My experience at Boostin' Performance
Let’s begin with a little background on the car. My Galant started it’s life as a 2000 Galant ES auto with the dealer option package. It was bought in September of 1999 and has been in my family ever since. It went from my aunt to another aunt to my dad then to me.
October of 2011 I decided to boost it and got to work on tearing it apart. The initial set-up was on a Greddy e-manage blue with WRX 440cc injectors and a Walbro 255LPH pump. As soon as I got the car running, it was nothing but issues. From being Crazy lean at idle to Dramatic fluctuations at cruise. I’m talking 13.8-18.0 and above while driving. After trying to mess with the E-manage, the car still ran like shit. CRAZY rich at idle to stalling at intersections and sometimes even when I push the clutch down to coast. I was never able to go into boost because the wideband read - - - at WOT. So I went and swapped the stock Galant ECU and EMB with a EVO ECU.
After installing the ECU the car ran decent with the 440cc injectors. 12.5 AFR at half throttle and around 14.3-15.5 AFR at cruise. At WOT the car stumbled lean and backfired because of the incorrect scaling on the ECU. SO EVO 560cc injectors went in. After the injector install, the car ran PIG RICH. Didn’t matter if it was in boost or not it would peg to 10.0 with the slightest amount of pedal. It also ran very rough trailer hitching at low RPM’s and MASSIVE backfires at WOT. So this is when I decided to contact the folks at Boostin performance.
The current set-up goes as follows; EVO8 16G, Universal FMIC, EVO piping, Fizz auto SS 2.5” TBE, EVO8 560cc injectors, Walbro 255lph, EVO8 fuel rail, EVO8 ECU, and the Stock Galant 501 MAF.
The appointment was made for today the 25th. Last night I installed and wired in a knock sensor and took the car to Devin this morning. I got there at around 10am and Kristin was pleasant off the bat. Calling me by my first name and made me feel welcome as soon as I walked through the door. I took a seat and patiently waited.
Devin showed up got some info from me, grabbed my keys and started with the boost leak test and the vehicle inspection. Upon popping the hood, Devin immediately noticed the 501 Galant MAF that was installed on the car. Before even touching a wrench, he runs through the shop door and lets me know he has a 399 EVO MAF available. Afraid of a high price I asked how much it would cost me. He charged me $50!!! These MAF sensors run close to $400 brand new and about $125 on eBay. So to say the least Devin hooked me up.
Devin found a few boost leaks. One at the intake due to a wrong vacuum line install, one at the j-pipe out of the turbo due to a missing gasket (oops!), and two at the intercooler. He also found the wastegate to be misadjusted opening at 15psi. Once again, Devin did not think twice as to how to fix these issues. At the same time, made sure I got my money’s worth without over charging me. Replaced two clamps and a coupler and the car held the boost awesome.
After the inspection and boost leak test, Devin hooked up to the ECU and found a O2 sensor “No Activity” code. After a few seconds of brainstorming, Devin went on and reset the battery and let the car re-learn. As soon as he did this, the O2 cycled properly and off to tune it he went.
The tune was a simple street tune done by Devin and my goal was to make sure the car is reliable and daily driveable at 8psi of boost. He was out for 45 minutes, maybe a little over close to an hour. During this time Kristin was more than hospitable and conversed as we waited for the car to come back. I was expecting an awkward silent wait, but Kristin was more than accommodating and made me feel at home as we BS’d about cars and motorsports.
Devin came back and the car sounded happier and healthier. He walked into the door and told me all was good. The drive home was AWESOME. The car pulled HARD and no knock!!!! And the gas mileage was pretty good considering I was beating the shit out of it. The car pulls so hard I beat my buddies tuned Genesis 2.0T from a 30 roll in second by a car length. His car was dynoed at A-spec tuned by BTR making 230whp and 300wtq.
To say the least, I am absolutely satisfied with my experience at Boostin’ Performance. The customer service is TOP NOTCH and the work is TOP NOTCH as well. This car is not anywhere near stock and Devin was on the move on every issue. Not to mention, the price is VERY reasonable and IMO is the best bang for your buck! I was there from 10AM and left a little after two o’clock despite all the issues that was found on the car. I AM VERY HAPPY with the tune. Hands down, Boostin’ performance is where its at. I will definitely be back to them for any of my tuning needs. Devin is a GENIUS and is a very knowledgable guy! My experience was definitely one for the books. Words can NOT completely show how I feel with the way I was treated. This car is my life and Devin and Kristin, re-ignited the flame that I once had for it. I can now enjoy my baby again. I cant wait for this summer to come and hit up a few tracks and go to SEVERAL cruises sportin’ my very own DEVINTUNE!
