T da B

Sup guys,

I've got a slick little mod that I haven't really seen anyone else do--I managed to squeeze an oil temperature gauge into my center console! I already have 2 gauges in the A-pillar and 1 gauge next to the start button so I needed to find some more real estate for gauges. Fitment was definitely tight, to say the least. I had to dremel off a metal mounting tab under the center console as well as trim down the button that retracts the center console. In addition, I had to fabricate my own mounting brackets due to the lack of space. However, in the end it turned out great!







I can now see my oil temperature at a glance, and if I ever get tired of looking at it I can just close the console!

Cheers,
T

noodels

Good idea,nice place for a stoich,that I have not got yet

T da B

Thanks man!

shind3

Nice. It also seems like you agree that only temp sensor gauges make sense there because you can safely look away from the road on the straights as the reading updates very slowly compared to other gauges.

That would be a great place to mount this. $15 https://www.ebay.com/itm/37mm-Car-Red-LED-Sensor-Digital-Oil-Temperature-Temp-Gauge-Meter-Pointer-US/201639140697?epid=1681254112&hash=item2ef2a11d59:g BUAAOSwyLlXpAxq

I disassembled it and used only the guts since it takes up a lot less space. I used a 1 1/4" grommet to capture the glass face. Or maybe it was 1 1/2? Can't remember. The gauge is advertised as 37mm but I might have measured the actual glass face to be around 1.25"? I did this in May 2017 so can't remember exactly. Anyway, it fit perfectly into the grommet to make a nice clean install. I wish I had seen this thread before I did mine though, since I installed mine in the steering column shroud behind the wheel. I have to move up in my seat a bit to see it, so not ideal. Also, it only works with my aftermarket steering wheel which was just about a necessity for me since I needed a wheel that was about 2" farther back so I could move the seat back for enough knee room to heel-toe and still be able to reach the wheel.

Your location is much better.

Here are the guts.


1 1/4"? grommet to cleanly capture the glass face.


This is where I installed mine. Because my steering wheel is a type that blocks viewing due to the wheel frame in the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, I have to lean up in my seat a bit to do so. But since I only need to read peak temp values once or twice a lap so I don't mind so much . The OP's location is much better suited for my needs. If you have a wheel that has the wheel frame in the 7 and 5 o'clock positions, my position would be perfect.


I also considered another option of mounting inside an AC vent. But initial angle measurements didn't seem too promising with regards to being able to view the values through the vent fins. But maybe someone could try it and see if it works for them.


I also tried to characterize the accuracy of the cheap eBay temp sensor by comparing it to a cheap twin-probe thermocouple measurement device. So, 2 thermocouples with 1 thermistor in the same environment. Cheap, but thermocouples are inherently more accurate. I heated up some cooking coil past 150C in a small deep fryer and stuck both probes in there after wiring everything up to account for wiring resistance. I chose to heat the oil first and let it cool down while recording temps since the oil cooled much slower than when heating and figured I could reduce the effects of non-homogeneous heat transfer by doing so. I also tried to keep the probes in approximately the same location radially and axially to minimize differences in local cooling. Not perfect, but good enough I think. Then I wrote down both temp values in 1C increments as the cooking oil cooled. I measured about a -2C error around 50C and a +2C error around 150C with the readings matching up almost exactly at 100C. -2C means the eBay sensor reads 2C lower. +2C means the eBay sensor reads 2C higher than the thermocouple.




Anyway, thanks for the unique thread to generate enough of my enthusiasm to finally post about my oil temp sensor gauge install.

T da B

Nice work! You've obviously done some experimenting as well. I also thought about mounting behind the wheel, but ultimately nixed that idea due to lack of visibility. I actually wasn't 100% sure that the center console would work out, given the size of the gauge and the fact that I've never seen anyone else do it. It really just barely fits! I'd be interested in seeing your final gauge mount if you have some pics to share.

hecash

Where did you get a grommet like that? TIA