MotoIQ Staff Report
Go fast Bits G-Force boost controller!
Our mates overseas at Go Fast Bits have been hard at work perfecting a new feature packed boost controller called the G-Force that has hit our shores! This cutting edge unit has all the bells and whistles any boost junkie could ask for. What's surprising is that the unit has an M.S.R.P. of $299 and features touch panel control of up to 50PSI of boost control, 6 Boost memory presets and a scramble boost feature. (all individually programmable and remotely switchable), Spike Stop, Over Boost warning and a real time boost gauge and yes you read that right. It costs just $300 bones….
We recently put the G-Force through it's paces on Project 200SX in an effort to share our feedback with Go Fast Bits themselves….. Here are our impressions of the unit they sent us.
The G-Force is easy to install in any vehicle. GFB provides clear and concise instructions along with just about everything you need for the install. We were impressed with the quality of both the unit and the installation accessories provided. The boost controller normally used in Project 200SX is the OG Greddy Profec B. While it has given us years of trouble free performance with the advanced features of the G-Force we had to see what we were missing. In short the GFB unit offers a TON!
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| The fit and finish of the G-Force is top notch, from the head unit casing to the installation accessories! |
After we thoroughly read the instructions and installed the boost controller we took the car out to set the gain, duty cycle, and other settings on the controller. First and foremost like all boost controllers it cannot run a lower boost setting than the pressure setting of the wastegate, which on Project 200SX is roughly 11PSI. The G-Force increases boost from there by adjusting the duty cycle. We set it to the minimum setting of 10 as that theoretically simulates running off the wastegate. As suspected it resulted in 11PSI of boost pressure. From there we adjusted the gain. Gain is the ability of the controller to keep the wastegate closed as long as possible before opening to maintain a certain boost pressure. This is where we learned how different the G-Force was from our Greddy unit. We can typically run up to 70% gain on the Profec B before we experience boost creep. On the G-Force the gain was much more sensitive yet effective in keeping the gate closed. Anything above 40% gain resulted in boost creep. Basically there is more room for adjustability with the G-Force depending on your particular turbo setup. We also had to select if we wanted to run the controller in open or closed loop. In open loop the controller does not attempt to regulate boost to maintain a constant pressure. Theoretically this is the right setting to use for turbochargers that are properly sized and gated for their respective applications. We tried both as when we initially selected open loop we experienced some slight boost creep, switching to closed loop reduced creep and enabling the spike stop feature made it go away completely. This could be attributed to boost pressure source for the solenoid or the boost gauge on the G-Force head unit, either way we didn't mess with it further as tweaking the settings got us exactly where we wanted to be.
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| The two controllers side by side. The G-Force features a real time boost gauge with peak display. |
Once we had made boost test pulls we started dialing in the other features of the controller. The G-Force has 6 fully adjustable and programmable presets. Not 1… Not 2…. Not 3…… 6 That's right you could potentially program a different boost pressure and gain on each setting and at the push of a button toggle through them…. Drag racers rejoice! Mount the GFB supplied button to the steering wheel and have gear dependent boost control! Super cool feature! In addition to the 6 presets the G-Force also has a scramble feature. In this setting the user can define the percentage of duty cycle increase they want when the scramble button is pressed. Once that is decided you can program a time duration for how long the scramble is activated. Within the G-Force interface you can take your remote button and have it control either the scramble feature OR switch through the 6 presets. Another nice part of the scramble feature is it's ability to step increase the duty cycle gain. For instance if you program scramble for a 10% increase for 20 seconds when the button is pushed, if you press it again during the 20 seconds it results in a 20% increase and 30% if you press it a third time. Again SERIOUSLY cool stuff. Road racers can use the feature for high power FWD cars for sure! Want to run low boost but have a 50-70% increase for the straights… No problem, program away!
Once we had our desired pressures and gain sorted it was time to hit the dyno. We did baseline pulls with the Profec and then switched over to the G-Force to see what was happening across the power curve. One would assume that boost pressure's being equal the peak #'s should be nearly identical, but the total curve could tell us if one controller was better at keeping the signal altered to keep the gate flapper closed. We actually learned quite a bit about how different the controllers are. On the Profec B the gain works differently and as such has the ability to slow boost onset when set to minimum or increase response as it is increased. The G-Force will never slow response. With the gain turned off it simply allows the wastegate to function normally any incrase in gain results in the controller altering the signal to keep the gate closed longer in an effort to increase response. Once we dialed the G-force in we made some pulls and compared them to the Profec. The bummer is that we developed a really bad wheel bearing vibration (road course injury made worse with the dyno. pulls) that caused the knock sensor on the Mustang dyno to trigger. This resulted in readouts that were useless. We cranked the smoothing to 100 and they were at least readable but hardly what we are after….. That said the peak to peak #'s were very similar between the two but what was obvious was the amount of tunability you have with the G-Force controller. We wound up with more area under the curve with the gain set correctly and spike stop off.
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| Project 200SX strapped to the rolllers. The V8 guys who run the shop actually came out to see what was making all that racket on the dyno…. We think they were impressed with our 247 wheel horse power…. |
By now this probably sounds like an advertisement but the reality is this piece of gear impressed us. For an M.S.R.P. of $299 you get a controller that offers far more than any other boost controller at its price point! Heck if you could make a gear dependent switch so that the unit automatically detected which gear you were in and toggled through the presets you could essentially have a controller that does it all. Maybe I am dreaming here but right now in order to get that feature you have to spend over $1,000 on a controller. The other part that I really like is what GFB is doing to make sure their products are developed properly. They are getting REAL WORLD results and feedback not only through their own testing but abroad through industry professionals. That type of dedication to product development is rare in the current industry and we applaud Go Fast Bits for their efforts.
Be sure and check them out for all of your turbo control needs and if you find yourself wanting some of this gear here in the states look up Global Performance Parts.
