ok, i bought a 1987 turbo II and the previous owner apparently bought cheap stuff. right now there is an autometer boost and water temp guage on the A pillar. are these guages very accurate? or should get new ones. i also want to mount the boost guage in the center of the steering column. has anyone ever done this on a 2nd gen? if i put the boost there, where should i put the water temp guage. thanks

 

i've heard autometer guages are decent quality and that they are accurate. they won't be as accurate as say Defi or anyother bigger guage company. i would just stick with those for now and focus on other mods.

 

Greddy makes good boost and water temp. ones. Those are what I have in my FD and seam to work pretty good.

 

i've heard (as gmonsen said, as he researched this) that autometer is actually better than most think... the problem is that there is one kind of boost gauge for like 20 bucks that sucks and thats it... therefore ricers get that one b/c its cheaper and its alright, therefore all gauges by autometer suck ***... as long as it is not the cheapest boost gauge by AM, it should be alright... and you can't beat the price!

 

The high end Autometer gauges are decent, the low end $50 really suck. I have an autometer boost gauge and it doesn't even center on 0.

I have an Apexi boost gauge now and its way better and has backlit too. Of course, you can't really compare a $50 gauge to a $150 one. Any gauge is better than none though.

 

very true.

 

you do realise a boost gauge is not suppose to center on 0 all the time right?

 

So while all my other friend's Greddy, Defi, and my Apexi gauges center at "0" when the car is off, the Autometer isn't supposed to?

 

lol, i would think that most (read all) guages should point to 0 when the car is off.

 

I tested my old autometer boost gauge with an independent source and it is 100 pct accurate.

 

do you have one of the more expensice AM boost guages or one of the 20$ ones?

 

Autometer gauges aren't bad at all. As long as you don't have the garbage boost gauge, they will be accurate way more than you need. Besides, absolute accuracy and calibration isn't very important - what matters is that it's consistent so you can spot unusual conditions.

Dave

 

I've heard good things about autometer. Stick with what you have and change them out later. Your money can be used for other things now.

 

it was like 30 bucks or so. You can see it here



I think if a 1.99 cent tire pressure gauge can show correct psi so can a cheap autometer.

I have a digital boost gauge now, no more guessing.

 

Hey Zerobanger, where can I get a center gauge holder like what you have?

 

thats a saab din, but I also made my own to customize like this:




I have a totally different set up now with my digital gauges, Im using the saab din still, but I plan to make my own 3 gauge din and I will house my switches on it.

this DIN was 18 bucks but has been discontinued by SAAB. You can make your own pretty easy and if you have things you need to customize, like maybe you have only 1 or 2 gauges or need to put some switches or LED's you will find making your own is good idea.

Home depot buy Lexan arcrylic (about 8 bucks). Get a 52 MM Circular cutout for a few bucks. it attaches to your drill. You need to measure the din and estimate the width/length. Then grab your handsaw or dremmel and cut. Cut it about 1/2 inch too large.

Then check the fit in your car, keep in mind you want it to be about 1/2 inch wider than the opening in the center consol. Its kinda cool cause you slide it between the opening and its very secure. once you have it sized right (you can use sand paper to shorten it) use a pencil to outline where the gauges will go (by tracing the 52mm cutout). Once you have them centered you just cut them out and then paint it. BTW..the paint never comes off. Once you paint it you cant even scrape it off.

im sure there are places you can buy on line, but if you need to customize this is a good route.

 

check out this thread https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=227615

 

ZeroBanger, i like your set up you have. is that last picture the set up with the Lexan? if it is it looks really good.

 

Thanks for the compliment,..I'm not using that one any more, but yes that is my home made one using Lexan. I plan on making another that can support my 3 gauges + a couple of toggle switch and LED's.

You can click on the gauges link to see my new setup, im temporarily using the saab din panel with a few added baby LED's.

 

that Saab DIN looks real good and i like how your guages are black when turned off. very nice set up.

 

Go and read this thread paying special attention to "barometric pressure".

Why your boost gauge can be perfectly accurate and yet not read "0" when the car is off.