Is my boost gauge not calibrated?
 

This is a new boost gauge that I just installed. I thought the needle has to be sitting inside the center of the box when it's not in operation. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If there isnt any power to it, then the needle will sit at complete rest, all the way to the left. Is that picture with the car on?

no it wont, pic is of a vac/boost gauge, it should be at 0psi/0inHg when the car is off, just like it is

the reason it isnt right at zero is sometimes different atmospheric pressure than where the gauge was calibrated or just needs to be adjusted.
im pretty sure that gauge can be calibrated to read right, no idea how tho

Take the gauge apart, move the needle to the box with your finger and re-assemble. Thats how i "calibrated" my tach and fuel gauge.

...

Now I know why my car ran out of gas at a 1/4 tank....

There's a good change you will NOT want to try adjusting it because it would likely involve forcing the spring to stretch permanently one way or the other, I would take it back and exchange it for a new one.

You will almost never see an autometer boost gauge that sits at zero at rest.

The only boost gauges that are truly accurate are electronic sensors which are then compensated with a separate barometric pressure sensor. This is something you will mostly find in OEM systems. I've dealt with my share of Autometer gauges. They vary a little bit but they aren't going to rest right in that 0 range usually.

Hmmm, mine goes all the way to down to the left.... but its electric. And not autometer.

thx for the reply guys. now im confused. is there something wrong with my gauge or autometer boost gauges are inaccurate?

Any cheap spring type gauge is going to have some degree of error, it appears yours is just more pronounced than most. I use a spring type, but mine goes back damn close to 0 when it should. Your gauge is not electronic and so it SHOULD rest at 0 when the motor is not turning. arghx is right. It's not super critical for most street purposes; it would certainly bother me, but I'd just get a different one instead of spend 3-4 times as much setting up an exacting gauge system.

*defi gauges, never had any issue*

*flame suit on*

perhaps you guys failed to realize that maybe he lives on a submarine..

well actually at about 7k ft, the submarine thought seemed more dramatic.

both of my autometer manual boost/vac gauges sit centered with the engine not running.

because its electric, irrelevant to this question

a mechanical gauge always has a reading, shut off a car and watch the water temp rise, oil pressure obviously goes to zero, a vacuum gauge will go to zero, not to the "left"

I've seen a lot of AutoMeters do that. It's why I refuse to use them.

once tuned and boost controller is set up I see no use for the boost gauge, if its going to spike it will spike regardless of what gauge is in there

your telling me you people while under full throttle are staring at the boost gauge or the road?

dude, it's a monitoring device. it's like you saying "i know my fuel tank is full so i don't need a fuel gauge" or "i just added coolant so i don't need a temp gauge"

dude, im saying if its a half a pound off its not a big deal

your coolant and fuel analogies are stupid because those are things you can check at any time you are driving, boost is really important when? under full throttle and there is so much going on who is actually looking at the boost gauge? you have the tach and where you are going to concentrate on

the boost gauge.

because it looks so damn cool ! :lol:

needs more boost! cant have people thinking its boosting to 7.5 when it was really 8

when im under full boost its all eyes on the road, maybe with half the power it would be less for me to worry about

Maybe I'm the only one here, but when I'm at WOT, its usually on a straight, so I am staring at my boost gauge. I'm pretty sure the road isn't going to throw a corner at me out of nowhere.

That way if something decides to stick and I overboost, I notice it and don't lose a motor. Just personal opinion though. YMMV.

if you are staring at the boost gauge who is staring at the tach? lol


i think you can hear a overboost quite easily, still we are talking about MAYBE a 1/2lb

OP should verify boost with another gauge, that might just be where the thing sits

when I am in full boost its not always a dead straight road in the middle of the day without a single car on the horizon

its an Autometer
Anywhere in the "BOX" is Zero lmao


Even you questioning if it is off, justifies that perhaps you should change it. Just saying.
Im not hating autometer, if i had a domestic car I would rock them, its just that if it leaves you questioning it, then yeah it speaks for itself.

If your not even planing to run even over 1bar, id change that gauge out to one that doesn't read to 30psi so you can get a more accurate view.

There are alot of good quality gauges that dont cost alot, like used gauges.

you guys cant blanket statement autometer gauges, I dont know if you have seen their entire line they have way more then the cheap comp gauges

all of nascar- those guys must be wrong, nhra, all fools

but if its made in japan it has to be dead balls accurate right? Autometer has stayed in business so long with inaccurate gauges because everyone else in the world is stupid and we are all so smart

If I'm creeping it's not by just half a psi. I've hit about 18psi on the stock turbo, it most likely would have gone higher if I'd kept on it. I'm keeping my fucking boost gauge. And when it's close to your line of sight it doesn't take much time to check.