EGT guage question

[bottledbird68]

OK, after reading the entire booklike thread I finally ordered my GM MAFT today. Now I'm off to order a pocketlogger to keep track of what is going on. My question is, do I also need an EGT guage? And if I do, why? Or, does the pocketlogger tell me everything I need to know? I'm a little new at this whole efi tuning thing. Now, where did I put that box of carb jets.....

 

[Blk_99gst]

I would say Yes, you still need it and here's why.

You need it as an instantaneous sanity check. Say your going to go out and log your car. You set up the logger to log, and you start your 3rd gear pull. If halfway through your pull you see your EGT's sky rocketing or getting too close to 1600degF, you can and should shut it down right then and there (this could be at 4000rpm or 6000rpm).

If you didn't have the EGT gauge, you would have continued the pull, and then why you checked the data log after the fact, you would have seen you were running too lean, but by then it's too late, the run's over.

So get the EGT gauge not necessarily to tune by, but just to keep you out of harms way.

I would also recommend getting one with a peak hold feature. I didn't and I regret it. I got a basic autometer EGT and while it's O.K, a peak hold bell and whitle would be very nice.

 

[bottledbird68]

OK, I understand that but here is another question. Assuming exhaust gas temps skyrocket for one reason or another if all you are logging is a one gear pull will that sudden spike instantly melt something or will you have the chance to go back and correct whatever caused it. I can understand the need in a road race application but the car is mainly a daily driver. Is the egt guage really that much of a neccesity? Will the car go out of tune often enough that it could alert me to a problem? I always assumed that efi took care of the majority of weather based tuning differences. If I am incorrect please enlighten me. I don't mind spending the money on a neccesity, but if it just a nice extra in my case I would just as soon spend the money on something more productive. Opinions??

 

[ronf119]

i'm interested in this as well...my car is a daily driver....i was trying to decide if i should do the egt when i get my boost gauge and boost controller installed over the weekend...or can i live without it for now and use the money elsewhere....i have just the basic bolt ons right now

 

[Ed98GST]

Unless you don't plan on upgrading much and assuming you have the money and time to install now, definitely do it now. You won't regret having an EGT, even if you don't make good use of it currently. It will be an asset you "can't" live without once you progress along the upgrade path. I plan on getting a wideband o2 in the future, and still plan to install and keep the EGT...never can be too safe.

 

[kpt4321]

Or, you could just watch the logger for knock and screw the EGT altogether.

Go read the thread titled "EGT" in this forum, I don't feel like typing the novel for the 3245276th time.

 

[FastRthenU]

Egt's are crap in my opinion. I dont think they are really worth money. If anything they tell you timing, which is useful still. but you just have to understand how to read it. You want to get a gauge that is worth while. Get the new knock box from pocket logger. I peronaly would just buy a logger and watch for knock counts. But the knock box is pretty sweet.

 

[Ed98GST]

I don't think that EGT's are crap, but I do agree that most people don't know how to use/read them. You definitely can't tune with an EGT alone - you need logging software. I DO think that it can prove very useful if used properly, but it's a MUST that you understand what you're doing. Also, not everyone has a logger hooked up all the time, so the EGT can help to indicate if there's a situation that needs attention. Sorry, should've clarified a bit...

 

[RocketBoy]

In case you didn't find it:

10 Thread Down

 

[nine5raptor]

why would you have to wait until after a run to see what the pocketlogger is reading?
Just push "View" and see data in real time.

Much better than an egt for those tuning runs.

 

[j.d.roost]

I run an egt(autometer)but I don't tune with it.My data logger is a notebook so it's hard to bring with me everywhere. The guage is good for everyday "oh sh*t I need to back out"driving. It's tons better than a blinky led o2 meter.If you get a good one (warning led or chime) it's a nice safty tool.I would go as far as to say that if you are doing the gm maf you NEED a data logger to get the best/safest results.

 

[bottledbird68]

Don't worry, the logger is on it's way Now I was just trying to decide if I should spend the extra on the guage or if it was just a nice bonus. I was curious because I know a guy with a twin turbo VR4 who tunes with just an EGT. Seemed a little scary to me but it's hard to argue with his results, he runs 12 flats on pump gas. Thanks for your opinions, any others??

 

[kpt4321]

He could probably run 11's if he used a logger.