I was just browsing through the online Rx7 Store catalouge (new layout looks great and is much easier to navigate!) and I noticed the "new" Defi D-gauges. Well, being a longtime Defi gauge desire-er, I noticed some very friendly prices. They are described as Defi's "new line of accurate standalone gauges." So I guess these don't use the daisychain, right??? They just hook up like most other gauges made by the other manufacturers?

Any info would be appreciated cause I need gauges BAD. Thanks.

Dan in PA

 

I've been keeping an eye on the availability of these new gauges for awhile now. SPI is the US distributor of Defi gauges and I called them again last week - they reported that they now have them in stock (at least the ones I asked about) and you can buy them from whoever SPI is selling them through, including the RX-7 store I guess.

I personally "ordered" them today from another vendor. They look like a perfect match for the stock guages: black face, red needle, white letters/numbers/dashes, and amber lighting. You can see more details at http://www.defi-shop.com/dgauge/dg_frm.htm Glad to hear the pricing is even reasonable.

 

Now I have a set of white NR gauges and I want to match those. So i'm hoping for either Defi or maybe a group buy from Omorimeter (custom colored).

 

Mmmmm mmmm mmmmm...sooooo gettin them!!! Damn I didnt realize they matched so well, and they have the full line of gauges I am looking for in 52mm...and are priced the same as the other manfactureres. I think the RX7 owners' gauge of choice has arrived.

 

These gauges are soooooooo ******* rice stupid - 35 on the boost, yeah.....right. Perfect for the space shuttle. Makes it real easy to read the second most important parameter on an FD3S - next to temperature. And, they are outrageously expensive! I guess only LOOKS count these days - the hell with FUNCTION and PRICE.
Mitchell Instruments (one of the most respected suppliers to aircraft manufacturers in the world) makes an incredibly high quality boost gauge that works flawlessly for $40.00. And, it looks great with stock (black only) gauges. Oh, BTW, it reads to 15 on the boost - right where you want it. Why is it $40.00 instead of $200.00 - can you say MARKETING TO IGNORANT (and I mean that in the literal sense, not trying to flame) NEWBIES? (Yeah, I'm a cynical bastard)
Oh ****, now I'm probably going to be booted from the forum for trying to save everybody money again! What ever happened to hot rodders doing stuff on the cheap?

Go here to buy it: www.aircraftspruce.com
Click online catalogue, instruments, then turbocharger gauge. Enjoy.

 

Ron, thanks for the link. I will look into them.

And no, looks aren't everything to me...I read about how great Defi's are all the time, and I was psyched to see a boost gauge from them for $115. Maybe it's not great quality, I don't really know :shrug: I didn't think going up to 35psi was a big deal...I was excited to see it in PSI though, not the typical metric. I'll keep my eyes open, thanks for the input.

 

the gauges r bad *** i have the nr white gauges with the boost and a/f ratio in the border carbon fiber meter panel get them u wont be disapointed

 

Those actually look pretty good - I've never seen them before since I know nothing about planes. As for your comments, some of us are willing to pay extra for guages that actually match the stock guages. I want mine to look like they came with the car, that's not ricey by any definition I've ever heard. The Mitchell guage shown on the site: has a white needle (wrong color), the backlight is an unknown color, is square, and there is no matching water temp guage I can find. This is not acceptable to me (because I'm f*cking stupid I guess).

As for the range of the boost, who cares? It's not like you need to be looking at this all the time while you are ripping around a road course. I only looked at my old boost guage when I thought I may have a problem - which I never did. Don't think I ever even glanced at it on the track, unlike the water temp guage which is essential to watch in our rotaries.

Scott

 

Look guys, I never said anyone was stupid personally, it's just that it is nuts to be spending tons of money on "name brand" stuff when there are other components out there for our cars that usually are higher quality and a fraction of the cost, it's just generally not known where to find them since they don't have popular "names" and none of the "performance sites" sell them because there is not enough profit. I look at this whole situation from only a performance point of view and care less about looks. IMHO, I think all extra gauges trash the interior regardless of how they are mounted, although I can see how it would be nice to match the existing gauges perfectly if you were doing a really nice interior paint and seat fabric job along with it.
Anyway you slice it, our interiors are cheesy and plastic to begin with. My gauges are hidden in my glove box and angled right at me. If I want to look at them, fine, - just drop the lid and there they are!

Instead of water temperature, oil temperature or exhaust gas temperature the most important thing to keep track of is "rotor housing temperature". That's where all the action is - right at the spark plug. If you are going to go lean you need to find out there and then and not someplace downstream. It's simple and cheap to install a common CHT (cylinder head temperature) sending unit(s) and gauge and they are very accurate, and once again, inexpensive. ($150.00 complete) You can keep track of BOTH rotors on one gauge, and that is VERY cool. Every other measurement of temps is nice, but not really neccessary. This is where the rice thing comes in - all these gauges but none of them worth a damn. (although EGT is good for tuning purposes, but since you need a wide band sensor to get it right you really don't need EGT either, plus it is a pain in the *** to install properly) You can easily have a rotor going bad, but EGT won't tell you until it's WAY too late, since it is measuring the combustion gas and not the temperature of the metal at the point of combustion, and that is what makes our (or any) engines pop.

The swing arc on a 0 to 15 psi gauge makes it much easier to read accurately at a glance instead of 0-35. If gauges are not user friendly what's the point? You need to keep your eyes on the track.

Just trying to be helpful! (And yes, 35 years of racing motorcycles and working on planes and cars does have it's insights)

 

i still dont understand why they have 3 ticks instead of 4 in-between each 5psi mark.

1FAST7

 

Yeah, that IS a good question! There must be a logical reason but darned if I can figure it out.......

 

I thought Omori was making some to exactly match out stock gauges. was it omori or was it defi?
anyone remember that thread about a month back?

 

It was Omori. search for it, im sure you can find it. I wonder how they are turning out...

1FAST7