Is an EGT gauge worth it?

[dantsi]

I did a search and it really didn't answer my question...

Basically that I've heard EGT can be helpful and pointless... helpful being tells you the temp of your car, and tells you if you're running lean or rich... and then pointless is kind of like -- if you get it -- what's it going to do?

I mean is an EGT necessary?

 

[ProjectTalon130]

ummmm......you mean O2 sensor in terms of lean or rich....EGT to me is pointless.....i'm gonna drive my car the way i'm gonna drive it....the EGT is just for the exhaust gas temps...yeah....your air to fuel ratio plays a part in these temps but thats not the entire truth..if you have an aftermarket exhaust that will effect the temp, the outside temp with effect this , a lot of things..... case in point...i wouldn't get one...if you have an empty spot in the guage cluster on the A-Pillar..yeah..it would be good to have..if not....i wouldn't.

 

[dantsi]

Good to know, I don't want to offend anyone, but it does sound pointless -- like getting an AF gauge. So really a boost gauge is all I need then.

 

[kyledykstra]

I have one, I use it mostly as a rudimentary tuning tool along with a warning sign. Same as when your engine temperature starts running higher than normal, if my EGT starts to run hotter than normal, I know there's *something* going on that's different from normal.

 

[98autogstspyder]

how can you say this is pointless. its one of the key instruments used to tune. I think knowing the temperature of the exhaust gasses of the leanest cylinder (one closest to the drivers side) is very important to know. Take my words with a grain of salt if u like, but i guarantee you that if u have that egt gauge staring back at you in your face and it reads about 900 celsius (in the red section like a greddy egt) your going to get off that throttle or at least start to wonder.

air plane pilots use an egt gauge in their cockpit when they fly. must be important to somebody.

the egt gauge is probably the number one reason why i switched injectors from 450's to 550's. On the dyno my air fuel ratio with the 450's was about 12 .... still a bit rich but safe right. My egts were running around 950 celsius (and no this was not due to being overly rich). I swapped out the injectors, did a lil more tuning and my a/f was good as well as my egts.

$150 gauge plus $35 tre probe vs. 4g63 rebuild

- which will you chose.


Tyler

 

[91boost]

how can you say this is pointless. its one of the key instruments used to tune.

Agreed.

 

[dave99gst]

Agreed.

agreed.

outside temp wont effect it one tiny bit. the way you drive wont effect it with if your tuned right. Its a early warning to issues.
for somone saying its useless. sounds to me like somone dont know wtf there talking about. just my .02 spend it how ya like.

 

[99gst_racer]

outside temp wont effect it one tiny bit. the way you drive wont effect it with if your tuned right. Its a early warning to issues.
for somone saying its useless. sounds to me like somone dont know wtf there talking about. just my .02 spend it how ya like.

^^^ Yeah, I agree ^^^

Most people dont realize how close they are to melting down their motor until they get an EGT gauge. It's a great earily warning sign to let you know when to back off. It was one of the only gauges I really wanted (other than my boost gauge). If you got the money, get one. If you dont have the money, save it up and then get one.

 

[CrazyClipse]

If your going or are turbo, you should get one, if your n/t then it is pointless.

end of story.

#1 reason... if your running lean and your temps go sky high, your gonna mbreak something. EGT makes you aware how hot it actually is.

 

[NewB2dsm]

i see both sides of this b/c i have one and i dont trust it.

Dynoed the car, i used the wideband, logger, and egt. My egt's were around 1700, logger said 18-21 degrees timing at red line, wideband said 11.2:1afr So i had two things telling me one thing and another telling me i was melting my shit. From that point on, i never looked at it again. Also there are too many variables that go into egt temps, such as afr, timing, placement of the probe, type of probe, type of gauge and so on. You really cant compair your temps to someone elses very well. For this reason i do not like it, one person could have melted their shit at 1650 and had their probe tapped at the collector. And another melted theirs at lets say 1800 but tapped 3" from the head. Which is correct?

There is more going into a tune than just EGT temps, its a good tool to have and if temps are not "normal" to your car then you know somthing is up. But i would never put all my tuning into one guage like a egt, unless its for cruising down the highway. Just my 2cents and i belive there are some threads on here about it. But now i think about it those could be on dsmtalk.

 

[gsxaddict]

If your going or are turbo, you should get one, if your n/t then it is pointless.

end of story.

#1 reason... if your running lean and your temps go sky high, your gonna mbreak something. EGT makes you aware how hot it actually is.

so so true...... which reminds me i should get one...

 

[rowlex]

I have one, it's a nice-to-have. But almost useless unless your constantly doing 90+. I have not been able to tune with it, nor would I want to. Save the money for DSMLink, the calculated A/F ratio is damn close to actual, keep it at 11.5:1 or so on your WOT pulls and you should do just fine

 

[91Bomb]

For those who've posted in favor of an egt -- do you think it's a must have if I get a 2g turbo but plan on staying at or very close to stock boost?

I plan on getting a boost gauge because I'd be getting a 2.5" dp and high flow cat and that should cause some boost creep which I'd want to keep an eye on, right?

How about an a/f gauge? Is this going to be needed or would it be a waste of $$$ in a very close to stock set-up?

On a 2g is there a good mounting position in the a/c vents in the middle console like on a 1g?
I don't want to use the A-pillar.

Would a logger be needed in my case too?

Not trying to hijack the thread but the merits of the egt got me thinkin'.

 

[99gst_racer]

For those who've posted in favor of an egt -- do you think it's a must have if I get a 2g turbo but plan on staying at or very close to stock boost?

I plan on getting a boost gauge because I'd be getting a 2.5" dp and high flow cat and that should cause some boost creep which I'd want to keep an eye on, right?

How about an a/f gauge? Is this going to be needed or would it be a waste of $$$ in a very close to stock set-up?

On a 2g is there a good mounting position in the a/c vents in the middle console like on a 1g?
I don't want to use the A-pillar.

Would a logger be needed in my case too?

Not trying to hijack the thread but the merits of the egt got me thinkin'.

Yeah, get an EGT gauge, but ditch the idea of the a/f gauge. I have one and they and junk. Nothing but a toy......

 

[dantsi]

What I'm getting from these replies is that EGT is only useful to a point where your car might blow something... that kind of sounds pointless... I mean for me it would begin with not pushing your car more than it can handle. Know the limits of your car, I don't think I could spend $100 on a Defi EGT gauge only to have it tell me "Oh, btw, your car is about to explode."

 

[98autogstspyder]

as just about everyone here so far has mentioned, it is a good indicator to tell if everything is normal or not on a day to day basis. even if thats the only thing you agree with here, then that alone i think is enough to merit the purchase of an egt.

lets get a list going of the uses of an egt.

Tyler

 

[99gst_racer]

Know the limits of your car, I don't think I could spend $100 on a Defi EGT gauge only to have it tell me "Oh, btw, your car is about to explode."

haha, You are the kind of guy thet neglects a $100 purchase of a monitoring device, and then comes back on here 6 months later to start a thread:

Where to get a new motor??

My motor blew up because I had something go wrong with my fuel system and I didnt know I was running extremely lean. I got on it for just a minute and then my motor just detonated..... I wished I would have listeded to those guys about getting an EGT gauge 6 months ago. Then I would have known that I was running 400*F hotter than normal....

No matter what you think, it is a useful gauge. Otherwise, we wouldnt all use and recommend it. You dont have to buy it, but you would be smart to.

 

[Skunked tsi]

I guess I can see both sides but when the egt tells you its to lean aka hot its already to late as all of you know that have them when you are railing on your car takeing it to red the damn egts almost chase the rpms gauge do they not? So tell me this if your making a pull from 1st to third and its climbing please tell me how you will be able to catch it before you are in the danger zone?

Also the guy with the 450s that had to switch to 550s 12:1 is lean for pump gas just to let you know So that is why your egts were climbing. Like already mentioned on pump you should try and stay within 11.5:1- 11.8:1.
Tyler

 

[my_gst95]

EGT gauges are not pointless. They serve a purpose. But to use it to tune alone wouldn't be wise. So if your getting it for any reason, get it as a additional safety gauge. But if you dont have a logging / tuning device yet, I would use the money on that first, instead.

my_gst95

 

[98autogstspyder]

12 to 1 isnt lean i dont think. im pretty sure thats right around stoich. everyone... which tyler is right

my egts do not rise like a tach does. if yours do, then i think something is seriously wrong. with my car the egts rise when i first get on the gas but they tend to level off around 850, then as the rpms get near 7k the needle is right around 900 and then the tranny shifts gears and the egts go back to about 850. Thats a normal thing for my car. if i notice that the egts get higher than that , then i know i need to make an adjustment. in my cockpit, my eyes shift from the road to the egt to the boost gauge and then back to the road.

Tyler

 

[doug]

i see both sides of this b/c i have one and i dont trust it.

I pretty much agree with your whole post, NewB (BTW, you need to change user names-- you've been around longer than most of the people on here ). When I first got an EGT gauge, my EGTs were sky high, so I figured I was running lean, knocking, and getting timing pulled. When I got DSMLink, I could see that just the opposite was true-- I was super rich and dumping gas out into the manifold, still burning. My probe actually broke about two months ago, but I haven't bothered to replace it. Yes, it is more useful than an A/F ratio gauge (not a wideband one, though), but I don't use it to tune with.

 

[GSXtsy]

If your car is, or is going to stay pretty stock then an EGT gauge isn't that important. But, if you have some sort of fuel/timing controller that you are using to adjust things, then it is stupid not to have one. If it wasn't for mine, my car proabably wouldn't be running after I adjusted my fuel trims a little too low using dsmlink.
As far as tuning with EGT, it kinda works but is pretty crude way to do it.

 

[doug]

If you have DSMLink, why is an EGT gauge so important? Just monitor knock, either with the CEL or the stock boost gauge (or both).

 

[Omega]

I have one.... pointless. I bought it before the LM-1 came out.


Save the $100 and buy a WB O2 setup. Then you can actually use the AFR gauge properly.

http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/lm1.php
or
http://www.zeitronix.com/Products/zt2/zt2.htm

 

[GSXtsy]

If you have DSMLink, why is an EGT gauge so important? Just monitor knock, either with the CEL or the stock boost gauge (or both).

Because I wasn't knocking. Well, at least not enough to throw the 5 count CEL flash. I adjusted the fuel and then left for a 150 mile drive to my parents house. So it was highway cruising that brought the EGT high enough to be dangerous. When I logged before I left everything was pretty good. And, everything probably would have been fine if I wouldn't have been crusing at 80 for a couple hours.
But that is my whole point, the gauge is just like a saftey net incase something happens. Everything looked fine before I left (including knock), but then on the highway it starting getting way to hot. I do monitor knock, but if I would have just replied on that I probably would have melted some shit.