Bailey Dump Valves
Bailey dump valves are used in high performance vehicles that boost more than one bar before it is necessary to change gears. Most people take pride in the way that their vehicles engine looks going as far as using decorative chrome parts, fluorescent lighting, as well as colour coded bailey dump valves. The dump valves come in different shapes, sizes and functionalities, customised to suit the different makes of engines.
Bailey dump valves fit onto the air intake Dudley convertor pipe which flows to your K&N air filter. Usually the Dudley convertor pipe is colour coded and therefore the dump valve is also colour coded. This makes it easier to know whether you have the right unit or not.
Most turbo fanatics choose a dump valve for the sound it makes when the pressure is released. This sound is a waste-gate sound that is similar to a high-pitched whistle. The whistle is cause due to the pressure of the boost air that goes through the waste-gate hole. The easiest way of explaining this is that it resembles the sound that you would get when blowing into an empty glass bottle or on a wooden recorder.
You can change the pitch or whistle of the dump valve with an adjustment screw by changing the release levels of the dump valve. This is not recommended if you are an amateur mechanic. It should only be done by trained performance mechanics. The reason for this is that changing the release levels change the intensity of the boost and the back pressure. This could seriously endanger the driver’s life due to the fact that the engine may explode. It is a serious matter when you decide to alter the features of the dump valve.
The performance mechanics can change the features of the dump valves on a machine called a dynomomotor, commonly known as a dyno tuner. They do this by measuring the CO output, air intake, boost level and timing of the engine making the vehicle more responsive or more aggressive in its overall performance. As with anything, especially with fuel injection vehicles, the dyno tuner is used to adjust your ECU (Electronic Computerised Unit) – your fuel management system – so that the dump valve isn’t overloaded and the timing of the vehicle is correct. It is critical that this is done as the dump valve relies on these components to release the correct amount of pressure when necessary.
The last thing you need is to have a backfire through your dump valve because it will seriously damage your air intake manifold and your boost manifold. This in turn could seriously compromise your engine and then make a significant hole in your pocket.