120: Wastegates and Boost Control — What You NEED to Know.

Do I need electronic wastegate control? What about CO2? And how do I know what size wastegate is needed for my build? These questions and a whole lot more are answered thanks to this week’s guest, Matt Wright from Turbosmart.

Use “MATT25” to get $25 OFF HPA’s Boost Control course: https://hpcdmy.co/boostb

Matt has a unique understanding of the industry, having worked for two of Australia's biggest aftermarket performance brands — two decades at Haltech and a more recent move to Turbosmart.

We start this episode by delving into the path that Matt took to get where he is today, covering the early days of Haltech that saw him dealing with some fairly rudimentary electronics and software as a support tech. Matt grew with the company and would go on to head up Haltech’s expansion into the United States. There are some great discussions here about VE-based tuning, the future of standalone ECUs, and what Matt thinks is missing from the current crop of standalone offerings.

After 20 years of service, Matt decided to move across the road to Turbosmart, where he’s helped push the development of new products — especially its new range of turbochargers. Matt discusses these new turbos before diving deep into the world of boost control, getting way into the weeds on all things external wastegate.

Sure, the idea behind a wastegate is simple enough, but things get a little more demanding and complex when a vehicle’s performance starts to get pushed to its limits.

Follow Matt here:
IG: @turbosmarthq
FB: Turbosmart
YT: Turbosmart
WWW: turbosmart.com

Don’t forget, you can use “MATT25” to get $25 OFF HPA’s Boost Control course: https://hpcdmy.co/boostb

Timestamps:
4:39:20 How did you gain an interest in cars?
16:54 Did you move into Haltech tech support with almost no tuning experience
24:28 What was your role at Haltech?
27:10 The difference between American and Australian car scenes
32:15 Haltech’s growth into the US market
39:45 Key changes in ECU tech over the years
47:30 What do you think is missing from aftermarket ECUs?
54:43 How does an ECU company balance technical features while keeping it user-friendly?
1:03:55 How did the opportunity at Turbosmart come up?
1:08:38 Overview of Turbosmart
1:13:10 Turbosmart’s external wastegate, Why is it so good?
1:17:54 Pros and cons of electronic wastegate?
1:34:08 What is a StraightGate?
1:42:52 How do we pick the right size wastegate?
1:47:30 Bringing Turbosmart turbochargers to market
2:05:35 Final 3 questions