alright, I'm not sure what type of car you have, but we both have the 1.8T I assume...your vac should be anywhere from 18-20 stock, I idle at 19...my car is completely stock besides an intake and a 710N, I have a 1998 a4 1.8tqm, in first I hold at 8, 2nd-9, 3rd-11ish, 4th-12ish, 5th-12ish...it sounds like you have a minor boost leak...good luck!

 

Is there a hose anywhere near the turbo that only picks up boost, and not vacuum?

 

The line you are tapped into with the t-fitting probably has a leak. that particular line is known to get brittle and go bad, very common problem. You may want to replace that vac line and see if you start idling at 20.

 

^+1!

 

where are people gong thru the firewall to get the line into the cabin?

 

I went through a grommet behind the ecu box (I did not move the box at all), this is a pic of what it looks like behind the box, these are pics of when I installed with the cheap nylon hose, before i went silicone, I just cut a small hole in the grommit and ran the hose through with a clothes hanger *PIC
And this is the pic of what the grommit looks like under the dash, it's not too hard to get at, but when i did the silicone swap, I had to push the hose through with a long flathead *PIC

hopefully those help...good luck!

 

I ran the boost guage line from the intake manifold in the front. I didnt replace the whole line, So Ill be doing that today..

There is a rubber gromet right under the brake boost. also one leading into the ecu box. Get some wire cutters an clip the nipple off.

 

ha yea i found where to go thru the first wall seperating the battery and the ecu... i cut the nipple =)

i just gotta get a good guage now. was using my friends from his DSM... the guage hit 15 and started shaking irratically... its old and cheap and got stuck... but it was good to see it rattle like it wanted to push so much more... =) and i had to wiggle the guage to get it to fall back to full vac... so its pretty much shot. now i just need a pod and ill get the good guage monday.