Looking to have a Boost gauge and Water Temp gauge for my S5 Turbo II FC installed.

Anyone have any recommendations as to which gauges are best in value? I know Defi is good but their gauges are pretty expensive about 200 each so it would run me about 5-600 with installation.

They look nice I won't deny but I don't need the fanciness, I just need something reliable and can do the job; how it looks i could really care less.

I have heard VDO makes some good quailty gauges for the price, can anyone second that?

Feel free to drop your suggestions!

 

autometer. good price and tons of options for finishes. nothing wrong with my set up. i wish i bought some with warning lights though.

 

Go with a proven name brand such as defi, greddy, hks etc.... I had autometer's and they were total junk.

 

The newer autometers have been getting good reviews in racing circles. The newer models use stepper motors like the Defi and are more accurate than past models. Keep on researching.

 

Try some prosports.

The premium series have great peak/warn features, and the amber matches the FC lighting pretty well. For the same gauge by defi or greedy you'll pay easily 2-3X more.

 

thats weird, cause ive had mine for 5+ years and havent had any problems. what happened to yours?

 

Could be an accuracy issue.

Omori guages are great if you can find some used, i heard they went out of business (not confirmed).

 

Stri Gauges, they match too.
http://www.striracing-usa.com/

 

I've heard nothing but great things about VDO but have never owned any myself. My friend has them in his car and he likes them. Theyre pretty cheap and work great. Lots of exotic cars and not so exotic (BMW, Porsche) use them for their gauges/clusters as standard OEM equipment. Theyre not anything to brag about as far as looks goes but they look good and subtle. I'd stay away from ProSport. Theres a thread in here about ProSport with not so great reviews in there.

Defi, Greddy, HKS, Blitz, Omori... all make great gauges but theyre expensive at over $100 a piece. Lots of people use Autometer with great results while others absolutely hate them. Their gauges with stepper motors may be more accurate but they cost as much as japanese gauges if not more in some cases (Nexus line).

Whats your budget like? If you shop around, you can get a pair of Defi gauges for $300 dollars. Installation is easy to do on your own too with basic tools.

 

Yes because reviews tell absolutely everything

I've got a full prosport lineup, nothing but good things to say about them. Work great, look great, inexpensive. Over on R C C prosport is a vendor. Get any questions or problems resolved right there

I don't see autometer reps answering questions on the forum here

But seriously, one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch. Try things for yourself

 

I have a VDO Vision Mechanical Boost/Vacuum gauge on my FD (150-121 $30)...

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_mult.asp?...Vision&Units=E

My review...

+ I like a mechanical gauge because of the simplicity.
+ Smaller 25 PSI max and full sweep is easy to read and perfect for most RX-7s.
+ I also like that each mark on the VDO dial equals 1 unit instead of the Defi or Str where each mark is 5/4 of a unit.
+ The back lighting comes through the gauge face instead of around the outside like the Autometers. The bulb is easy to change and to add whatever color wanted. I added an amber LED bulb in my VDO.
+ My gauge needle zeros about where it should and I believe the gauge is very accurate in testing with other gauges (including testing with electrical gauges).
+ Reacts faster than Autometer gauges I've used.
+ I have been running for about 2 years with no issues or noises.
+ Cheap ($30).

- Only one bezel style (black). I wish there was a chrome or aluminum bezel option. I did paint my bezel silver and it came out fine but it's difficult to add a chrome/aluminum metallic look.

In conclusion, the VDO is a quality, simple no frills boost gauge for a reasonable price.

 

Problem is not everyone wants to be a guinea pig. I certainly don't.

Which is why reviews and doing prior HW is very key before buying anything.

OP: If i were you, i would get an ARK Multi-Function Dash and call it a day. Can't beat it's features for 400 dollars.

http://www.arkdesign-us.com/usark-electronic-mfd.asp

ARK was formed by a lot of ex-employees from HKS and APEXi, and has gotten very positive reviews in this industry so far. And, i am pretty sure all their stuff is made in japan (it's tough to say with all this outsourcing).

Guages look ugly in a street car anyway.

 

I've had the same autometer boost gauge in three cars over the last ten years and have never had any problems with it... or the water temp gauge either.

Maybe I'm lucky or something, but I have no complaints with my autometer stuff.

 

Glow shift

*laughter*

 

I've got a few of the premium amber electric prosports and they've been great for me. No problems at all.

 

I bought a set of glowshift gauges temporarily until I get defi ones but surprisingly enough, they weren't that bad. The new elite series gauges are actually pretty good.

I have an extra elite series boost gauge Im selling for $50 if your interested, still in box.
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-rx-7-1993-2002-parts-99/fs-misc-stock-parts-misc-aftermarket-parts-819830/

Even if you get them as stand ins until you get more expensive gauges its well worth it. Not much to lose.

The colors are pretty damn tacky though. I leave mine on white (you can have them be on one color all the time). You can even have them change color when the needle moves.

 

He did. IIRC, he was one of a handful of customers that received inaccurate gauges from them. I believe some of these customers received bad replacements as well. The thread is floating around here somewhere.

 

defi's 60mm Bf's are around $200 each, on top of that you need the control box... they do look good though

 

Well its neither here nor there. As I said, I've got a full line up - and absolutely zero issues. I'm not denying that things can't go wrong etc. but just because one person has a bad experience and posts about it doesn't mean that every item is useless garbage.

Plus, most people don't post about good experiences. There's an addage that goes something like "make a customer happy, and he'll tell his friends, **** someone off and they'll tell everyone they see"

Mine work fine, so I don't know what to tell you.

 

I've ran the same Autometer gauges in my red FD for almost 10 years without issue.


I have a few friends in the Miata crowd that run VDO gauges and they have worked great for them.

I plan on trying the Prosports out once I get home.

I currently have defi gauges in my silver track car. The boost gauge is a little off but I pretty sure I can recalibrate it... no issues. They were expensive. My flyrx7 pod finally came in as well so I'll be ditching the temporary holder.

Edit:

 

OMGBBQ the gauge needle is a cunthair off - Defi must be a terrible trash product!!! j/k

 

Well, I bought the autometer boost gauge and it work perfect...Hearing how "bad" these gauges and "inaccurate" people seem to claim, I bought a Defi Boost gauge and not only I paid 3 times the price compared to the autometer, and using about 3 months, the stupid gauge is also off, just like the one pic from memphisraines82, so I got rid of it and went back to the autometer and it works great!

 

here you go. Mine was more than a cunthair off...lol

 

LOL thats hilairious, well unfortunate, but so many people think that stuff was made by the hand of God or something....

 

If you need something on the cheap, go glow shift hahaha. Im tellin ya, they work well. Im kind of disappointeed by all the defi bashing . I was hoping to get that HUD thing they make.

Someone buy my boost gauge! I didn't install mine because I already have an AEM tru boost!