Hi All --

With the engine work I recently had done, I'm looking at installing more accurate and comprehensive gauges to monitor the car.

Which specific areas would you guys recommend for me to monitor (i.e. oil temp, water temp, fuel press., oil press. etc.)? Specific gauge brands and mounting ideas (pics!! ) would be greatly appreciated!

Also, what exactly is our stock "bar-system" temperature monitoring? I mean, is it oil temp or water temp or something else?

As always, any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Top -- anyone???

 

The stock gauges are not very useful for monitoring the vehicle, but they do one thing well - give peace of mind. As long as you're at 3 bars of temp (it's coolant temp) and no idiot lights are on, you're okay.

When you add all sorts of gauges you've got all sorts of things to look at and worry about. I find the more I know about what's going on, the more I worry about it.

That being said, a race car should have oil pressure, oil temperature, and coolant temperature gauges. If you've gone FI or just want to get silly, you could have an EGT gauge, fuel pressure gauge, A/F ratio gauge, or a whole lot of others.

A few folks have mounted gauges in the stereo door cover. A search should turn those up.

If you're doing this for show get the prettiest ones that best match the rest of the interior. If you were actually racing I'd recommend the Ultra-Lites by Auto Meter, preferably mechanical.

Good luck!

--Jason

 

i got the oil pressure and oil temp...a bitch to install mind you!
see my post on "Black Face Defi Gauges" in the photo section forum...

 

On previous cars, I'd have all sorts of gauges. Unless you are in competitions a lot, too many guages become either a distraction or they become unnoticed very quickly. In day to day driving, you'll get so used to the gauges being there that you won't pay attention to them anymore and if something should go out of the ordinary, you won't happen to be looking at them at that moment anyway. If you're doing it for looks, then go all out. I must admit though, that a "numbered" water temp guage and oil pressure guage might be a nice addition and a good starting point if you're going to bother at all.

 

A way to counter that is to get gauges that have configurable alarms.

Anyway, IMO the gauges to get are: oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp, and volts.

 

Thanks for the input guys -- I really appreciate it!

I think I'm gonna get Oil Temp., Oil Pressure, and Water/Coolant Temp. Now, I just need to figure out how and where to mount them....do you guys know of any 3-gauge pods that mount against the LHD A-pillar?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shamu
[B]Thanks for the input guys -- I really appreciate it!

I think I'm gonna get Oil Temp., Oil Pressure, and Water/Coolant Temp.

 

I won't be going FI -- pure NA baby!

Hmm...Chris from Science of Speed just got back to me about their pillar pod setup...it looks like they can fit 2 60mm gauges...so, which of the following do you think would be best (i.e. most informative from an early warning system and overall engine health point of view) for an engine that is compressing at 12:1?

1. Oil Pressure.
2. Oil Temperature.
3. Coolant/Water Temperature.

I'm siding towards 1 and 2...what do u guys think?

 

I've always thought that oil temp for a street car was kind of useless information. Suppose it reads "??? degrees". Unless you know what this means to your engine, it's just a bunch of numbers on a dial. If the oil gets "too" hot, you'll see it reflected in your coolant temp. My pick would be 1 & 3.