speedy1bf

I'm installing a boost gauge and need your opinions on which is best gauge and pod. Thx.

JoeD

if you want a A-pillar pod, the only company than makes them is Autometer. there are more options with a steering column mount. you have Pettit and RE Amemiya.

the best boost gauge is by far DEFI. the worst boost gauge is by far Autometer. you get what you pay for.

Cetchup

Keep in mind the Defi gauge may be the best, but also one of the hardest to install. I still quite cant figure it out...

GsrSol

Agreed, never tried Defi but only heard great things about them.

1bad7

ive got the defi boost and water temp guages (52mm, white) in a autometer pod and a defi indicator on the boost, absolutely love them. they look awesome and werent hard to install at all. u will have to figure out a place to put the control unit though, that was the hardest part. i velcroed mine to the drivers side of the tranny right where the carpet ends and the plastic console begins. and if you decide to add another guage in the future the control unit makes everything alot nicer and neater. hope that helps

SanJoRX7

I've got the Defi boost gauge and am mounting the control unit in the glove box. So far (it's not fully done yet), it's been a bit tough, primarily due to the wiring aspect of it. Other than that it's been pretty smooth, but don't ignore the difficulty of finding the four wires you need to splice into...it's tough...I ended up pulling the gauge cluster out to get to the cigarette lighter wires (for ignition), went with the glove box light (for illumination), the ECU ground for ground, and so far I think I've decided on a silver/black wire on a harness in the passenger footwell (though I haven't actually spliced any of them yet). These to me seemed the easiest, but if there is a better one for ignition, use it because pulling the gauge cluster out is a PITA.

Mounting the CU in the glove is dope...out of sight, still within reach etc.

VTAOE

Personally I prefer the column mounted boost gauge. You can get one from Pettit. They aren't horribly easy to install, but if it's done right it can look like it came straight from the factory that way. The Autometer gauge that is in the mount lights up the sames as the factory gauges. Personally I want to make small modifications to my car here and there, but at the same time I want it to look as if it should have come from Mazda looking like that.

As for some tips and tricks. If you mount the boost gauge from the column, then you can run the vacuum line underneath the dash and poke a small hole through a rubber gasket (at least it is similar to one) which is located behind some of the electronics near the upper left hand side (near the clutch). If you take off the inner wheel well from the drivers side then you should be able to see it. I think that my car already had a hole in the center as a matter of fact. I believe that the only purpose in the gasket is to keep moisture out of the car. Once you guide it through the gasket you can snake the wire through I wide open hole (you can see it once you take off the fender well) and into your engine compartment. I did this so that I didn't have to drill a hole in my firewall. You might need some extra vacuum hose and a connector to connect the extra hose up to the old hose though. You should be able to get one at your local NAPA Parts Store.

The other trick is to take a black Sharpee permanent marker and color over some of the chrome trim. Yes I said color over it. Believe me it looks a lot better than it sounds. Just keep applying layers (like you would paint) and you can make it look like it came from the factory. If you happen to mark over some areas that you didn't mean to then you can rub it off with your fingers before it dries. I just left the very from the chrome bezel to be chrome and I blacked out the rest so that it looked like it had a chrome ring around (just like the stock gauges). It took a lot of patience though. Email me at coanders@vt.edu if you have any questions about what I did.

- Cody

CPA

Also, I have the 60mm Defi boost gauge and fit it in the 52mm pillar mount made by Autometer. I had to Dremel out the space for it to fit, but it looks good and I just wanted to have a larger meter. (I am getting old and wanted to make sure I could see it). I did just as SanJoRX7 did, except I put the control box in the space between the drivers seat and the side of the car. I put velcro on it and it sticks to the carpet great. You can not see the control box in the car, but I can feel it and hit the peak button every once in a while to see what I have done.

PureMdMa

iTrader: (1)

I have a 52mm Greddy installed in dual autometer pod. This gauge was easy as hell to install, for one its electronic unlike others so you dont have to run vacume line all the way to the gauge. This gauge is very acurate and dosent spike at all. The pod did require alittle dremeling as others have said. I want to go to a column mount for the boost next and just put the others in the pillar. This pods are just harder to find and more expensive.

Laterz
Jeremy

kevinmfaust

I had a Autometer gauge that was very inaccurate. The gauge showed 2 pounds boost with out the car running. I checked its accuracy with a Mityvac hand pump and the Authmeter gauge showed 15 pounds boost when there was actualy 13. The vacuum was off also. The Autometer gauge also leaked. I pumped 20 pounds of pressure into it and in less then a minute it was back to its original 2 pounds. There customer service is exellent and helped me sort out the problem in one conversation. They credited me the price of the part. I went with a liquid filled Autometer gauge the 2nd time and it is 100%. The liquid prevents damage from bumps and bangs. The 1st gauge was probably damaged in shipping. I like the looks and the one bolt piller mount. It has a red light that looks like the rest of the dash and I hoohed it up so it dims when the dash dims. Easy to hook up. At $60.0 its a good deal.
Kevin

mr_jonboy

If you want the stock look, go for the Blitz gauge. The Autometer gauge was on the car when I got it but I didnt' like it's look plus it was pretty inaccurate and slow. The Blitz gauge looks like the stock gauges and performs much better. It is still a mechanical gauge so the price is pretty modest.