What are your thoughts/recommendations for a reliable boost gauge. Before I go checking out any FD....I want to have a boost gauge on hand. I've been looking into the a'pexi EL Mechanical boost meter/gauge. I hear AutoMeter make some good ones as well.

eZ

 

http://www.rx7store.net/index.asp?Pa...ROD&ProdID=517

 

Buy an Autometer from a hotrod shop. The RX-7 specific stores are kinda pricey.

What's cheapest, and still quite useful, is a big pressure/vacuum gauge from an auto parts store. I have one and for turbo diagnostics it's nice to still have the standard boost pattern gauge hooked up.

 

I have a defi boost gauge and I love it. Granted its more expensive, but its nice IMO.

-Alex

 

Nice. I'll check these out and look into them. Thanks everyone. And wish me luck too with whatever I can come across here in Florida.

 

I got the Autometer Sport Comp #3301. It goes up to 20psi... I dont plan on ever boosting more than that .. but if you do then go with the # 3303. This one reads up to 30psi.

I've included a link for the gague i have. It matches perfect in the day and night with the stock cluster.

http://hp.autometer.com/products/pro...3xx/003301.jpg

 

My auto meter is reading 2psi right now, its a POS and i dont think im ever going to buy another one of there gauges....

 

defi !

 

Defi makes really good gauges.

 

If you're looking for an Apex-EL boost gauge i'm selling one, it displays from -30 to + 30 and it is a mechanical with psi readings (20, 30, not 1.0, 1.5) PM if interested
$100 brand new shipped

 

If you want something thats just gonna work and be accurate, Autometer. But if you want something thats gonna look cool with all the bells and whistles, Defi

 

Autometer... accurate? I dunno about that. I always hear about people having gauges that are ~15% off. If you want a good mechanical gauge that doesn't cost a lot, get a VDO boost/vac gauge.

 

That's a nice one. I think it's one of the first I've seen so far where the vac/pressure are separated by colors for easy reading. They're usually all one color I think. Thanks again for link.

 

Hi NeedFD,

Cool. Thanks for the offer. I'm not sure which version of the boost gauge from apexi I'm getting (black or white and kpa/psi) but I'll have to check with the AutoMeters too.

 

apex el one is good. i have the white one. when u start boosting it makes a beeping sound. mine is special.

 

Get a stepper-motor electric gauge (Autometer has some - priced ~$180 at Summit Racing) that has a peak hold feature so that you won't crash looking at the gauge while trying to see what your max boost is while you are driving.

 

Get an SPI. The japanese and electric guages are frightfully (and needlessly) expensive. A good old manual SPI (they also made the PFS-branded gauges) are of excellent quality, and match reasonably well... I customized mine:

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=139224

 

nice I'm gonna have to look into those.

 

The Autometer gauge I mentioned a few posts ago is part # ATM 3376 at Summit Racing. Summit's web site is somewhat screwed up, so when I just did a search w/o the part #, I couldn't find it.

 

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_mult.asp?...s=Vision&Cart=

 

What color do those VDO gauges light up? I could get all 3 gauges I need from them for the price of one Defi....

 

What ever color you want, just throw a condom on them.

 

I still need to write a good gauge FAQ ...

I have owned a TON of gauges of all brands. This is from first-hand experience, BTW.

Autometer - Cheap, cheap, cheap. If you need something to get you going, this will do. Lighting is poor (comes around the sides), the senders are of hardware-store quality, and I HATE the nylon vacuum line/brass ferrules to hook up a boost gauge - that is just a horrible idea. Not to mention, go to most any performance shop that has more than 1 Autometer boost gauge in the case - EACH ONE will be pointing to a *different* spot in the zero "box". That's just poor quality control. Supposedly the pricier gauges are of better build quality, but they still use cheesy senders and hookups, and goofy lighting.

VDO - Better quality than Autometer, but I haven't been impressed. Again, goofy "around the side" lighting, and uses a nylon tube/ferrules for the boost gauge.

Greddy - now we're getting somewhere. I've bought at least $1000 worth of Greddy gauges in the past, and I plan on going with them on my FD. Top quality, accurate, look good, and are reasonably priced. Gauges are lit properly, with the numbers lighting up. Accurate. Sensors are VERY high quality, with weathertight connections, GROUNDED sensors (Autometer sensors have 1 wire, so you rely on the sender's connection point for a ground reference - not cool), quality electrical connectors, and a real vacuum line for the mechanical boost gauge. You can get the 60mm mechcanical boost gauge for around $100, and a 52mm electronic water temp gauge for $110-120 or so. Even the nicer peak/hold/warning gauges are under $200 a crack.

Defi - these are the Rolls Royce of gauges. TOP quality, quality senders and electrical connectors, they look awesome, you name it. Problem is they aren't cheap, and don't make financial sense if you just need 1 or 2 gauges, unless you get the D-gauge series. If you plan on running 3 or more gauges, look into them.

Apexi - Again, great Japanese quality. Problem is they only make ONE cheap gauge, the 60mm mechanical boost gauge. It's DAMN nice - that was my first Japanese gauge, and I was VERY impressed with it. Their electronic gauges are VERY spendy, but actually have record/playback built in - you can record a boost run, then watch the gauge play it back. Way cool.

HKS - Never messed with them in person much, quality is great but I really don't like the look of the newer HKS gauges. They're also RIDICULOUSLY overpriced for what you get.

One thing I'm still wanting to do is videotape a good Japanese gauge next to an Autometer. The response of the Japanese gauges is SO much faster, even with a mechanical. My Apexi boost gauge I had back in the day was my first gauge, and I was just amazed watching it while driving around. Shifting as fast as I could going from 1st to 2nd, the gauge would actually drop all the way back to vacuum then back to boost - it reacts THAT quickly.

You really don't see the difference unless you compare both and have installed both. The quality difference is pretty substantial.

Personally, I'm planning on getting a dual gauge pod that goes over the center speaker and running a black-face Greddy 60mm mechanical boost and Greddy 52mm water temp in there. That's it for gauges - of course, I had 6 Greddy gauges in my old FC.... If you'd like to see pics of my install, click on the link below to buy my convertible RX-7 so I'll have gauge money .

Summary - At minimum, look at Greddy or Apexi mechanical if you're on a budget, or buy a near-new one off Ebay. I'd only run an Autometer temporarily or if I had to.

Dale

 

Defi D Gauge is got to easily be the best. matches perfectly even when illuminated. made by seiko-nippon. if you polish the bezel you can have the fattest gauges ever. my stuff looks so good. I have defi d boost, water temp, and more on the way. ebay you can get them for a little over $100 give or take a few bucks.

 

i agree completely that they suck. i have a carbon fiber ultralight and itis way off! it's off by as much as 20% on the vacuum side and almost that much on the boost side. i finally figured that out when i plumbed a freshly calibrated snap-on gauge to the uim and ran them side by side after seeing my readings on my then pfs purple vary greatly from what the boost gauge was reading. i'm switching to defi over the winter. as for cheap and accurate, the vdo in my previous dsm was almost dead on and was about $35.