Going single: Necessary Gauges?
 

Hey everyone,

I'm currently having a single turbo built for my car. I'm expecting it to take another 3-4 weeks until completion. In the meantime, I've just been buying up all the necessary parts I need.

Now I've been doing some searching and reading lately and it seems everyone has different suggestions when it comes to gauges that are necessary for a single turbo application. I really don't want to have any unnecessary gauges cluttering up my interior so I'm wondering which type gauges are ABSOLUTELY necessary? Any help or suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance.

Riz

oil/water temp, oil pressurer, and boost gauge, thats will be fine, mybe a air/fuel, you dont need the water temp or the oil pressurer gauge as the car already has them, but they do give a better reading.

Boost, that's all that is absolutely necessary.

*water temp, should be displayed on the PFC Commander, although a separate gauge is nice
*oil temp, not necessary for street driving, but good to have for track use
*oil pressure, why, the stock one works fine with a good sender
*fuel pressure, good for setup tuning/troubleshooting but for daily use...not necessary
*EGT, good for tuning timing, not much good for anything else
*wideband AF, required for self tuning, nice to have for daily use, but....not necessary

Thats all I have...and its not even on the pillar. Once the car is set-up and tuned...I don't even think it's a must, to monitor every WOT run.

linearize the stock one and calibrate it so you know what the "clock" positions are.

I recommend a good oil cooling system (stock single won't cut it)...gauge should be used to find out where you currently are, then where your "single" friendly system put you and how the car reacts...no need for a constant monitor, unless tracking as rynberg stated

+1
If you tune on the dyno, one on the FPR will do, tuning on the street...nice to know in the car. Tuning tool
good for aggressive timing tuning and if you plan to run AI (aux inj). Tuning tool
Tuning tool

Click the link in my sig to see what I think is important :)

boost and egt. make sure they are high quality. if you have the power fc. it has all the gauges you need.

You think this upgrade is really necessary? I won't be running over 15 psi for the time being.

Anyways, since I'm not going to be tuning myself I think I'll stick with a boost gauge and probably water temp. I'm going to be running Defi D gauges so I don't think quality will be too big of an issue. Oh and I'm leaning toward purchasing a Microtech ECU rather than the Power FC.

I don't have one after market guage.

With an external wg your boost is rock solid with just a spring.

Stock coolant/oil pressure all i have to look at.

I don't need to second guess my components or my work.

If i do feel something is wrong i can alway just data log.

btw check out the haltech's. I've been very happy with the performance and price of them. Very easy to work with also.

oil cooling is just as (if not more) important as water cooling...are you going to upgrade your radiator??

I already have :). It was actually one of the first things I ever did on the car and haven't had any real coolant issues ever. I'm currently running a Koyo Radiator.

What would you suggest as far as oil cooling? I've never really looked in to this modification because I figured it was more for people who autocross/track their cars extensively, both of which I don't really plan on doing. Thanks for the help.

Since you don't really plan on doing either, a larger single cooler might be fine (19row). Dual oil coolers are ideal...if you plan on using a SMIC, a dual kit would help shed a lot of engine heat off to the sides instead on onto your intercooler (which can be dangerous for your air intake temperatures).

I'm far from an expert on oil cooling...just sharing my experience with a SMIC single turbo FD, with a stock single oil cooler system.

Cool, I appreciate the help. I'll look into running a larger single oil cooler and probably do some more research on it. I actually already have a FMIC, and engine temps aren't really a big issue for me. I not only have mostly all the cooling mods done but I also have a vented aftermarket hood.