TOMEI BOV review

EvoPooPoo · Feb 18, 2009, 07:23 AM

Hi guys...

It's been now about 2 weeks since I've installed the Tomei bov on my evo 8.

I finally installed all of the "bolt-on" mods, and got tuned by 4WS.
My Power mods:
Evo 9 turbo
Nisei LICP
All SAMCO hoses
Turbo back exhaust
HKS 272 cams
ARP head studs
Apexi intake
AMS intercooler

So, I was tuned for 25psi, and car was running awesome!

I noticed that my boost was inconsistent. sometimes it would spike, and sometimes it was spool not quite as smooth or fast and boost would drop slightly below my set boost level.
I played with my boost controller for days... adjusting the GAIN / Set Boost etc...
At 18 psi, no issues... spool was consistent, and held peak boost fine.

I went to my local shop (Touge Factory), and luckily they were doing pressure testing on a 240sx.
I asked if they could check my car, and... what did I find out?! right at about 20psi, you could faintly hear a "hhhhisssssssssshhhhhhhhh" as we increased the pressure to about 23psi... it was very obvious, there was air leaking from the plastic BOV.

They were actually in the process of ordering parts for the 240sx from Tomei, so I asked if they had anything for the evo, and sure enough... they had a Tomei BOV.
It took about 2 weeks to arrive.

Here are the comparison pics:

The first thing I did, was push the valve inside, and the Tomei is noticeably stiffer.
One thing is that the nipple on top was clocked differently, however it lined up better then OEM nipple...hahaha.

Install took about 1 hour.
Driving the car.... I didn't notice any difference with the OEM bov.
I set the boost slightly lower to around 21psi...and started playing with the settings.
NO BOOST SPIKE! SPOOLS FAST!!!! I thought it was just my head... so, I recorded the spool on my Defi gauge, and you can see that it would boost up to set boost and hold.
I slowly started to go back up, and finally set boost to 25psi.
yay... boost doesn't fall off and holds rock solid at 25psi!!!!!!!!

One thing I noticed was that at very slight tap-in throttle (cruising at like 40mph in 4th gear, barely on the gas), the car felt like jerked a little when you lift off. Nothing too noticeable or not something that makes driving a hassle. I was just keeping my eye open for anything different from the OEM bov so that I can put it up on this review...

Sound - the sound was different. it was slightly louder, but I'm sure that was due to the material that the bov was made out of. plastic vs. metal
I like the sound.

Overall - Very happy!
driveability - I'd say it's almost exactly same as stock. no stalling / no idle issues
Installation - No modifications needed! Drop in
Notes: Comes with cool stickers!

jxs1984 · Feb 18, 2009, 11:17 AM

im still on stock dv, i always wondered if my dv leaked lol. good review.

Nomad4g63 · Feb 18, 2009, 11:24 AM

Great Review im just debating tho

whether to go with the Tomei or go with an APS BOV

stiftwevo · Feb 18, 2009, 02:04 PM

never heard of that bov.. Post up some vid's if you can.. Tial won my heart tho..

N3VO · Feb 18, 2009, 02:21 PM

yeah the stockers junk. this dv is good ive heard good things about it.

thecaboy · Mar 30, 2009, 05:16 PM

i have the greddy rs blov and when i lift off the gas i get a jerk sometimes too. but then i put the stock on and its gone. Is there something wrong with the blov.

packed · Mar 30, 2009, 07:10 PM

Good review. Need to upgrade.

Wade Jarvis · Mar 31, 2009, 06:30 PM

Thanks for the review. This is one of the diverter valves I was considering. I am currently using the stock IX valve becausew I did not want to deal with driveability issues.

Celica2EVO · Apr 4, 2009, 05:05 PM

im pretty sure the tomei and the IX bov are pretty much identical

fugiwara · Apr 10, 2009, 11:24 PM

how can you realize this so late??? Especially you've got tuned by 4ws, didn't he tell you to replace it? for all evo8, this is the first thing everyone should replace, at least to the JDM MR DV or Tomei one.

zheng0416288390 · Dec 24, 2009, 10:00 PM

it's good that you fixed your problen but remember that when you pressurise the system I bet you didn't pressurise the top of the BOV too. because it will have pressure too. which will help the BOV to stay shut. enough to keep it from leaking? who knows. gota road test I guess.

darqnez · Dec 24, 2009, 11:58 PM

FYI after 1 year my tomei was leaking at 20lbs of boost, i may also add that i only put about 1k miles on the car in that year

tim85851 · Dec 25, 2009, 12:02 AM

holy crap 1 hour for install of a bov...you must be taking everything out...it only takes like 15mins to install one...maybe even less.

EvoPooPoo · Dec 31, 2009, 05:52 AM

Since this thread has been bumped....

yeah, I also installed my new hard pipe for the intake...

It's been almost one year and still works great!
Only thing different since when I bought it is that Tomei raised their prices.

KingofGlory777 · Jan 3, 2010, 05:12 PM

Anybody has pics installed, video, sound clips anywhere?