I was looking into buying some for my car.... When I suddenly noticed that they had 2 water temp gauges listed on summitracing.com ....... A mechanical... And an electrical...... The electrical was like $12 cheaper...... So I must ask.........If electrical is better...... Why is it cheaper? What's up with this VDO one? Is it not truely eletrical / not work very good or something?


Thanks......

 

Vdo electric gauges usually dont come with senders, thats why there cheaper.

 

That totaly blows...

 

I think VDO expects you're a higher end customer & have your own choice of senders.

Any way I bought mine through www.egauges.com as they have RX-7 pillar pods & sender units.

The main reason I bought the VDO was it's easier to read than most autometer's and the readout scale used is consistent. With autometer, you're never sure if its' 180 or 190 degrees.

 

Ah hah.... I see. I figured it did just because they all said something like: Sender: Mechanical... Figured it came with one rather than just used and needed one....

 

I looked there before, the layout took some getting used to.. er.. The navigation... Mainly because I kept looking for "water temp" and couldn't find it.



So if you buy from them, are you getting a gauge with a sender included? Because I noticed they were like..... $45 or so.... While at summit the ones that had no senders apparently were $34... Though you'd be making a killing compared to what you'd pay at summit for a sender and a gauge.... I didn't see a seperate section for senders either.....


Thanks...

 

I beg to differ, electrical are not better in my opinion.

 

I see your differ, and I'll raise you another differ...

I prefer electrical.
I dunno how a mechanical gauge can respond faster than an electronic one, especially if it uses a capillary tube.
The liquid (coolant, oil, etc.) has to travel through the the tube before it hits the gauge to get an accurate reading.
The electronic gauges typically use remote sensors that instantly transmits the signal back to the gauge for a reading.
Electrical wires don't scare me.
I'd imagine those pushing mechanical gauges would be worried about electrical wiring.
Pressure and capillary tubes can get damaged and leak.
Leaking oil and coolant can make a big mess in the cockpit.
One major downside of electrical gauges is that they used to have very limited "sweep" on the gauge face, typically 90-degree.
There are lots of 270-degree sweep electrical gauge plentiful now, so they don't take a hit in resolution anymore.


-Ted

 

Oh geez, I see what it was... I was looking at mechanical instead of electrical.... And the electrical section says the thing about them being seperate.

It does suck to only have only a 90 degree range as well. Just out of curiosity... What electrical gauges are there that have a larger range? Just curious for anyone who wants to spare the time, heh.


Thanks though... Got my answer by now well enough.

 

SPI, now defunct, used to offer them.
Most of the Japan stuff (read: expensive) are 270-degree sweep.
Autometer has just started to make 270-sweep electrical stuff now.



-Ted

 

Thanks again Ted


Now the only thing I really need to know is what thread size I should look for in the sender.....

 

Found an interesting article about how mechanical gauges work when researching something that was posted.

http://hp.autometer.com/techtips/faq...ap_tubing.html

Now, we can briefly discuss also how the gauge itself works. What we do is run a hollow copper tube from the end of the line (commonly referred to as the sender "bulb") all the way into the gauge, then cover it with a protective plastic/rubber-like covering. This line is filled with ether gas, so if you have ever broken or cut one and get a funny smell or some white fluid on you, don't worry, it is not harmful. When the sender is in the intake, head, trans or oil pan (or whatever you are monitoring) the temperature heats the ether gas inside the tubing. This makes the gas expand and thus "push" the meter that is inside the gauge. This moves the pointer and shows you the temperature. However, if this hollow copper tube is kinked or doubled-over itself, the line will be shut and the gauge will not work. This moves the pointer and shows you the temperature. However, if this hollow copper tube is kinked or doubled-over itself, the line will be shut and the pressure would not reach the gauge, so you would never see the gauge reflect any temp readings at all. This is also true if the line is ever cut or the sender bulb is removed; once the ether gas escapes the line, there is nothing to "push" against the meter to register any temperature readings at all.

 

What thread size should I use?

Listed:
1/2-14 NPT

1/4-18 NPT

1/8-27 NPT

3/8-18 NPT

5/8-18 NF-3

? Ther'es more, but I'm lazy.....


The site just said if you didn't know, to go with 1/8 NPT.... Wanted to check though...

 

Hrm, anyone?

 

Where are you planning to mount them. 1/8npt is an extremely common size. I ran 1/8npt sensors for my water temp and oil temp. And yes, vdo are very nice gauges for the price. I reccomend them.

 

VDO gauges are nice, they are ran as stock gauges in many high-end cars such as Porsches.. I wouldn't worry if the size isn't favorbale to you, just tap the hole for the sender..

 

A-pillar.

K, was gonna just go with 1/8npt and hope for the best. But thanks for confirming