Best 'bang-for-buck' Gauges?
03-20-09, 11:37 AM
#27
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!
. 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!
What does it mean? Get something with good support, thats what will ultimately make satisfied customers. There's always a chance of something being off or going bad, but if you're left hanging in the wind you'll be right pissed.
03-20-09, 11:50 AM
#28
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Just to be clear, I'm not bashing Defi at all. I'm making sarcastic remarks about their (few) marginally failed products because there's ALWAYS a chance you'll get something defective - brand name, good reviews or not. Alot of people rag on a failure of a less expensive product and chalk it up to "pay for what you get".......but at the same time, you can pay top dollar and STILL have a bad egg.
What does it mean? Get something with good support, thats what will ultimately make satisfied customers. There's always a chance of something being off or going bad, but if you're left hanging in the wind you'll be right pissed.
What does it mean? Get something with good support, thats what will ultimately make satisfied customers. There's always a chance of something being off or going bad, but if you're left hanging in the wind you'll be right pissed.
Does that make hyundai a better luxury car than a lexus? No. It's all about the laws of averages and total package.
Sure, everything CAN fail, Everything is HUMAN made. But, there are higher chances with shitty low quality products. People don't want their cars to be guinea pigs for crap products.
Most "brand name" products got there by doing something right. It's the reason why people don't associate the words quality with megan racing, D2 or K-Sport vs Ohlins and Racing Brake.
Working in the customer service/marketing field for my current job and my past job, i agree, good support in the end is key.
03-20-09, 11:58 AM
#29
I'm not saying the cheaper one is better.
The facet of my point is that (and its a good thing you mention lexus) as an example - Toyota, a quality manufactuer, has the highest recall rate of ALL OEM's. Why? not because they build **** - because they stand behind it, acknowledge their failures and fix them.
I may ask, whats easier? Shipping your (maybe?) broken Defi back to japan? Or getting a refund minus shipping without restocking fee on a (maybe?) broken prosport?
Thats all I'm saying - support is key.
The facet of my point is that (and its a good thing you mention lexus) as an example - Toyota, a quality manufactuer, has the highest recall rate of ALL OEM's. Why? not because they build **** - because they stand behind it, acknowledge their failures and fix them.
I may ask, whats easier? Shipping your (maybe?) broken Defi back to japan? Or getting a refund minus shipping without restocking fee on a (maybe?) broken prosport?
Thats all I'm saying - support is key.
03-20-09, 12:15 PM
#30
Wangan Nasty
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You make good points.
But, (to play devils advocate), there are 2 sides to a coin.
I would rather ship a set of KW Coilovers to get rebuilt once or 2 times in a 5 year period (as all good coilovers need servicing after hard use), than send Megan Racings back XX amount of time (just because they have good support on a bad product).
PS: Tein USA handles all of Defi's US Accounts and are pretty quick at fixing all their products.
I agree 100 percent with you on the topic of support, i am just saying i would rather have a product (with lesser chances), that i will need to actually use that support, than have a bad product and get boatloads of support to make up for it.
PS: Not saying i am siding with either DEFI or PROSPORT (or that one is good and one is bad) in this case. It just happens to be that DEFI makes the exact product i want for my car.
But, (to play devils advocate), there are 2 sides to a coin.
I would rather ship a set of KW Coilovers to get rebuilt once or 2 times in a 5 year period (as all good coilovers need servicing after hard use), than send Megan Racings back XX amount of time (just because they have good support on a bad product).
PS: Tein USA handles all of Defi's US Accounts and are pretty quick at fixing all their products.
I agree 100 percent with you on the topic of support, i am just saying i would rather have a product (with lesser chances), that i will need to actually use that support, than have a bad product and get boatloads of support to make up for it.
PS: Not saying i am siding with either DEFI or PROSPORT (or that one is good and one is bad) in this case. It just happens to be that DEFI makes the exact product i want for my car.
03-20-09, 01:15 PM
#32
Assuming the cheaper gauge has enough usability to temporarily substitute for the more expensive gauge (which I think is the case here for most gauges, maybe not a boost gauge)
Sure you can buy x gauge for 200 bucks, maybe have to do a return and pay some shipping, lets say $210 total, lets say it has a 5 year warranty and only broke once in that time...
or
You can buy a cheap $50 gauge (y), have it break once a year and lets be to lazy to ship the thing back to the manufacturer or place of purchase and buy 5 more to cover the 5 years for gauge x. Total would be $60 x 5 = $300. Also remember this is absolutely worst case. I doubt they would break in a year.
x would seem to be the better option but after you buy gauge y and break it, you can opt to get a better model every time. In this way, I think a cheaper option could be better. After 5 years, Im sure the cheaper gauges on the market will be better than the older expensive gauges of 5 years ago. At any time during these 5 years, you could upgrade to a top tier expensive gauge when its convenient but you never have to. If we were to ship gauge y back and take advantage of the warranty, that total I came up with would be cut at least in half. In this way, I think cheap gauges offer more flexibility and more benefit.
If you asked me 6 months ago which gauge I would pick, I would have picked x. These days though, cheaper gauges are starting to look more appealing to me.
Sure you can buy x gauge for 200 bucks, maybe have to do a return and pay some shipping, lets say $210 total, lets say it has a 5 year warranty and only broke once in that time...
or
You can buy a cheap $50 gauge (y), have it break once a year and lets be to lazy to ship the thing back to the manufacturer or place of purchase and buy 5 more to cover the 5 years for gauge x. Total would be $60 x 5 = $300. Also remember this is absolutely worst case. I doubt they would break in a year.
x would seem to be the better option but after you buy gauge y and break it, you can opt to get a better model every time. In this way, I think a cheaper option could be better. After 5 years, Im sure the cheaper gauges on the market will be better than the older expensive gauges of 5 years ago. At any time during these 5 years, you could upgrade to a top tier expensive gauge when its convenient but you never have to. If we were to ship gauge y back and take advantage of the warranty, that total I came up with would be cut at least in half. In this way, I think cheap gauges offer more flexibility and more benefit.
If you asked me 6 months ago which gauge I would pick, I would have picked x. These days though, cheaper gauges are starting to look more appealing to me.
03-21-09, 03:32 AM
#36
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'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've always bought Japanese gauges as well as all of my friends who dont buy Autometer and I've never seen a bad gauge but that doesnt mean that a bad batch doesnt exist.
03-21-09, 03:40 AM
#37
That reminds me... my ProSport boost gauge wasnt assembled properly. The push button on the face of the gauge did not work because it was at a very bad angle. The face/bezel was installed a few degrees off and I had to twist the face/bezel pretty hard to get the push button straight again. I've never had to do that with a more expensive gauge nor have I seen that with Autometer.
03-21-09, 09:52 AM
#38
I'm really looking into buying some of AEM's other gauges. =] They don't have needles or anything, they are all electrically driven, so you will get an LCD reading. More accurate in my opinion but I haven't seen anything about them yet. I would rather use a mechanical reading though.
03-25-09, 09:26 AM
#40
Nearly everyone dishes Autometer, why because you can buy them at Autozone, because they are not sexy (only made in america)
. The fact is they are mainly a OEM manufacturer like VDO not purely aftermarket. Their aftermarket product range is huge from the cheap on the shelf autozone stuff to hi end data logging. NASCAR may not have the glamor of F1 but they do not buy Autometer to save money and fyi F1 also buys Autometer through the STACK division. Great integrated dashes and data loggers that make delfi seem like junk.
. The fact is they are mainly a OEM manufacturer like VDO not purely aftermarket. Their aftermarket product range is huge from the cheap on the shelf autozone stuff to hi end data logging. NASCAR may not have the glamor of F1 but they do not buy Autometer to save money and fyi F1 also buys Autometer through the STACK division. Great integrated dashes and data loggers that make delfi seem like junk.
03-25-09, 11:41 AM
#41
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As much i respect STACK's products very much, in a street car their clusters look like ****. The Defi DSSC integrates into an OEM ish interior/street car MUCH better. If i somehow cannot get the DSSC, then i will run the stack.
03-28-09, 11:19 AM
#42
I hope I didnt come off as an Autometer basher because I'd chose their gauges over ProSports any day. I would love to see Autometer switch to back lighting on all of their gauges, not just their expensive stuff. Their stuff looks good but I've never been a huge fan of their front lighting.
03-29-09, 06:28 PM
#44
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I went with Stewart warner gauges looks good ...I got the black face..
http://www.sw-performance.com/products/CTGBoost
http://www.sw-performance.com/products/CTGBoost
03-30-09, 12:38 PM
#46
Here is a nice comparison discussion of Autometer versus VDO...
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/gen...autometer.html
There are many more like this on the internet.
Gordon
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/gen...autometer.html
There are many more like this on the internet.
Gordon
