is there a way you could rig up a smoke switch so its not just pouring more fuel but actually controlling the wastegate? like a 3 position switch. one way you could keep the wastegate closed for quick spool up, middle would be off/stock, and other way would be wastegate wide open/ smoke mode. just a crazy idea i had. what so you guys think?

 

I still like the idea of cutting an intercooler boot for making smoke.

 

The '02s have a mechanical wastegate, so you don't have that level of control. Actuation of the wastegate only happens based on boost pressure.

I always thought that throwing a plastic bag over your air filter was the preferred method for making smoke?

 

But you have to acquire the bag first. You can just slash the boot whatever you have laying around. Preferably something rusty and dull.

 

Good point!

 

I prefer a plastic bag over the air filter myself.

 

i know its a mechanical wastegate. it would have to be an air or vacuum type switch. or an actuator or something

 

Even if you played with the mechanical actuator, you have two problems.

1) The wastegate is closed until boost reaches high enough pressure to start to open. So there is nothing you can do from a wastegate perspective for "quick spool-up" vs. stock spool-up. Closed is closed, and the gate will be closed when you're trying to spool the turbo. You can block the pressure going to the gate to achieve higher than stock pressures, but this only affects top-end boost, not how quickly it lights.

2) For your "wide open/smoke" mode, you would need a separate pressure source to feed into the actuator to open the gate. Without a source of air pressure, you have no way to force the gate to open with no boost. And even if you do force the gate open, the ECM will still restrict the amount of fuel actually being supplied to the engine as it will not see increased boost calling for increased fuel. That's why those who want a smoke switch, do it on the MAP sensor to trick the ECM.

 

is it possible to run the switch on the MAP sensor without having some sort of a programmer?

 

You'll need to have something that has a boost fooling function (programmer, plug-in module, etc). If you don't have the boost fooling capability, the switch will set a code as the ECM thinks it's seeing higher than expected boost numbers.

 

u have to drive a ford 6.0 to put a smoke switch on ur truck (: plastic bag works great if u just want smoke tho