turbo on the SE

[NitroDann]

Do you have a boost guage?

Dann

[NitroDann]

Get a boost gauge and report results.

Dann

[Lokiel]

any recommendations on a decent boost gauge that I can get?

Get a SpeedHut boost gauge and mount it where Mazda SHOULD have installed it - in the "dummy" oil pressure gauge location.

See http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=41091&start=79 and http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=41091&start=111

They are expensive but are one of the few that you can fit into the instrument cluster without cutting up the rear printed circuit, and you can customise their font, colour and put your own text or logo on them (I chose "MAZDASPEED").

The SE was designed to feel like a small 6 cylinder engine and the turbo is quite small - in stock form I never got the same adrenaline rushing boost as I got from my beloved 1982 Mitsubishi JA Starion (subsequent modz fixed that).

[Sean]

If you are just looking to find if you have a boost leak (what Dann was pointing to) the quality and permanency of the gauge don't really matter.

A stock SE makes very little boost, all you want to see is the response of it coming onto boost.

The issue is likely a leak somewhere in the system, so all the forced air from the turbo is going somehwere other than into your engine.

If you're at all technically minded, I'd run over the whole intake system from turbo to manifold and check for loose pipes and or hose clamps. 15 minutes doing this might save you the trouble of finding a boost gauge.

[bruce]

I second all the comments regards a loose connection. Check all the clamps along the induction system and try tightening a few.