[Saint]

hey guys.

so, the immortal stock bov/bpv vs aftermarket bov topic haha.

first off, lemme suggest a couple BOVs that i've found to be good, before i get into a few details i think everyone should know about BOVs.

stock bov is THE BEST!!! use it if you can, although it's nice to change your bov every now and then to keep you happy. ^_^ but ya, always keep your stock one handy. it almost never breaks, is the most stable, and is the most responsive. it also won't give you a "shiny thing in the engine bay ticket" haha. there are a few cases of these failing, however, so if that's the case, well, i dunno, get another stock one? or buy an aftermarket one haha.

Greddy bovs are good, cheap, they do the job. (make sure to not overtighten these, they often are very stiff to begin with). what i did was took out the smaller of the two springs in the Type-S i had. the RS, i don't know about, not sure if it has 1 spring or two. if you are having issues with very long duration blow off, it's probably too stiff for your car. if it does not fix it on the softest setting, check to see if there's a helper spring you can take out, then readjust as needed.

HKS SSQV is good, pull type, does not really require any adjustment. just leave it on a soft setting and it should be fine.

blitz DD, good bov, pretty responsive, holds a good amount of boost, but can be a little tricky in different weather. i noticed i had to adjust this a bit more than others, but atleast it's made for "street" type boost levels.

Sard BOV is probably the coolest sounding one lol. don't buy it because i want one and i wanna be original. XD Sard always makes good stuff, so i'm betting it's good. one thing is i hear the spring tension is a bit on the stiff side. i haven't gotten my hands on one to take apart yet though, so i dunno if there's an easy remedy or not. might be able to get a hold of one in the next few weeks.

anyhow, now to the BOV dispute info stuff or whatever it's called.

ok, just lettin you guys know, the stock bpv (or bov, i won't get into that one), is the best one you can use on your car. in stock setup (with it recirculating) it is also the best setup you can use.

now, why is that?

first off, pull type BOVs (i'll call them all bov's for now because it's just simpler) are always more responsive and accurate, as well as stable. the reason being that pressure is the controlling factor in blow off, not spring tension. spring tension, obviously, can only really be set in one way, manually, and hence will not always function properly at low vs high or high vs low boost levels, as someone mentioned before.

another thing is that pull type BOVs tend to last longer because there's no spring to get worn out. also does not require adjustment as air pressure controls the unit, so it auto adjusts itself so to speak. it will hold as much or as little boost as you want without any modification.

ok, recirc vs atmospheric:

for all the USDM motors, they will run better (if in near stock setup) if your BOV is recirced. reason being, you have an AFM. that afm is anticipating a certain amount of air, and tells your injectors to dump in a complimentary amount of fuel. when your bov blows off into the atmosphere (sounds like a bad space shuttle accident =X haha), there is now less air, for a split second, than there should be. therefore, your car runs rich for that split second, and in some cases can actually cause your car to bog and/or stall.

ok, another thing about BOVs. i have tried a LOT of BOVs haha. yes yes, i know, i'm a ricer. they all make your car feel/respond differently. try out your aftermarket bov, then try putting the stock one back in, then try with recirc and without. you will notice a different as you get on the throttle, as you get off the throttle, and when slowly letting off the gas. also, watch your boost gauge.

i've noticed the stock one does respond best in my case without the recirc hose. (i have a Gen3 engine, it does not have AFM, has MAP... hehe suckers... >=D) i only say this because i like how it feels. i can get off power very quickly, and i like that hehe, makes for nice direction changes.

anyhow, that's my quick info on BOVs. and yes, i love being a ricer.

-john

P.S. don't tighten a bov too tight, you'll get compressor surge, and blow your turbo prematurely. if you take care of your turbo correctly (my ct20b has 80k on it and does not blow any oil at all), it can last over 100k easily. if you don't, it'll fail at 60k. XD

ooo i forgot to mention one thing about taking care of your turbo, although this is kinda off topic... it's important though! the thicker oil you use, (i use 5w40), the more important it is to warm up your car properly!!! if you drive (and God forbid boost) on a car that has not been fully warmed up yet (yes, even if your temp gauge says warm, it may just be your water, your oil may take 2 - 4x longer to fully warm up!!!), your oil is probably at a higher pressure than your turbo is designed for! especially since we have ceramic turbo bearings stock, we really really really need to keep an eye out for this! this will greatly decrease the life of your turbo if you do not warm up the car properly, and drive it gently for the few minutes just after it's warmed up.