Jon and Larry said it well. Thank you for defending my position on this. Amazing how often Jon and I see eye to eye, gives me a good feeling , actually. We really must meet in person someday. (Yes, we are working on making it to Spearfish)

The max boost I get does depend on a few things, like RPM, outside air temp, altitude, how long you hold the pedal down, etc. It does take a few seconds to reach max. I usually see 28 inches HG as a max.

MangoMike, if you do not get over 25 inches, you could have a leak in the plumbing. Could be the gauge plumbing or the engine intake plumbing between the turbo and the engine itself. There must also be a wastegate valve, if that is not closing all the way it will provide a constant leak and reduce max boost. Does the gauge read zero with the engine off? You can check that point on it's operating curve easily at least.

And, as to listening to truckers, there is a difference in the value of their opinions in my mind at least, depending on if you are talking to an OWNER operator, or just a hired driver who is running a truck where someone else pays the repair and maintenance bills.