so i am trying to keep my car as stock looking as possible (which means i'll have 3 gauges on the middle Din and 1 on the steering wheel column.

my 7 will be pushing 350 wrhp and will have the pfc + commander (used only when crossing)

under those circumstances, which 4 gauges will you have?

i am planning on
- wideband
- boost gauge
- water temp
- ???

 

water temp
boost
wideband
oil temp

 

that's what i am thinking too... but then doesnt the oil temp follows the water temp (or vice versa) anyways?

 

I'd skip water temp, you can see that on the commander.

thewird

 

^ really, i like having a dedicated water temp gauge in plain view in larger viewing size.

 

That's more of a preference then an actual need though

thewird

 

That would be my 4 as well.

Although im not a fan of gauges galore in the cockpit so anyway to reduce the amount of gauges is a plus.

 

Yeah true but a bit not true.

I mean you dont really NEED to stare at the water temp constantly but there was one time i blew a coolant hose and i only lived 7-8 minutes to get home. I was glad i had a water temp gauge.

I knew the coolant hose was burst but i didnt have the tools nor the hose to fix it where i was so i filled the car with water and rushed home.

I was literally eyeing the water temp the entire way home.

Everything was going fine in the beginning but when i was on the highway, 1/4 mile away from the gas station i enter, which shortcuts me to my house, which is only another 3 blocks. I saw the temp gauge LITERALLY go from 180, 190, 200, 210 in mere SECONDS. Almost like it was the speedometer!!!

I was like O NO!!!!

I pulled over in the gas station and cooled it down, filled up with water to get me 3 more blocks to my house.

So yeah sometimes a water temp gauge in plain view is good lol

 

If I had to pick 4 I would pick
1. Wideband
2. Boost
3. Water Temp.
4. Oil Pressure

I agree I would rather have a dedicated gauge to monitor the important, can blow my engine stuff... On most nice gauges you can set up warning markers which will let you know when you are getting to dangerous territory. Id rather pay attention to the road then my commander...

Chris

 

These are the big four !



1. Wideband
2. Boost
3. Water Temp.
4. Oil Pressure

later

 

wow... i guess if i don't have the commander connected all the time, i should have a water temp just in case.... thanks for the tip! and good thing you didn't blow your eng.

 

so oil pressure > oil temp?

 

WB
Boost
EGT
Oil Temp

and I monitor Knock, Injector Duty, AIT and Coolant Temp with the PFC Commander and Keep an eye on the stock gauges for oil press. It's good if you use a low mile sender.

 

Yes, but you could have done the exact same thing on the commander. That's my point lol. You only really need a water temp gauge when you don't have a powerfc with commander in my opinion.

thewird

 

i agree with the wird.

i have a water temp gauge but find myself monitoring water temps on the commander just as often. The commander must be mounted in view of the driver to be utilized. This is important to monitor ait and knock values even more so. use the 4 display mode and u have a secondary boost gauge with the peak value display aswell. The Commander is a great tool, Use it.

other gauges vary depending on your mods.

boost, oil press & water temp for cars with stock ecu.

boost, wideband & oil press for cars with pfc & mounted commander

boost,wideband,oil press,oil temp,water temp, egt, fuel press are what i run with my single
setup.
I also monitor boost, knock, water temp & AIT on my commander that is mounted with a gotham racing holder.

 

O most def, i was speaking from the non PFC users. Me included

 

I really see no point in a wideband gauge. I log AFRs for tuning and periodically check them when the weather changes or when I have made some modifications.

Unlike, say, a temperature gauge you can't even set a meaningful warning on a wideband gauge and the values change so rapidly that keeping an eye on it constantly is unrealistic.

For tuning, the more sensors the better for logging - but only a boost gauge and a water temperature gauge are really necessary IMHO for ongoing monitoring (water temperature is a close enough proxy for oil temperature unless you are on a track).

 

moconnor, that was the exact thing I was thinking... When the car is running properly, you can't really monitor the a/f gauge making it pointless unless you are tuning. I personally think boost and oil temp are the minimum... if you are going for less then I would only choose 2...
This is making the assumption that you have the kinks worked out in your system and everything is tuned... otherwise there is no such thing as too much info, some cars have multiple water temps!!!

 

When I'm on a track I take a peak at my wideband and fuel pressure on every major straightaway to make sure the fuel system is running ok. I think its important to monitor this stuff especially on a decently modified car. Water and air pumps I take a look on the commander every so often.

thewird

 

I'm not understanding why it seems that many people feel the need to have an aftermarket Oil Pressure gauge. So long as the sender isn't broken the stock one works just fine.

I'd say my 4 (if you aren't using a PFC/Commander) gauges would have to be:

Boost
Water Temp
Oil Temp
AFR

 

add the center speaker gauge pod and then you can have dual EGTs, one for each rotor, excellent for tuning.

 

I would use 0 guages, and use one of these for 400 bucks or so.

http://www.arkdesign-us.com/usark-electronic-mfd.asp

Done.

 

Or go with one gauge that can display anything you want. Makes it look nice and OEM and the gauge face can be customized to match the FD gauges:

http://plxdevices.com/products/dm100/

 

EGTs are typically tuned by incremental cell-by-cell adjustments of timing - and dozens of cells are usually involved. I can't imagine anyone doing this using gauges.

 

I bought one of these recently and will be installing in the next few weeks. I have about six sending units the moment and plan dual EGTs later - all of which can be logged. While I have nothing against a car full of gauges, I prefer the stock look.

I like the ideal a lot but the execution is a little lacking. The interface is very clunky and uploading custom gauges is a truly prehistoric process. I think the guys at PLX design very nice hardware but their software skills are marginal.

I'll report my experiences when I get everything working.