wear although it seems perfect now. Car has 120k and full history. Fit and healthy. Will give some thought to the boost guage,all I know for sure is that it's boosting much higher since the uprade.

[AlanG]

I fitted an RSpec mbc to my LPT engine. Originally I bought the wrong one, and they sent me out the right part straight away.

The mbc is fine, I've had no problems with it yet (only had it fitted a month)

I don't know anything about running an mbc and a remap sorry.

Thanks bomb,my worry was the people's reputation,I suppose. Take on board with respect to all comments. Suppose if you don't go overboard and adhere to an accurate guage then a manual one may be an improvement?

[Dangerous Dave]

Or just go on their website www.rspec.co.uk

[AlanG]

Or just go on their website www.rspec.co.uk

Nice one bomb,will check that now......

[AlanG]

Nice one bomb,will check that now......

Ok,had a look on there and looks very professional. Good feedback from bomb. Can always stick it back on flea bay if it's not the job....

[stevie69]

im originally from kilbirnie and used to pedal to lochwinoch on my bmx to get conkers when i was wee..my dash boost guage goes about 3 or 4m of the end of the white at 1.2bar if that helps and iv had 2 rspec mbcs and they seem fine..

[AlanG]

im originally from kilbirnie and used to pedal to lochwinoch on my bmx to get conkers when i was wee..my dash boost guage goes about 3 or 4m of the end of the white at 1.2bar if that helps and iv had 2 rspec mbcs and they seem fine..

Nice one Stevie,gives a good guide. Mine is almost at the top of the white but haven't really tried the high gears yet.
Bmx eh? That wasn't yesterday! Was down Kilbirnie one Friday night recently. Befuddled,teenage savages running up and down the main st and not a copper in sight. Give that a miss in future.

[Dangerous Dave]

I've got relatives in Kilbirnie, was up there for Christmas

[stevie69]

iv not been back for years now but the last time it was a bit of a dump.it was a good place to grow up about 25 years ago..

[AlanG]

Anyway chaps,undecided about this mbc. Was out playing today and had the car on all different roads and driving conditions so it's the first decent run since the re-map. Can't say what,if any change in consumption for obvious reasons. What I can say is that the power is awesome. For £150,I doubt you'll do better bhp per £. Think I'll leave the mbc for now and just enjoy. There seems the same power increase from my 2.5 20V man to the standard T5 as the remap has to my present car. Thanks to all for your help.

[AlanG]

Well,got the mbc and is now fitted. Couldn't resist. Boost guage just off the white and power is awesome. Somebody stop me!!!!!

[BigV]

Well,got the mbc and is now fitted. Couldn't resist. Boost guage just off the white and power is awesome. Somebody stop me!!!!!

So your running and MBC and the remap? What benefits do you find from running both rather than just the remap on its own?


I quite fancy fitting an MBC to mine but I already have the 280 map on my car...... I just want a bit more aggressive power low down.

[AlanG]

Spoke to Hamish before I fitted the mbc and he said no problem as long as you're careful. By all means fit it along with the re-map. Before the mbc,dash guage almost top of white. fitted the mbc with it backed right off and then 1/4 turn at a time until the guage is about 2-3mm beyond the white. To answer your q it's worth doing as it is not expensive. I paid £30 and still using 95 RON (my reason for 280,not 304) Smooth,very powerful and mine is averaging 30mpg. Keep the bcs in and connect the mbc in the yellow pipe to actuator. It's a blast:eclipsee_

[BigV]

Spoke to Hamish before I fitted the mbc and he said no problem as long as you're careful. By all means fit it along with the re-map. Before the mbc,dash guage almost top of white. fitted the mbc with it backed right off and then 1/4 turn at a time until the guage is about 2-3mm beyond the white. To answer your q it's worth doing as it is not expensive. I paid £30 and still using 95 RON (my reason for 280,not 304) Smooth,very powerful and mine is averaging 30mpg. Keep the bcs in and connect the mbc in the yellow pipe to actuator. It's a blast:eclipsee_

I gotta get my boost gauge fitted first........ I can't seem to find a way to run the boost pipe through the bulkhead on the C70.... too many wires in the way unlike the 850's.

How many PSI have you got the MBC set to? I know my car is already hitting 17psi with the 280 fitted, but I just miss the instant power of an MBC...... Do you reckon it would be safe to slap the MBC on and set it to say 16psi, just for the benefits of faster spool up and more aggressive power.

I remember when I had an MBC on my 850.... yeah it ran outta puff after 75mph, but it was faster off the line than virtually anything, even really light cars.

[AlanG]

Sounds safe enough matey but you're right in getting the boost guage fitted first. As you know the dash guage on the 850 is only a guide but it does tell you if any alterations have had an effect. I've seen posts on here where people have their dash guages well off the scale. I don't have an accurate guage so can't say exactly what it's boosting at,so erring on the side of caution and leaving it as is. Can't be a***d defending myself from the tartan rug hypocrites on here so not goin' to say much about performance. Let's just say it doesn't run out of puff:firedevil

[Hallsy]

If I were you, I would get your car on a decent rolling road and have your AFR checked, just in case you are running enough excess boost to be leaning out & possibly detonating.

I don't know how these maps are, but I'm sure I was told that the AFR on the Rica maps is already a little on the harsh side (most turbo cars will run a little rich, the extra fuel helps with cooling iirc, and also safety against det), so upping the boost further may be pushing the fuelling of the map to the max. Unless the ECU has some leway in it's fuelling based on the MAP sensor signal? But even then you could still be close to maxing the std injectors.

Also, as has been said, using an MBC will mean that you have no protection on your engine now. If the original ECU (not sure about remap though) detects a fault (knock sensor, etc) then it can limit the boost levels to a safe limit (using the std boost solenoid), it can also prevent over boost in the same way.

Obviously using an MBC will override the boost solenoid.

I don't know these engines or maps well enough to know for sure (I'm new to the T5), but I'd just errr on the side of caution and get it on a rolling road to be sure :)