What is the most important gauge to have in your line of sight, A/F meter or boost? I know it is important that you don't have boost creep, but isn't boost creep ok if the a/f is adequate? So as long as the motor does not run lean, which an a/f can detect, a/f is more important for the life of the motor?

 

i have my boost gauge on the steering column, so i'd say boost gauge

 

BOOST, by far unless your A/F gauge is based off a wideband 02 sensor. this is the ONLY exception.

 

boost gauge

The typical a/f gauge (autometer) is run off the stock narrowband o2 sensor and is next to useless. You can't use them for tuning and as far as monitoring goes, by the time you notice you are running lean, it's probably already too late.

In all reality, for daily monitoring, you really only need a boost gauge and water temp. I also view my air intake temps via the PFC Commander and I do watch my oil temps when I'm on the track.

IMO, gauges like fuel pressure, a/f, and EGT are good for tuning but are kind of pointless for daily monitoring. I'm sure some will disagree with that.....

 

I currently have 5 autometer gauges in my car, with two more waiting to be installed. Currently I have boost, egt, voltage, a/f, and water temp. The most important ones would be 1-water temp, and 2-boost. I have a habit of checking every few mins to see what my temps are. I run the fan mod on all the time, and keeps my temps at 180F. Boost is next important since its always good to make sure your turbos are operating correctly as well as making sure you have proper vacuum at idle. I can say my a/f is pretty much useless since it never gives me any readings that mean anything, and just blinks away as it pleases. My egt was good for just about 1 day since I wanted to make sure they weren't too high, and unless I make any changes to the car it will just give me the same peak reading. Neither the egt or the a/f really aid in preventing running lean since the a/f isnt very accurate, and the egt is pretty slow to respond to spikes in exhaust temps. I like my voltmeter since I have a system in my car along with greddy pulleys and I can see when my voltage starts dropping low, during idle, with the music cranked up. Also its nice to check before you start the car that you have full voltage in your battery. I have yet to install my oil pressure and fuel pressure gauges but they arent really that important at this point. Anyways my advice to anyone needing gauges would be to get a water temp gauge along with a boost gauge before getting any of the other ones. Pic is attached if anyone wants to check them out.

 

your boost guage will tell you more about the condition of your motor before you start being nickle and dimed to death by a blown seal

 

Thats true and not true as ALOT of things can effect vacuum at idle.

 

i'm refferring to cost effectiveness in diagnosing any problem with this car...boost guage is where to start

 

yeah, good point then

 

boost gauge -- no doubt about it!

 

Thanks guys, I wont bother with the a/f then, just water and boost.

 

That's what I have... if you really want a a/f you can get a turbo timer that has and a/f meter, Apexi for example. Will be as accurate as the gauge, which is not accurate.

 

Put your gauges in a location that looks nice in your car. You don't need to look at your boost gauge very often, just once in a while to make sure your boost is where it is supposed to be.

 

Get the boost and water gauge or linearize your factory gauge to show the correct water temperature. Also, you can add a J&S safeguard with a square type display and set it on top of your steering column surround. It also has an A/F monitor and you can still maintain the two gauges on the A-pillar.

Tim

 

How can I do this, and will it make the gauge more reliable towards actual temp?

 

Its really easy. BOOST!!! Even a wideband would be pretty pointless, because im guessing you are mostly stock (and if you have alot of mods and no boost gauge than i have to wonder about you). Theres no point in having a wideband if you cant even tune the car.

 

I believe the instructions for linearization are on the San Diego club site. I did mine and it's great. You just have to get used to the gauge moving all the time as your engine gets warmer and cooler ;-). I use the PFC to back up the gauge but you have to remember the temp. it reads out is at the top of the filler neck and the gauge reads out the temp at the rotor housing (rear one). Sorry I can't find the URL for you - it doesn't appear on the printout I used. You do need to pull the gauge cluster off the dash and modify the temp gauge (remove a jumper), then build a calibration box (with a pot. and a resistor in it). It's not hard. I wouldn't classify it as "easy" though. A bit nervewraking pulling the gauge cluster for the first time. Do a search for the club site. It should still be on there.

 

here's the link for the linearization technique:

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/3rdgen/how-...auge%20mod.pdf