Last modified 20 Nov, 2006

So I've had the MBC on the car for a bit now and one of the things I noticed was the dropping of boost levels as the revs approached the upper end of the scale. It was consistent, around 3psi being dropped between the midrange and peak revs. That and the complete non flexibility of the whole arrangement. Every winter turn the screw back and every summer turn it in. The reason for this is due to the temperature changes with the seasons, the MBC cannot maintain the same level of boost since the air density is different. Not a lot but enough to change the boost pressure. That and the fact you run the same boost level all season. Can't turn it down in the rain, can't turn it back up in the dry. So with the power of EBay I went a looking for an Electronic Boost Controller ( EBC ) and found this puppy.

So purchase made and with a few issues that got sorted I had the controller ready for test fitting and trial runs. As ever Google came up trumps with regards fitting instructions and setting up the unit. I wont repeat the steps involved but here are the links I used which does give other sites to look at.

Installation guides - for plug in guide Roger Gerl Install Guide - brilliant set-up guide

To wire the head unit up is pretty simple. Red is the power wire and black is well the earth. The other 2 wires plug into the solenoid within the engine bay. Then T-piece in a vacuum pipe and bob's yer auntie. Of course if you own an MR2 then the first issue is the distance. Basically you need to extend it to get into the engine bay. I went in through the grommet behind the passenger seat. So

• remove the 3 screws from the storage bin behind the seat - push the seat fully forward and then incline the back forward. Sit on the sill for comfort
• unclip the plastic trim from the seatbelt area - mine doesn't have any screws dunno if it should have
• undo central storage bin against the rear cabin bulkhead. 2 screws in the top area 2 screws in the bottom section
• undo the ash tray then unclip the gear lever trim and the plastic trim from round the centre console
• undo the 2 screws holding the centre tunnel to the car body
• undo the 4 screws holding the central tunnel - 1 either side just aft of the gear lever and another 1 either side at the rear on the tunnel then remove the tunnel
• you should now be able to lift up the trim behind the passenger seat

You should have the following sights staring back at you now, apologies for the poor phone pictures but they'll give you an idea.
Central tunnel

and the grommet to thread the cables / vacuum pipe through


Ok so you have the trim all folded back and / or removed so now to get cables and vacuum pipe into the engine bay through the bulkhead. I find the easiest way to do this is

• get a metal coat hanger and straighten it out.
• poke it through the grommet into the engine bay
• put your hand through the side vent and pull the coat hanger through so it's sticking out of the side vent
• from the top of the engine bay drop the cable / vacuum pipe down and putting your hand into the side vent pull them through to the outside of the car
• tape the cable / pipe onto the coat hanger and push it back into the engine bay and straighten it out
• climb back into the car and pull the hanger back into the cabin - job done

When I was looking in the engine bay for somewhere to mount the solenoid I didn't find anywhere obvious, so in a moment of genius I left left it sitting on the airbox pipework. Brilliant eh? The actual controller is mounted inside the dash, not easy to change settings but then I'm unlikely to change the settings that often. I have set up 2, 13psi and 17psi with the std OFF giving 9psi. The head unit has the ability to store 4 settings but that's overkill on a boost range of 8psi, IMHO.

And yes 17psi is darned quick. Shame it's been raining non stop for 2 days now so not much testing. Another issue I had was a boost leak where the control unit was. At first I thought it was the join between the engine pipe and the control but a little un-scientific testing discovered the leak was AFTER the join. Mmm that meant the controller itself was leaking boost. So with nothing else on the options horizon I removed the controller and unscrewed the panels. Took off the hose join and re-connected it. Plumbed it back into the car and hey presto it worked just fine. Well, ok it doesn't leak at idle like it used to. Still need a relatively dry day to actually go and boot it to see how it behaves under boost. Likely need to change the setting to return it back to normal. Ah new toys eh?