Gauges and uses

[Blizz92tsi]

Hey guys,
I've got some questions about gauges and their functions. This is going to sound completely newby but I want to make sure I understand what each gauge is for and use this info to help me decide which gauge should be next.

Gauges:
boost- measures the amount of psi your turbo is flowing.
air/fuel- completely useless.
egt- exhaust gas temperature- measures the temp. of gases coming out of engine and helps determine if you're running rich/lean and knock.
coolant temp.- lets you know the temp of coolant flowing through the engine and if you're coolant system is doing its job.
oil temp.- lets you know the temp of oil flowing through your engine and if you need to address your oil cooling capabilities.
fuel pressure- lets you know how much pressure is being sent through your fuel system and allows you to adjust your fuel press. and know exactly how much you're running.
oil pressure- lets you know how much pressure is in your oil system, but I don't know how this is helpful.
volt meter- measures the volts from your o2 sensor, and helps you know if you're runing rich/lean. I'm not sure about this though.

Please feel free to elaborate on my definitions and correct them if needed. I'd like to know more exactly what they do and how they help.

Right now I have an air/fuel and boost gauges. They are both Autometer Phantom series. Both of these came with the car. I'm needing to get an egt. I was thinking about changing the gauges to something different (different brand). Everyone has Autometer. Does one brand work better than the other? I'm planning on using a three gauge pod. I was going to put boost, egt, and air/fuel if I need it or something else. Thats why I need to upgrade my knowledge on what the gauges do and which one I should get next. Thanks for your help. The additional knowledge will be greatly appreciated. Also I later plan on getting a data logger of some sort.

 

[kpt4321]

Boost - it is important to note that you are not measuring the "flow" of your turbo, but rather the pressure it is creating in the intake. Pressure and flow are related, but not even close to the same thing.

A/F - Measures the signal coming from the O2 sensor, which is primarily used to determine how much fuel to inject at cruise. Quite useless.

EGT - People claim it measures A/F ratio, but with timing advance and retard clouding things, the only thing you can really see is if the timing is changing.

Oil Pressure - Mainly used as an alert system, to warn you if there is a problem causing loss of oil pressure.

Volt-Meter - Does NOT measure the signal from the O2 sensor! A volt meter checks to see that the alternator and battery are working correctly.

Wideband O2 - Measures the actual A/F ratio of the motor. VERY useful, but rather expensive.


If I had unlimited money and 3 empty pods, I would buy expensive gauges like Greddy or APexi, in boost and fuel pressure, and then a wideband O2.


....Kyle T.
93 TSi AWD "TURBO4"
14b - 12.8 @ 108

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Blizz92tsi
air/fuel- completely useless.
egt- exhaust gas temperature- measures the temp. of gases coming out

Not at all. It fills an extra hose in a gauge pod, and saves you a trip to the camera shop for a lens cap that size.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

Hey kpt4321,
Are you sure about the volt meter? Why would you need to know about the battery and alternator for tuning. It seems to me your battery and alternator work or they don't and you're not going to monitor those for engine performance. But I could be wrong. An unlimited budget? How much are Apexi or Greddy gauges? Do you happen to have a ballpark figure for a wide band o2? And who sells them? I understand why you need a boost gauge but why fuel pressure? Most fuel pressure gauges are mechanical and require running a pressurized line of fuel inside the cockpit right. I don't know if fuel pressure at least a mechanical one I'd want in the car. If you upgrade your fuel pressure regulator to an adjustable one you can get a gauge for a read out under the hood. Why wouldn't you get an EGT? Also what do you think of the HKS gauges? I was thinking about getting some of their old school gauges in black and orange they would look really similar to the stock gauges. Thanks for your help and further knoledge would be helpful from you and anyone else. Later.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

Thanks for the humor defiant. Can you shed any light on which three I should go with and what brand. Well I guess I only need help with two others since the boost gauge is a must. What do you guys think of HKS gauges? Thanks.

 

[KRAZYKOREAN]

I would go with Boost EGT and Fuel...I went with apexi gauges...expensive but worth every penny.. HKS are dope to..

 

[twenty5psi]

Originally posted by KRAZYKOREAN
I would go with Boost EGT and Fuel...I went with apexi gauges...expensive but worth every penny.. HKS are dope to..

ive always loved looking at that pic of the gauges..i have the apex boost and egt but the boost isnt EL series and it reads in bar.. very nice gauges though..next will be a wideband..

 

[kpt4321]

Originally posted by Blizz92tsi
Hey kpt4321,
Are you sure about the volt meter?

Yes. Gauges are not just for tuning, they are also just to show you how your car is running. You don't need a gas gauge for tuning, do you? Then why do you have it?

You shouldn't have a problem finding an electrical fuel pressure gauge.

Why wouldn't I get an EGT? Read this:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41270&highlight=egt

Wideband O2's are about 300 if you build them yourself, or over 600 if you buy them pre-assembled. Now, I realize that you can find occasional deals and what not, but that is the general rule.


....Kyle T.

 

[twenty5psi]

Originally posted by kpt4321

.

Why wouldn't I get an EGT? Read this:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41270&highlight=egt

Wideband O2's are about 300 if you build them yourself, or over 600 if you buy them pre-assembled. Now, I realize that you can find occasional deals and what not, but that is the general rule.


....Kyle T.

wow..i read that first page and seriously i have a newfound respect for widebands and pocketloggers..thank you for passing this along..

 

[greathuskie]

oil pressure is a VERY important gauge, my car spun a bearing bcause i had lack of oil pressure and i had no way of knowing that

 

[Blizz92tsi]

I went to that link and all I have to say is WOW. I read the first page or so and was blown away. What I thought I knew just went right out the window. And the way 95GSXracer explained everything made sense. 95GSXracer seems to have forgotten more in the last five minutes than I know all together but it sounds like he's been doing hardcore for a while. I'm going to try to talk to 95GSXracer and see if he will help us out on a gauge setup. I'd also like to say that I know not every gauge is not used for tuning but I think we're not on the same page as the voltage gauge. Anyway, thank you guys for your help and keep the info and advice coming. Later.

 

[4wd-Eclipse]

Personally, I have been in situation when my Volt-Meter in GReddy turbo time shows 16 - 18 volts. The alternator was malfunctioning by OVER charging the battery and that may lead to seirious damages in the car electrical system .

 

[kpt4321]

That EGT thread is one of the best technical posts in this forum. I do not know why they have not stickied it, except for the fact that the mods here seem to hate guys like Jewer and myself.

Wheeeeeeee.

If you're a mod, and you read this: Please sticky that post, so I do not have to dig it up in every gauges thread I reply to.

.....Kyle T.

 

[Kevin Jewer]

hehe. The funny thing is I can name about 5 forums where that post is a sticky, and I originally wrote it here Too bad those toolboxes had to muddy it up with thier garbage. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm always happy to see people finding my ramblings useful I've wasted thousands of dollars and hours finding out most of what I know the hard way...

To answer the origianl poster, as I did in the PM, I would only use boost oil pressure and coolant temp, more so if you have a FMIC. I sold my AF gauge and EGT and this is the gauge setup I will bu using. IMHO, anything you need for tuning should come from a logger. WB is great, but its not the majical tuning aid that will fix everything. And even that will be logged when I get one

 

[tlnpwr]

Originally posted by kpt4321
Wideband O2's are about 300 if you build them yourself

anyone have any info on this? i wouldnt mind having a wideband. and if it can be built to save some money, that would be cool.

 

[DSM mechanix]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10314

 

[tlnpwr]

thanks for that link

 

[Blizz92tsi]

For the oil pressure and coolant temp gauges what ranges would you suggest for the readouts? Would you guys use mechanical or electrical? Which brand would be the most accurate and best quality? I've normally run autometer. Ultra-lites in my previous car and my current car came with phantom series. Autometers are very common however. Does the brand of gauges come down to personal preference and how much you want to pay? I'd like to get a set of HKS gauges possibly their old school line. Any oppinions on what to do? I now have the three gauges narrowed down but now I need to figure out which company to buy them from. Thanks again for the help.

 

[kpt4321]

With gauges, you generally get what you pay for. I personally have been happy with my Autometer stuff, but others have had problems. The more expensive gauges, like Greddy and Apex-i, are better quality.


.....Kyle T.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

hey guys,
I'm still not sure which brand of gauges I'm going to get. I came up with the idea if I get an oil pressure gauge I won't need to see the stock one anymore. So now I can put a gauge on the steering column. Now I need to know what the next gauge should be and which would be easiest to mount on the steering column. I was thinking about putting the oil pressure in front of the stock oil pressure, but I will most likely be using mechanical, unless you guys would deffinitely recommend the electrical. Then I thought the oil press. would be too difficult for the steering column. And the thought of a pressurized oil line directly in front of me wasn't extremely comforting. I will probably put the boost gauge on the column in traditional japanese style and the other three will be on the side of the center console. I think carbon trix is the vendor for that pod. If I'm not mistaken its around $70 and mounts on top of or on the side of the center console. Now back to my question what should the other gauge be? Oil temp.? Fuel Press.? I'm probably going to have a fuel press. under the hood later is it needed in the cockpit also? Any other gauge suggestions? Thank you for all of your input. This thread has been a great help, I've learned alot, and still have alot of learning to do.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

hey guys,
I've come up with a plan. I think! I'm going to keep the gauges I have right now. Phantom boost and air/fuel, and then get an egt, oil press., coolant temp., oil temp., and fuel press. I was going to buy three new gauges now I'll be buying a couple more and keeping the ones I have. What ranges should the different gauge read outs have. Where on earth am I planning on mounting all of these gauges? Well I'm going to do the triple on the side of the console, one on the steering column, and either three on the pillar or three in the space under my cd player. Thats gonna be alot of info from all of those gauges. When ever this project is done I'll try to post some pics, and maybe a how to if I'm really ambitious. Thanks for all of the great info so far and keep it coming.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

.... testing.... testing.... 1 .... 2.... 3 anyone there? Is this thing on? Did this thread just drop dead or what? I was just getting some useful info and was really starting to learn something. More info would be greatly appreciated. See last two threads. Thanks. Later.

 

[Blizz92tsi]

KRAZYKOREAN,
Those Apex-i gauges are really nice. What gauges are those four? I was thinking of doing a setup similar to that in my 1G w/ three on the pillar and one on the steering column. What kind of pod or cup are you using on the steering coumn? I would like to stay away from the a-pillar pod if at all possible but I really like how your's looks too. If I plan on doing seven gauges I'll probably have to. (I know this is a while after you posted but just re-reading and thought I'd comment.) Later.