So what is the best brand guage to go with for the price... VDO souded good then got shot down.

 

Jeff, the German manufacturers, use VDO because of accuracy, and location, lets say VDO and AM are exactly IDENTICAL, wouldn't you buy the one made in your country, to save shipping and help the national econonmy?


AGEMAN,

VDO gauges are great... So long as you buy the mechanical gauges, if you want super accurate, and good electronic gauges, you are going to spend a lot of money, but, whose to say one is better then the other, it's not like I have tested these gauges nor has anyone else, I simply don't have the time or money.

 

I don't like mechanical gauges. Plumbing engine fluids into the cockpit is a bad idea unless an isolator is used, and almost no one uses an isolator...

Electrical gauges are more expenisve, but easier to install (routing wire is easier then tubing).

In my car, I'm pulling my old mechanical boost gauge out and replacing it with electrica. I'll be running the following:

-boost
-water temp
-oil temp
-oil pressure
-fuel pressure
-wideband
-maybe EGT

And yes, they will be Autometer.

 

Hey Aaron... I'de love to see a pic of your guage setup.. to give me some ideas of how I'm going to lay mine out in the car.

 

Mine is not laid out yet. With roughly $1800 in guages, you can bet I'm being careful. I also have a philosophy that says gauges and addons should not violate the interior of the car. Consequently that means not shoving a gauge into every available random spot like I see most people doing. The three most important gauges (boost, wideband and water temp) are going on a pod on the drivers A-pillar. The three remaining gauges will be installed into a custom pod that mounts above the idiot light cluster while keeping the cluster visible.

 

Boost ,water temp would be high on my list while oil press. would be at or near the bottom.I was told oil press. is not as big of deal to monitor on a rotary as it is in a piston engine outside of the factory gauge.

 

Yeah, thats a crock, rotories use oil for something like 35% of the total engine cooling, and if you have a turbo, with low oil pressure it's not going to last too long. If anything oil pressure is MORE important in the rotory.

 

people have different opinions on what you need.

but for turbo people I think boost ( so you know what your doing ) and water temp . then oil pressure .

but for 2 main ones would be boost and water.

for na

temperature and oil pressure.

thats my opinion.

 

Agreed. Also if you going with an aftermarket turbo in search of more power and some means of controling timing maybe an EGT gauge.

(haven't read the whole thread so i don't know if this has been mentioned )

 

I find gauges are mostly for show. You only need a very basic set of gauges unless you are in a racecar where things can quickly change. My car will always have the least # of gauges possible for it to be safely operated. Like why get an oil pressure gauge if the engine doesnt have any oil mods? The stock one would be fine in that case.

Another example, why have a boost gauge when most boost controllers will display boost for you. Finally, many gauges are looked at once and then ignored while driving. Why not save money and get an ems with datalogging so you can watch the readings change with driving conditions.

 

Devil's Advocate says: not everyone has their Haltech laptop open all the time. Also, I wonder if you would have noticed a possible fuel starvation from your clogged fuel line (or whatever was clogged) if you would have had a FP gauge.

I don't agree that the gauges are purely for show. I take general glances at my gauges all the time while driving. It is just habit.

That is how I noticed that Ian had low oil pressure, while he was merrily grannyshifting along without a care in the world

 

I think I would rather have an oil temp gauge and still use the factory oil pressure gauge even if it's not super accurate,but that's me.You can do whatever floats your boat.

 

I have oil mods, hence I need an oil pressure gauge. Oil temp is important if you run on the track or have a FMIC. A few minutes of track driving can seriously heat up the oil. And I oil temps can climb high on the street if the FMIC is blocking air to the cooler (very, very common).

Most boost controllers cannot be read at a glance, and are large and hard to mount in a visible spot. A boost gauge will fit into any standard gauge pod and again can be read at a glance just by seeing where the needle is. Of course, not everyone has a boost controller nor a need for one and still run higher then stock boost. The vacuum part of a boost gauge is also very helpful when driving to save gas.

Because I don't want my laptop sitting on the passenger's lap all the time? Nor do I want to wait unti I get home and download my datalogs to discover that I've only been running 300 degree oil temps. Also find me a reasonably priced EMS that has like 8 analog inputs for all those sensors...

I don't ignore my gauges when I'm driving.

 

Yeah wait till your stock oil pressure gauge blows up like mine did, as well as many others.

 

For boost controllers, I find my profec B quite easy to read(easier than boost gauge). Its also very small, and it reads vacuum as well.

I just find gauges all overpriced. The most expensive part should be the transducer, but many of these damn things don't even come with one?

Finally, as I stated, the minimum number of gauges for safe operation. If oil temps are a concern with the particular setup, then for safe operation an oil temp gauges is required.

RE: Fuel starvation issue, though it is in the past, I would say almost certainly that we wouldn't have noticed the starvation without the help of the wideband. First we would have seen the wideband going lean, then we would try to add fuel, notice it didnt change anything, then looked for causes (at the fp gauge).

 

Good info....
Now Aaron has me thinking. I don't mind the thought of a mechanical boost gage and having a vac line come into the cabin but the thought of oil or water coming in there is another story. I am now thinking that an elect water gage will be the second purchase for me now.
When is spring coming...I want to drive again!

 

i would say biggest 3 would be oil pressure, oil temp, and water temp (doesnt have to be that order

if your running boost then add a boost gauge

edit: btw does anyone know if you can change the backlight color on Greddy gauges? i heard maybe but my friend never said yes or no.

 

buy DEFI gauges ther beyond accurate and look amazing, thats what i have in my wrx, either get BF series or D-link series, i have d link. there great. ask nismo, rotaryrocket and lawyers spirt, starscream, neo, almost. they have all seen them and deffinaly don't think they suck lol.

 

WRXDRUNK,
Funny becasue that is what I am going to buy. After looking at everything those gages have caught my interest. Where did you get your Defi Gages? I am looking at the RX7Store. Let me know so I can tell santa where to shop.
Thanks

 

well unfortunally i bought mine used, so u could try and do that or buy new from JRP or another place that sell high end quality parts. which ones are u wanting to get BF or d-link?? i have dlink with white face gauge and green light. wish i had black face with green light, but i can't complain b/c i got a good deal. i have boost oil pres. and egt for the 3 gauges and the gauge pod that goes in my dash it looks great and the start up is so amazing to watch, the first day installed i turned them on and off alot of time to watch it lol. if u get dlink gauges and get the same boost oil press and egt i will trade if u want white lol ask for black and i will trade for black. lol doubtr u will do that. worth a shot though. enjoy them. u can look on the NASIOC and look in the for sale section as well, lots of ppl sell stuff b4 going back to stock to trade in or w/e. check there for deals, i do.

 

NASIOC, What / Where is that??

 

yup. ideally you would just want a single light telling you temp is too high, or oil pressure low, etc...
if you aren't tuning you just need something to tell you "oh ****, something is going to **** up"

 

I will only need 2 gauges....For now I just need a boost gauge. If I go the tuning route I will likley need an EGT gauge. I can do with the dash stock dash gauges for the rest of what I need.

 

for a turbo car

-vac/boost
-wideband 02 (more important than an egt)
-water temp

 

NASIOC: I think that's the North American Subaru Imprezza Owners Club. It's a big board, too.

I use 52mm Greddy electrical boost and water temp in a a-pillar mount on FD.

Careful on your placement on the a-pillar as your knuckles might hit them when sawing on the wheel.