Autometer A/F gauge: Opinions?
 

I'm deciding on whether to get the single or dual A-pillar pod (because I can't shell out the coin for the RE column mount one :( ), and am thinking that I'll probably get an A/F gauge. As far as I can tell, the Autometer one is pretty much the only one out there. Anyone else know of any other brands?

What are your guys' opinions on the Autometer unit? Opinions on others? Basically, I dont want to waste money on a gauge that just makes pretty blinking lights while my engine becomes a smoking pile of carbon.

I like my AutometerAF guage - though it is a bit bright at night - there are others but all cost at least twice as much, Someone (Greedy I think) even makes an analog one. Just remember any A/F meter is only as good as the OXYGEN SENSOR it is attached to :D Get a new BOSCH or other HIGH QUALITY sensor when you get your A/F meter.

Cyberdyne makes a nice unit that's cheaper than Autometer however I don't like the way it looks. I have the autometer gauge even though I really hate autocrapper products like their boost gauge. Anyway it's a hard thing to screw up because it's just lights and resistors. There are even sites that tell you how to make your own. I think it's a nice thing to have and it tells me things like "that hesitation you just felt was because of a temporary lean running engine." It's not precise but it reacts much faster than something like exhaust temp.

Greddy A/F gauge
 

I just was looking at the Greddy unit on some different websites and at ~$290 it's pretty expensive (compared to the $65 for the Autometer one) but it comes with another O2 sensor. Any comments/opinons on this one?

Go Narrow Display!!
 

I bought a Cyberdine air/fuel meter.

It was modified to read from 0.79vdc to 0.98vdc, instead of from 0.1vdc to 1.0vdc. It included a sheet of the voltage outputs of each LED. Displays in 0.03vdc increments instead of .1vdc.

What does that mean?

Increased sensitivity. Only lights up at idle & under boost.
The reason your buying one is to make sure your not running lean under boost. You don't need or use it under normal driving.

It doesn't replace a true WIDE band O2 for accurate tuning, but for day to day driving it's easy to verify your O2 sensor is above the minimum 0.8vdc under boost.

I have no lights on during normal cruise speeds, so no distractions. You'll soon get tired of the light show.

Search the web for that guy's site. He sells complete gauges or will mods yours for under $40. He has Autometer, Cyberdine, Tripoint, & some others in stock.

If you do a search of my posts you'll can see a picture I took of mine, installed.
I have a R-1 so I have it installed in the spot for the cruise control switch on the dash hood.

I would go with an EGT (exhaust gas temp) gauge over the A/F. The EGT's will in general give you a more accurate look at whats going on. Most A/F gauges tend to bounce around alot while driving and will only show a true value when you are getting on it. While you can get an electric EGT that has a peak hold function and consentrate on the road and not trying to see what the gauge is doing while you are getting on it hard.

Well, I plan on getting the EGT eventually, but since I'm trying to figure out which A/F gauge to get to put in the dual pillar pod (if that's what I decide) I'd like to focus on that. The EGT is a given, as well as a couple other gauges, but those will be installed later and in a different location (in the dash DIN spot below the stereo head unit).

Re: Go Narrow Display!!
 

I have the dawesdevices a/f meter which also is setup the same as the Cyberdine. Seems to work good and has a built in dimmer as well.

I'm happy with it. Plus its small enough you can mount it anywhere without a gauge pod...

Check it out....... http://www.dawesdevices.com/airfuelmeter.html

I hate Autometer gauges but I'm also not smart enough to figure out the voltages on a numeric gauge on demand so my favorite has always been the Halmeter and it is very acurate.

http://www.halmeter.com/Halmeter.imgs/HalmeterDO.jpg

Ditto....besides, those flashy leds from my af gauge really get on my nerves at night. I think it looks kinda cheasy imo....i'll sell you my autometer af gauge if you are interested.

Dr. Wankel has a point...it only shows where you are when you're on it. Well, if you really think about it, when would you be most worried about leaning out? While you're driving around town (i.e. not at WOT) you don't care too much for where you are (unless something's *really* wrong), but when you're reallying hopping on it, you need to see where you are. I'm gonna get an A/F gauge soon, I'm just trying to determine which ones are good/bad. Thus far it seems that most ppl are sort of varied in their opinions. For the price it seems that the Autometer unit is a good buy, but that's only so good, considering that it uses the stock O2 sensor and not and additional one.

Check out EFI's DIY website. Build your own wideband o2 sensor.

I have the circuit board all done, and the sensor, just need to find the time to fiddle with it.

the_saint

I have an Autometer A/F guage and it only BOUNCES AROUND when the ECU is in closed loop mode! This is exactly as it should be as the ECU hunts back & forth between rich & lean. At Idle/Coast it shows Lean (down to no signal) and on part throttle thru WOT it shows 1-3 bars Rich tracking with increased boost.

I have the Autometer in my other car (not an RX7) that has dual Weber sidedrafts, and I love it. In that setup, I can tell from the width of the band whether they're getting out of syncronization (but I guess that doesn't apply here!) Guess it depends on where you mount it, but for me it's not too bright at night (no brighter than my aftermarket stereo). It has better resolution than the other round gauge brands I could find, and looked higher quality too. I kinda think it looks cool bouncing around, so I guess that's just all personal preference. Hard to go wrong for 60 bucks....

how much does an oxygen sensor cost and where can you order one?

you local auto parts store should have the bosch in stock. check with them. just tell them what car you have. it should cost about $36.

ok, thanks alot

i have the Autometer A/F gauge...personally, I think it looks great and it's functional. But if it starts acting abnormal, you need to disconnect the battery to reset the unit.

Adrian

http://members.aol.com/prelude427/boostaf.gif

The unit isn't effected by any sort of resetting. If it starts acting funny and resetting your computer fixes the problem then you have something else going on.
cvs

greddy has a new a/f 60mm gauge with peak/hold capability and it comes with its own o2 sensor. I thought it was pricey at about $300, but I also don't want a hugh paper weight because I was too cheap to get an a/f that gave me info that I could use before my engine fried. I have put too much money in my FD at this point to get cheap monitoring parts. I look at it as protecting my investment.