What gauges to run?
 

Hey guys.

Now that I'm trying to upgrade my new Turbo S4, I figured some gauges should be a primary upgrade, to avoid blowing anything up, because that's not cool.

I'm curious though, if you guys could have two gauges, which ones would they be? Obviously boost gauge is paramount, but what should #2 be? I was thinking voltmeter, because the T2 doesn't have one, but then I read that oil pressure gauges and temp gauges sometimes don't work that well either.

Furthermore, will Autometer gauges be fairly accurate? They're like, 1/2 the price of all the other brands, and would like to spend as little as possible, to spend more on performance.

Any help is appreciated
-Rick

I run a boost gauge along with an air/fuel gauge.

My turbo timer has a voltage gauge which may not be the most accurate but it looks to be right on so I just use it for that. If I was going to maybe go for a 3rd gauge then I would probably say oil pressure.

Mike

Boost and air/fuel (preferably wideband capable) or EGT (but you have to know how to read it).

If higher than stock boost levels are most likley going to be seen I would definitley spend the extra money and buy a wideband so you can monitor the AFR's. If you really want only two gauges I would say boost and water temp. You may not like this idea because your car already has a water temp gauge but in my experience it sucks. As for autometer gauges I would steer clear of them as I have seen how innacurate they can be. Their boost gauges are the worst. If you want to save money but still get accurate gauges I would say buy some VDO's. Their accurate, and you can change the illumination to match the Stock FC gauges with a filter sock which fits over the bulb. Again, this is from my personal experience so others may differ.

my advise is a autometer boost and coolant temp guage. I run the silver ones. Anyways they are cheap and your bankroll will not be broken if some honda kit breaks into your car to steal them.

I would want ( am getting ) oil pressure and temp and water temp then wideband a/f ratio.

What should the readings be on each of these guages?
Does anyone have a link to a "how to" for the install on a 86-88 n/a?

only two ... nah the more the merrier

i run

Boost
AFR
Water temp ( top hose )

just need to fit

Battery Volts
Oil Temp
Oil Pressure

just need to work out where to put them all know :D

IMO stewart warner gauges are going to be optimal for your application stewart warner made gauges for autometer untill he left and started his own company for the soul purpose that he didnt like the way autometer made him cut corners he offers a far more superior gauge for a very very simalare price .. that and he has black faced gauges so sexy .. but yeah stewart warner all the way

Unfortunatly if you really have the sender for this gauge in the top rad hose, it is pretty useless. This hose is after the thermostat, so the gauge will not read accurately. Worse still if the thermostat fails closed the gauge could be reading completely normal (or low...).

AFR is pointless without wideband

Do we have to have to do this thread again?! :)

Will you tune by an narrow band A/F reading? No, not if you're smart. But it does provide a cheap, effective and easy way to know if you are stupidly lean or stupidly rich in a day to day driving situation. Remember, wideband sensors are expensive and have a very limited lifespan compared to standard narrowband sensors. Why run around with a wideband all day if the car is tuned already and you're just burning up $250 sensors every 20K? Instead, use the wideband for tuning and then switch back to the narrow band for monitoring.

we just had about a 20 page chat on another forum about the location of the top hose sender

at the end of the day it shows a reading , its got to be better than the stock gauge ( better if you have both working )

i use it to measure when the thermostat has opened - and it takes a few mins from the stock gauge showing normal temp to the thermostat actaully opening , and yeah if the thermostat did pack up - then it might show a normal reading - but then the stock one would show an increase in temp

at the end of the day if the thermo got stuck closed - then the temp would drop and you see this , if it stuck open then you would see the temps fluctuate alot , where as if everything is working then it stays around the 82-83 mark - and for £12 ( about $20 it was a cheap gauge to fit )

and the AFR - it was free so i fitted it - and its good for day to day driving like Aaron said - you can see if you are running rich or lean , i know mine shows rich on WOT so it keeps me happy

if i was THAT bothered about AFR i would stick a ECU in that i could map to a laptop to see true reading ... saying that - im tempted to go down that route anyways !

Stu

( runs off thinking that he now has pointless gauges in the car :( )