GFB Blow Off Valve First Impressions

[5280tunage]

same here, I've had the turbo flutter or surge pretty much ever since the dealer replaced both turbos for the rattling wastegates (which are now back after bout 18k miles, yippee!). would love to get rid of it, the surge happens with or without a tune installed, so I can't blame that... I actually get surge quite a bit, usually during light acceleration anywhere, highway or metro streets.

 

[Ellison Brown III]

I installed a turbo smart BOV a month ago. It’s pretty low key in terms of sound. It only discharges when you are boosting and pull off the throttle fast. It’s fun but kind of a gimmick unless you are really concerned about bursting your OEM BOV, which I am not. I did it during the intercooler upgrade since it can’t be installed without taking out the intercooler. I’m going to be towing a boat this summer an opted for the cooler upgrade.

Not exactly true about the BOV. There is one that’s offered for mounting on the OEM intercooler. It’s electrically controlled vs. the manual model you referenced. I’ve got the same one you have… I love it!!!

Also, the design isn’t gimmicky. The purpose of the “whoosh” noise you hear is the result of the BOV allowing that pressurized air a place to go rather than backfeed to your turbo. Study has shown that over time (how much depends on many factors) that pressure can potentially negative affect on the turbo. So, in order to get rid of it the BOV opens causing that noise as you already know.

Honestly, I used to think it was gimmicky when I first heard that same noise on the foreign cars… Honda’s, Toyota’s, Scion’s, etc. I didn’t know the purpose behind it.

 

[TheDoug]

Update after another road trip...

The blow off valve still performs excellently and it has not annoyed me with the noises it makes. BUT... It did not fix the strange turbo surge/flutter issues I was having. It did it once on way back home today.

 

[gtr09]

Which GFB valve did you purchase?

 

[TheDoug]

Which GFB valve did you purchase?

VTA T9464 Ford F150 Ecoboost Applications - GFB Performance turbo tuning products

gfb.com.au

 

[CT Expedition]

I was recommended to try this thread for my issue. I have a 2019 Expedition - about a year ago (~30,000 miles) it started making a surging noise - like whoop, whoop at 1600 RPM. The engine has to be under slight strain - either up hill or towing the boat. If I have the boost gauge displayed you can see it fluctuates back and forth in time with the noise (the gauge flutters from 1/4 to 1/3 of full scale). If I can hold the RPMs at 1600 it continues to do this. If I accelerate or decelerate even slightly the noise stops, the boost gauge is steady. There are no other issues at any other RPM or load situations. There is no loss of power when this happens, it just sounds odd. I would say the noise comes from the left side (drivers) of the engine. Originally, I though it was a tire or mud flap vibrating in the wind until I saw the boost gauge respond like it does. Normally, the engine runs strong, accelerates fine, has no other obvious issues. Also I have an AFE Magnum Force Performance Cold Air Intake System and a Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust System installed.

 

[zak99b5]

Isn’t the stock set up a diverter valve that vents the excess boost back to the pre-turbo side of the intake? That air was measured by the MAF and it the ECU is expecting it to be there.

Replacing with a BOV that dumps the air to atmosphere instead will result in a (momentary) rich condition. Not worth it for a noise, and a bov is no more effective than a dv.

 

[TheDoug]

Isn’t the stock set up a diverter valve that vents the excess boost back to the pre-turbo side of the intake? That air was measured by the MAF and it the ECU is expecting it to be there.

Replacing with a BOV that dumps the air to atmosphere instead will result in a (momentary) rich condition. Not worth it for a noise, and a bov is no more effective than a dv.

With the expeditions, it will not rely only on maf sensor reading. So there will be no tich situation. There is a better explanation somewhere on this site about why this is.

I mainly replaced mine because it replaced the weak plastic ford part with a nice looking stronger aluminum piece. The noise isn't as obnoxious as I was expecting.