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With some turbo repairs I'm doing, I think it's finally time to put a boost gauge in my car. This would be strictly for diagnostic purposes. (An audible overboost alarm would be useful.).
I've been putting this off because the car has a completely stock interior in almost perfect condition, and I don't want to modify anything. So no pods or other appearance changes, no holes or damaging adhesives, etc.
My first thought is to install the gauge in the open lower stereo DIN slot, so I can hide it when I'm not monitoring it closely. Most of the dial-type gauges I've found so far are 2 1/16" (52 mm) or larger which won't fit in the 50 mm high DIN slot.
Greddy sirius is something you could have installed through the glovebox and suction onto the dash when monitoring (store in glovebox).
I thought it would be sweet to have a custom base 3d printed that held sirius gauges in the dash speaker. Just the clear part sticking up. Maybe even flip up or retractable.
Greddy sirius is something you could have installed through the glovebox and suction onto the dash when monitoring (store in glovebox).
I thought it would be sweet to have a custom base 3d printed that held sirius gauges in the dash speaker. Just the clear part sticking up. Maybe even flip up or retractable.
That is really cool looking, but a bit too non-OE for what I'm going for. Maybe it could be mounted in the glove box (which is pretty small on my '95, will it stand up in there?), and I can just open the glove box anytime I want to see it.
@ madhat1111
That looks like a nice, clean installation. Which gauge is that? The graphics almost match the rest of the dash.
I'd prefer not to remove anything, however, even the oil pressure gauge.
Greddy sirius is something you could have installed through the glovebox and suction onto the dash when monitoring (store in glovebox).
I thought it would be sweet to have a custom base 3d printed that held sirius gauges in the dash speaker. Just the clear part sticking up. Maybe even flip up or retractable.
That is really cool looking, but a bit too non-OE for what I'm going for. Maybe it could be mounted in the glove box (which is pretty small on my '95, will it stand up in there?), and I can just open the glove box anytime I want to see it.
@ madhat1111
That looks like a nice, clean installation. Which gauge is that? The graphics almost match the rest of the dash.
I'd prefer not to remove anything, however, even the oil pressure gauge.
https://speedhut.com/gauge-applicati...psi-w-warning/
GR-BOOST-01:2-1/16" Boost/Vac Gauge 30inhg-0-20psi (w/ warning)Colors: Day - Black dial // White fontNight - Numbers Red GlowFont Style: EurostileTick Style: standardGraphic: -Logo: -Custom Text: -Pointer: Black Blade Racer Red (Glows Red)Bezel: Revolution BlackDisc:Window: Flat
I went with it because i could put the oil gauge back in if i really wanted but also looks (almost) competely stock. As Kyle points out, it was a low mileage perfect condition car that i didn't want to look moded.
Originally Posted by GtiKyle
I think you just wanted to flex on your 20 KM odometer!
🤣🤣 5 years later it's only at 27k. Wish it had more!
With some turbo repairs I'm doing, I think it's finally time to put a boost gauge in my car. This would be strictly for diagnostic purposes. (An audible overboost alarm would be useful.).
I've been putting this off because the car has a completely stock interior in almost perfect condition, and I don't want to modify anything. So no pods or other appearance changes, no holes or damaging adhesives, etc.
My first thought is to install the gauge in the open lower stereo DIN slot, so I can hide it when I'm not monitoring it closely. Most of the dial-type gauges I've found so far are 2 1/16" (52 mm) or larger which won't fit in the 50 mm high DIN slot.
If your FD is running an aftermarket ECU that has a CAN interface (e.g., Haltech, Link, etc.), you might try something like this, and get much more than just a boost gauge on a single display/gauge
I'm actually running a conventional GaugeArt 2-1/16" round CAN gauge in a single pod that replaces my center dash speaker. Works really well and can easily be reverted back to stock - just don't toss your speaker grill!
My 0.02, the previous owner mounted the boost gauge on the steering column, I think it looks awesome but I can never look at it when I'm boosting because I'm staring at the road.
I have thought if I had to do it over again, I'd install it on a gauge pod that replaced the dashcenter stereo grill or on an a-pillar pod. I have my AFR gauge on the center speaker grille and it's the only gauge I can legibly check while I'm on the road under boost.
I think my previous owner got an Autometer boost gauge. It looks sick, matches OEM really nicely.
I never look at anything but the road when driving the car hard.
Visibility is a possible trade off I'm willing to make here to maintain the stock interior.
What I want out of this gauge is an audible over boost alarm, and to be able to check the health of the system periodically or to help with diagnosing any problems that I might notice. So if the car feels like it's not making good boost, I can do a pull and check the boost levels.
It's fine if the gauge is completely hidden most of the time, so long as I can watch it without taking too much attention from driving the car in controlled circumstances.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know why Mazda did NOT put a boost gauge in this car?
I can't say why they didn't initially, but for 99+ clusters a boost gauge replaced the oil pressure like i did.
Maybe a boost controller like a Profec then? I have mine in my glove box.
The center speaker pod Pete suggested is going to be your most OEM looking option. I'd also go with a combo gauge that reads boost and AFR, why not have both? https://www.innovatemotorsports.com/...o3x2MAtF1V01fU
Any electric gauge is likely to be less deep than a mechanical one. You can still get an electric boost gauge with a needle sweep, which I'd recommend. You can really read or observe boost behavior with a numerical readout. The steering column pod mount is the most OEM looking, though something a little higher (a-pillar, mickey mouse ears, maybe the speaker although its a little far away, etc) will be a little easier to observe while driving without having to look down so far.
I had this unit in my old FC. https://www.zeitronix.com/Products/LCD/LCD.shtml
I think my mindset was similar to yours, and I didn't want gauges all over the place. To me, this felt the most like what an OEM would have done at that time. Might seem a touch dated in the FD, but I think the old school digital readout would still be period correct (that's how the radio readout looked). I had mine mounted under a single din stereo head unit. Not ideal for visibility, but looked the part, and got the job done.
You could go the custom route and have someone like Drakes make a column pod specifically for something like this. I think that would be the ultimate OEM-style solution.
Honestly, the best place for it if you want to be able to monitor boost while driving is the A-pllar, but I know that does have a kind of 90's Hot Import Nights vibe to it. The column is decent. But, can't stress enough, get one with a sweeping needle or graphical representation of some sort so you can see what's happening. A numerical reading is virtually useless, it fluctuates too fast to really read. You might as well just datalog and look at the logs later.
Years ago I rigged an Autometer mechanical boost gauge in the glove box of my car, I might have built a cheezy little enclosure / bracket from cardboard to keep it from moving around too much. It was completely reversible, I passed the boost line through one of the grommets near the ECU (passenger footwell) and then fed it out the engine bay near the ABS module. I agree that a needle-style gauge is the way to go for something that changes often like boost, I've used digital ones and it's super annoying if the measurement fluctuates between 9.9 - 10.0 - 9.9 - 10.0 repeatedly.
I've decided to try out the JJCOCO gauge in the DIN slot and see how that works. Probably not a permanent answer, but it should need the least modifications and it's pretty cheap.
If this doesn't work, I'm leaning towards the Speedhut gauge madhat1111 has in his car, or something custom.
Is there anything tricky about running a vacuum line or mounting a sending unit, that I should be aware of? Where's the best place to run the signal lines through the firewall (again, minimizing irreversible modifications)?
