defi gauges
 

ok time to pick gauges for the project car.... im sure this has been talked about before but what im really looking for are peoples opinions. where to mount gauges is one of my main concerns and i want to keep the car looking as stock as possible.

what im most likely going to be using are -> black defi d-gauges... EGT, boost, a/f, and fuel pressure.

now, the question is... where to mount them. tell me your opinions (ill need 2 locations for all these gauges) so i was considering these options -> dual/tripple pillar (but they will affect my sight), possibly 2 or 3 in a din slot (but i want to keep the bose, and i need a CD so thats gonna be tricky unless there is a CD bose head unit maybe from another mazda car that would work), 2 or 3 in the center speaker location (but i like the center speaker too :wink: )... thats really all i can think of... oh yeah, on top of the gauge hood (an option but i think it looks slightly rice), or on top of the steering column (but that wont work for my application... i wont go into why but if anyone actually cares ill explain)

any input or suggestions would be much appreciated from my fellow rotor folk :p: -heath

there's also always where the a/c and heater controls go. a lot of people just relocate them to the center console and mount 2 gauges in the original spot. looks pretty cool, but lots of hard work. i like the pillar gauges because they're easy, but it often makes them hard to keep an eye on things and the road at the same time

i want to keep the car looking as stock as possible so im somewhat against the AC relocation. the gauges i will be using (besides boost) EGT, a/f, fuel press. are to monitor serious failures in the fuel system or some other serious failure. im hoping that i wont have to keep an eye on them at all times, but the reality is when they start fluctuating there is a serious serious problem. id like to use another set of gauges that would give me a warning buzzer or something if levels rise or fall past a predetermined point, but the defi d-gauges are the only ones that look decent in the FD... form VS function again i suppose... its a toss up cause i cant afford to kill a motor due to my own stupidity, but then again half of the 7 is about how sexy/clean it looks and id hate to disturb that as well...

Why would you choose form vs. function? The D gauges don't have a peak feature, warning light nor can they record. That's retarded to buy something that will do nothing for you until it's already blown up....but man your FD will sure look good PARKED.

it aleready does :

http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...185_4_full.jpg http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...85_19_full.jpg


but seriously, im still consiering the defi's w/ the peak function etc... i just really hate the idea of having GREEN gauges w/ ORANGE stock ones. and id like units that im used to also. too bad defi doesnt make their lineup in standard measurements, as well as orange as an option

I have the green gauges with orange dash lights and it doesnt look too bad. Just get a cd deck that matches as much as possible. The warning light is key because you dont have to monitor them as closely and its pretty noticeable.

I've got 2 on the pillar and 2 where the center speaker was. I don't miss the speaker at all (upgraded doors and rears). It is a perfect location. I thought I'd hate it but I didn't.

you guy forgot about the tri-pod 3 on dash and two more over your steering wheel. and if you need to put another gauge there is a quad-pod for yas ....sweeet...

http://hometown.aol.com/flyrx7/Rx7-Gauge-Pod.html
http://border-racing.com/border-web-...info-meter.htm

D-series mounted in the center channel

http://www.automotivetech.org/photop...98100_0381.jpg

I will try and get a night shot tonight

Mitch

It's still going to tell you that you're running hot, low pressure, etc. Maybe you can show off to everyone that you got her up to 250 F. Otherwise, if you peak, you peak. Not necessarily necessary to recall that you peaked sometime.

As far as warning lights, the whole point to put them in is to monitor. I'd hope that people dumped gauges in to actually monitor things, not just for looks. Admittedly I was looking for form with the function, that's why I got the d-gauges too. For my need, they work. I can still monitor well enough. As far as recording, if I really need to, I've got a datalogit, so there's my recall feature.

Not bashing, just looking from another point of view. :D

As Frank for that pic of mine. I've got his tri pod in the center spot too with boost, oil press and water temp. Looks good.

I have the BF boost in my car, i love it

Rotormotor:

I have the Defi Link series gauges in Frank's center channel tri-pod. I've had many people ask if they were OEM (during the daytime). The advantage of using Frank's pod is that there is NO permanent alteration to the interior whatsoever. Another large advantage is that the center-channel location is very good for visibility.

The warning lights, peak, and recording feature are all useful with the Link series.

And I can tell you that I was very gung-ho for getting matched lighting gauges, but after owning these for over a year, I don't regret my purchase the slightest bit. Yes, they light up green at night. So what? The gauges have extremely high build quality and work very well.

You're welcome to check out my car anytime you like.

EDIT: BTW, don't waste your money on the a/f or egt gauges. The a/f gauge relies on the factory o2 sensor = worthless and egt gauges don't respond fast enough to save the motor anyway. Stick with boost, water, and oil temp. Fuel pressure is good too, I guess, but I don't need forty gauges and monitoring fuel pressure seems unnecessary to me.

The defi gauges are nice ....... but expensive. You would think that if someone had the money for those gauges, he could afford a measly $30 for an ashtray! :)

I mounted 3 VDO gauges under my single unit stereo. It came out great, like it was OEM. Orange lighting matches the stock gauges perfectly.

Agreed, EGT...maybe if you plan on tuning but not for simple monitoring, A/F... maybe if you got the AEM uego gauge that is at the rx7 store....atleast it is wideband (sort of) and has it's own sensor. Green will work fine my greddy temp gauge is green at night white in the day and I don't mind it at all at night, it is below my cd player and that has green buttons so it looks like it matches. I also do like the warning and peak hold features, interesting info sometimes.

Bob

The two Defi D's I have that I wouldn't want to live without Boost, and Water Temp, with the sensor pulling data on the engine side of the thermostat. So I can actually see the car warm up, not to mention keep an eye on radiator temps... I had an EGT in there before, but the people who had it at the wrecking yard tried to steal it and figured out they couldn't get at the sensor (hood Locks) and gave up.. threw it back in the car, and the EGT hasn't worked since... :( but I don't miss it, a good AFR gauge / readout beats the pants off EGT. EGT is too slow to react, by the time it goes beyond what it's supposed to it's too late.... it's good for knowing if is running a touch lean or rich all the time....

I guess I'm like a pilot who checks his instrument cluster before or after every major event, turn, lane change, stop light... nothing serious I'm not taking notes, just checking.... Okay, all looks to be what I expect....

-DC

AgentSpeed: sounds like a good setup, do you have any visibility problems with the 2 on the a-pilar?

SomeGuy_sg: any more than 3 on top of the dash would start to look out of place. im considering 3 or 2 op top of the dash as an option.

Mitch529: NICE!! ok im digging the 3 up top now... i was unsure before but i like it much more.

Railgun69: i feel the same way, but jspecracer7 did have a good point... if i have a failure in the fuel system, chances are pressure will drop FAST! and if my eye is not glued on the gauge i will miss it and bye bye motor (thats why im getting all these silly gauges... well that and they look cool too :wink: )

Heres a pic of mine

http://oklahomaspeed.com/pics/Cockpitnear.JPG

sorry i havent gotten back to you on the ashtray... i do want it though :wink: . ive been completely swamped recently (im in the middle of finals and i have like 30 other things going on)... only time i have had recently to post is literally in the middle of the night (i think it was like 4am or someting hehe)... anyway i will take it, and sorry for lagging. ill send you a pm too :wink: heath

yeah, id really love to see your car some time :p: ...i wish i had more free time. as far as the a/f gauge i know it just reads from the 02 sensor but why is it useless?? if i can visibly see my a/f fluctuating or out of normal range it may alert me to some sort of problem, correct? if something flat out fails (like i blow a fuel line, or i loose one of the pumps) no gauge would do much good because i would lean out too fast to do anything about it right?

water temp im hoping i wont need (im planning on doing the linearization mod to the stock water temp gauge), and i dont see the point of the oil temp gauge. (im planning on running the CWR dual mocal oil cooler kit... which *should* keep the temp at 180 w/ the thermostat)

im pretty good about watching the gauges, but your right... no one is, or should be staring at them (they should focus on not crashing thir car). derek, what do you mean that it doesnt react fast enough? in what situation are you talking about? i dont know... maybe just a boost gauge and a fuel pressure gauge are enough. my DP has a bung for EGT, i could always plug it, but im assuming the previous owner had a good reason to use it????

I have no visability problems at all. The 2 on the pillar and the two in the center are perfect. Both sets are in a good position to get a good glance while driving. My center pod also just snaps in place.

RotorMotor: Where do you plan on getting your Defi D gauges from? AFAIK, they are sold out and backordered just about everywhere. I just got my set in last week but I ordered them back in January! :eek:

1. Manifold pressure.
2. Water temp.
3. Oil temp.

Those 3 are required to have any reasonable warning driving the car hard. Oil temp is just as important as water temp and is a more true indicator of how "hot" the engine is.

By the time you're leaning the car out on the dyno, the only thing saving you from your own or the tuners stupidity, is AFR or Knock... AFR will show him his stupidity, and knock will prevent it from blowing up, if knock controll is turned on / availible... EGT, will only show issues if you're cresting / flirting with disaster, leaning out, and the EGT will raise slowly, but you'll never see a spike like you will with Knock, or AFR... what you can tell with afr, is if you run the same strech of road day after day, is how it's burning fuel, if the AFR goes down, you're AFR is getting rich, if it's going up you're leaning out, start checking clogged filter burnt out pump, bad injectors, that kind of thing, but EGT is no tuning tool....

It's okay as an indicator... just like you wouldn't use your oil temp or rad temp to judge tuning.... Oil Temp will most likely go up as well if you lean it out...

Re: defi gauges
 

I know little about car audio, but you may want to check out the 99 Miata AM/FM CD unit. It's BOSE, single DIN, would likely match the rest of your dash lighting and give you that second DIN for guages. Maybe others here would know how hard it would be to hook up and make work.

http://www.mazdarecycling.com/html/audio.asp

;)