I ended up installing the display module, Vac/Boost module, and pressure module between the clutch and brake pedals. The AFR module is not installed yet (I need to let my back and neck recover a bit) but it will be next to the PFC and Datalogit





First Powerup....

 

That looks nice and a good place to install the modules - nice and out of the way. Gauge looks good also.

 

I'd have to say I'm not terribly impressed with PLX hardware or customer service. While I think the idea is great, the implementation leaves much to be desired. The quality of the gauge modules is laughable at best. The machined rail tolerances to connect multiple modules being one glaring flaw in my opinion. Although they are anodized in my favorite color! :P Also, they couldn't come up with any better way to daisy chain multiple units?

As far as customer service what do you get when they short you a Molex connector from the factory? Well a link to purchase a whole new connector kit of course!

 

I was just checking on this thread today. Yea I found out about the stacking. They said you can force it in but fitment is poor to do so. Whats wrong with the way the units are daisy chained? I'm pretty shocked about the molex. Did you reply back to the email you got with the link about the molex?

 

It could just be a misunderstanding in how they read your email. I've contacted them a few times and had good responses, but I wasn't missing any items so I dunno. They're probably not good track gauges with how they're built but I'm enjoying mine so far.

 

Well, I have had nothing but good experiences with PLX. They answer the phone and provide immediate help (ask for Tim) and they respond quickly to my emails. Not sure what is wrong with how they daisy chain together with the exception of each unit should have a "power on" light so you know it is on and a "connected" light so you know it's plugged in correctly. If you want to do it better, you could also use another stye of "click" connector so the jack can't come loose.

Not good as track gauges? What do mean by that? They are designed to be placed in the engine bay with no problems. I have mine in the car so I don't see why I would have a problem.

 

Mine work great, and Tim at PLX is always willing to help out.

The stackability (or lack there of) of the boxes is annoying, but if you are putting them under your carpet (like I did) then you wouldn't want them stacked anyways.

I don't know of anything better that lets you monitor so many parameters while having such a small quantity of gauges. It keeps it so clean. The only thing I'd trade them out for would be a similar daisy chain/multiple parameter system that had video output so I could link them into my headunit, and then do away with gauges all together.

 

PLX gauges can be extended with regular 3.5 stereo cables.

 

Here is a daisy chain install pic for those that might need it...

 

I have five of these units and no two will fit together.

I ran the gauge for about a week and pulled it out - it is a cheap low-resolution Commodore 64 era plastic joke. I felt like I was driving a 20 year old video game.

The PLX Logger software is very clunky - it feels like it was written by hardware rather than software engineers.

These are inexpensive units and come with very cheap connectors etc. but they do perform well in my experience. I would prefer if they upped the price and quality by 30% though - then they would be much more compelling.

 

I just bought their wideband so I can hook it up to my datalogit. I'll give my .02 after I get it installed.

 

I have had this for several years. It is a solid unit.

 

Your experience is the complete opposite of mine. I love the OLED screens and the PLX devices in general. First the LED screen is not a cheap low-resolution unit. It's a color organic LED (OLED) with a 180 deg viewing angle that for me is very visible during the day. Are there other OLED gauges like this available? Not to my knowledge.

The gauges also have multiple gauge "styles" (gauge, numeric, plot, 4 param, x-y scatter, custom) so you can basically have them look any way you like them. I personally have two of the OLED units so I have them set on start up to the 4 parameter mode (display 4 readings at once on both the top and bottom gauges). Out of the box in this mode they do have too much of a fruit salad look for me but you can change the colors to eliminate this. Do any other gauges offer the above? No.

You can also set peak and hold (4 parameters, high and low) and an intelligent warning (4 parameter comparison: for example: if AFR exceeds a certain level and BOOST is above "X", then warn me). Again, who else offers this?

Finally, these are digital units, not some cheap analog things. The sample at 10 times per second which is unrivaled in the industry. The downside to this is the numbers on the screens constantly flash/flicker but this is because the units are displaying information very quickly. I have asked the techies at PLX to offer the ability to slow this down so on readings where this is not important (i.e. EGTS - do we really need 10 readings per second here?) you can smooth out the display.

I can't comment on if the aluminum casings slide together easily as I have mine installed under the carpet and not locked together as you apparently tried. Don't even know where this would fit in the FD anyway. Maybe the bins? When I had mine in the bins, I made shelves for them to keep them looking nice which is why I never tried to slide them together. See the above post and pics by ttmott. He didn't have an issue.

I also can't comment on the logger software as I don't have that. This is a company that is driven by hardware guys so it is no surprise to me the software might be clunky as you say. The actual programming of the gauge units is also a pain and I have made many suggestions to PLX on the improvement of this. Can you program them? Yes. Could it be much easier? Yes.

I do have a few things I don't like as I pointed out earlier. The connectors do need to be improved to a more "click" style. The currently use the iPhone style jacks which can easily be pulled partially loose. This happened to me when I first installed them. Honestly though, since then (several years ago) I haven't had any issues here. I would also like to see a "power on" light on each unit as you know don't really know if each unit is on and that makes trouble shooting more difficult. Finally, my advice is to stay away from the AIT unit if you also have the AFR module, which most of us do. There is a known grounding problem between the two which can affect the operation of the AIT unit. My AIT readings are not correct and it might be this issue but I haven't had enough time to troubleshoot so we shall see.

Summary: Besides a few shortcomings, to me these are the best units available on the market today for those of us that want true digital sampling without the many gauges ricer look of all the other options.

 

Then you are not talking with the right people. Ask for Tim and he will set you up. I've never had a problem like this.

 

I think I have an idea of what he is referring to. Within my 2 plx gauges one of then had an older software version and the display (resolution) was a little disco. Just like he said "commodore 64 ish" especially the analog gauge mode. I sent it back to Tim for a software upgrade and the disco aspect was gone.

 

Jeese now I'm worried. What is discoish?

 

Disco... a little on the old school side resolution not as a good and pixulated.

Don't be. What they show on their site is an accurate reprentation of their current gauge displays. Even if you get the old version (which is verified by the manual that it comes with they are up to version 3.1, mine was 1.1) it's just a software update and it only affects the pre loaded displays. Meaning that your custom uploaded gauges will still have good resolution.


BTW I had my gauge back in just days but I do live in CA so the shipping route is rather short.

 

I've had this system for months now and still am impressed with it's informational capability.
I did put the sensor modules together (see pics previously in this thread) and it was a tight fit but consider these permanent installations; they will not come apart or rattle. I removed the end plates and circuit boards and presset them together in a vise. Worked like a charm and even a caveman can do it.

I run mine with four parameters displayed simultaneously nominally and have began noticing some burn in much like a plasma TV but only see the burn when the unit is first powered up.

I have also programmed some custom gage faces with good success but this is only for the gee whiz factor. I would like to see the programming capabable for multiple simultaneous sensor readings but this does not yet exist.

The plotting capability I have used for AFR trending on the fly - good feature and accurate. I compared the display values to my datalogit data logger and they are within a tenth. Much better than the other WBO2 systems I have used.

A major down side to the system, at least the AFR module, is it very RF dirty. From what I can find out from PLX the power supply for the AFR has an oscilator that messes with the power cables. In my case the AFR module is mounted next to the ECM and the display module is mounted between the clutch and brake pedals. The power and data wiring runs behind the audio head unit and plays havoc with the FM radio stations. I ended up rerouting the cabling and fixed the problem.

The only other down side is the temperature sensors have friction fit clip on terminations; This is unacceptable for reliablility and needs to be changed.

The profile of the gauge head lends it's self to be mounted about anywhere - I have even seen them mounted inside of rear view mirrors.

I obtained mine from a vendor on Ebay and one of the modules came without the connectors. I went a couple rounds with the vendor and it ended up with me going directly to PLX. PLX sent the parts promptly and did acknowledge that they had some issues with packaging. BTW the Ebay vendor gave me a stellar deal on the complete gauge package; so overall no complaints.

Bottom line is for higher end gauges these will suit.

 

I now follow what you are saying as one of my two displays had this problem. Tim sent me a new firmware upgrade and it fixed this. Got to use the old Dell laptop which reminded me why I love Apple so much

 

This is true (which is why I continue to run these and have not sold them in the classifieds) but they clearly tried too hard to come in at a particular price point IMHO. Pretty much all of the stuff on my car is high quality Japanese stuff (lots of Mazdaspeed, RE Amemiya etc.) and some good non Japanese stuff (SMB, M2, Racing Beat) and none of these products exhibits the same compromised design as the PLX stuff does. Yup, these components are expensive but there is no sense that some accountant found a source for cheap connectors etc. and told the engineering department to stop being a bunch of sissies and deal with it.

 

I'll agree with you on the connectors for sure.

 

ok, dumb question: Where can I run the AFR sensor cable through the firewall? I looked under drivers side and passenger and didn't see any open spots. I don't really want to drill if I don't have to.

 

Thru tue steering wheel rubber boot. Simply thread it thru the opening between the boot and the steering wheel shaft and you are good to go. Easy.

 

That works great, but if you need an alternative, you can also run it through on the driverside wheel well. If you take out the fender liner there is a predrilled hole that has a plastic plug in it.

 

I got my O2 bung welded and sensor installed today.
I think I'm going to drill a hole because I have to run a vacuum line for my boost gauge and another wire for my oil temp sensor. My gauge pod is on the way so once I have it, it's time to start wiring.