Which/What gauges should I get? [Merged 12-6]

[EcLiPsEgSt97]

I have a 3 gauge pillar and I dont know what gauges i need to get.. I know i need to get the BOOST gauge but i dont know what other 2 i should...can some one help me????????????

 

[Defiant]

We have had this chat a few times before.

 

[mini zilo]

I recently got an autometer c2 vac/boost gauge, and am thinking about putting a dual pod on my a-pillar, but im not sure what other guage to put in... the car is a GSX with an automatic trans. I heard that transmission temp. would be good to put in put i dont know if this is true. The car is basically stock except for ic piping, intake pipe, air filter and a bov. Does anyone have any suggestions for a guage that would be useful in this car...thanks

 

[HustlerTalon]

mostly everyone starts with boost gauge and A/F gauge

 

[blackbyrd]

The A/F gauge looks fancy, doesn't really give you that acurrate of a reading. Transmission temperature gauge is good if you have a decently modified car and your brake boosting. When you powerboost(aka brake boost) your transmission get's really hot, and there's not much air getting to the ATF cooler. Which is one reason why people get larger ATF coolers, and temperature gauges.
The choice is up to you, coolant, oil, wideband O2, etc etc.

 

[awdtalontsi1992]

My recommendation would be either a gauge type wideband O2 or a Oil pressure gauge. Autometer now makes wideband O2 gauges so you can choice either and keep the C2 theme.

 

[mini zilo]

So coolant temp or o2... So im assuming that the coolant temp in the dash is not as accurate as the autometer one would be?

 

[blackbyrd]

Some say it's not. It all depends what uses your looking for out of your car. The wideand O2 works great for tuning.

 

[mini zilo]

Im kind of new to this and this may seem like a stupid question, but could you explain to me what exactly the wideband o2 guage reads and how it would apply to something...like what would be a reason I would need to monitor it?

 

[jredgo1234]

It will tell you if your car is running rich or lean and by how much. Running lean leads to melting pistons and damage so the guage would help alot as a monitoring device. Also it would help in tuning. When tuning your car with SAFC or DSMLink or whatever you can look at the guage readings throughout the rpm range and then tune to make the most power without running too lean. You might also consider an exhaust gas temperature guage.

 

[blackbyrd]

An automotive oxygen sensor, also known as an O2 sensor, lambda probe, lambda sensor, lambda sond or EGO (exhaust gas oxygen) sensor, is a small sensor inserted into the exhaust system of a petrol engine to measure the concentration of oxygen remaining in the exhaust gas to allow an electronic control unit (ECU) to control the efficiency of the combustion process in the engine. In most modern automobiles, these sensors are attached to the engine's exhaust manifold to determine whether the mixture of air and gasoline going into the engine is rich (too much fuel) or lean (too little fuel).

This information is sent to the engine management ECU computer, which adjusts the mixture to give the engine the best possible fuel economy and lowest possible exhaust emissions. Failure of these sensors, either through normal aging or the use of leaded fuels, can lead to damage of an automobile's catalytic converter and expensive repairs.

The downside of oxygen sensors is that they defeat many fuel saving technologies. If the engine burns too lean from any modifications, the sensor detects that the exhaust is too lean. It then sends the signal to cause the injectors to enrich the mixture by supplying more fuel. This causes the air-fuel mixture to stay within the stoichiometric ratio of 14.7:1 on a typical vehicle.

There are ways to overcome this efficiency defeating mechanism. Several companies manufacture a device that can be inserted inline with the sensor and tricks the voltage signals into thinking it is within normal parameters. Therefore, any modification for cleaner burning will not be defeated by the oxygen sensor.

This self-defeating mechanism is why some legitimate fuel saving technologies actually cause a loss in gas mileage.

A variation on the zirconia sensor, called the 'wideband' sensor, was introduced by Robert Bosch in 1994 but is (as of 2006) used in only a few vehicles. It is based on a planar zirconia element, but also incorporates an electrochemical gas pump. An electronic circuit containing a feedback loop controls the gas pump current to keep the output of the electrochemical cell constant, so that the pump current directly indicates the oxygen content of the exhaust gas. This sensor eliminates the averaging delay inherent in narrowband sensors, allowing the control unit to adjust the fuel delivery and ignition timing of the engine much more rapidly. In the automotive industry this sensor is also called a UEGO (for Universal Exhaust Gas Oxygen) sensor.

Wideband refers to the use of a wideband oxygen sensor. Wideband O2 sensors are nothing new and if you've had your car on a chassis dyno that measured air-fuel ratio, it was likely using a wideband O2 sensor mounted in your tailpipe. However, what is new is the 'tuning system' in the hands of the everyday enthusiast. Gone are the days of having to pay handsomely for dyno tuning time just to get air-fuel ratios. With Innovate Motorsports' LM1 Digital Wideband kit and RPM Converter you can tune on your clock, under real road conditions, for under what it would cost for three or four dyno sessions. The system combines two very powerful tuning "inputs"; air-fuel ratio and rpm. By measuring and logging these two variables, you have the ability to tune absolutely anything for optimum power, fuel economy, or the best of both. We'll show you how.


In short the oxygen sensor monitors your A/F ratio and adjust fuel accordingly. The wideband O2 Lets you get a more accurate reading of your A/F ratio, thus alowing you to fine tune more, and get a closer stoich point.

Here's another I got the other day:
A gasoline engine burns gasoline in the presence of oxygen . It turns out that there is a particular ratio of air and gasoline that is "perfect," and that ratio is 14.7:1 (different fuels have different perfect ratios -- the ratio depends on the amount of hydrogen and carbon found in a given amount of fuel). If there is less air than this perfect ratio, then there will be fuel left over after combustion. This is called a rich mixture. Rich mixtures are bad because the unburned fuel creates pollution. If there is more air than this perfect ratio, then there is excess oxygen. This is called a lean mixture. A lean mixture tends to produce more nitrogen-oxide pollutants, and, in some cases, it can cause poor performance and even engine damage.

The oxygen sensor is positioned in the exhaust pipe and can detect rich and lean mixtures. The mechanism in most sensors involves a chemical reaction that generates a voltage. The engine's computer looks at the voltage to determine if the mixture is rich or lean, and adjusts the amount of fuel entering the engine accordingly.

The reason why the engine needs the oxygen sensor is because the amount of oxygen that the engine can pull in depends on all sorts of things, such as the altitude, the temperature of the air, the temperature of the engine, the barometric pressure, the load on the engine, etc.

**My first source was wikipedia, and I don't remember the other one, sorry. I found it the other day and had it copied in a file.

 

[mini zilo]

ok cool, thank you very much for you help.

 

[jredgo1234]

don't widebands need to be mounted in the exhaust pipe, farther down the exhaust tract instead of the 02 housing?

 

[andymoraitis]

The three things that kill motors are excessive boost, high water temps and low oil pressure. I monitor all three of those and feel pretty comfortable. A wideband would be great, but I feel those three are sufficient to monitor the most vital engine functions. Then again, I can also see knock so the bases are pretty well covered.

 

[kmoore]

You also could get an EGT gauge

 

[Jagyr_97gsx]

An EGT gauge would be great if you can afford it, they can be pretty pricey. An A/F gauge will just look fancy, it doesn't do a whole lot.

 

[Defiant]

If you're contemplating a useless gauge, at least get one that is also some fun:
http://www.radarbusters.com/products/whistler/fuzion.asp

 

[mini zilo]

Well, I just bought a wideband 02 guage... Is it still necessary to get an EGT gauge if i have the wideband? because wouldnt I know that my temperatures would be high becuase I would know my ratio already? Or is it still better to get one?

 

[vexixx]

If you're contemplating a useless gauge, at least get one that is also some fun:
http://www.radarbusters.com/products/whistler/fuzion.asp

That things sweet haha

 

[wcpierson]

i was wondering what gauges people think are necessary besides after market boost gauge especially if im planning on upgrading to a larger turbo of some sort probably a 16g with 550 injectors and a 190lph.....i already have a safc II and a boost gauge....what do you recommend i get also?

 

[Spooling99]

I would suggest a EGT gauge, a new oil pressure gauge because the stock one isn't that great, and if you feel the need you could get a wideband 02 and get a air/fuel gauge as well.

 

[chicagoavenger]

wideband over egt anyday. If you want a egt I just pulled mine out in favor of a wideband pm me

 

[MyÜberFastGSX]

Definitely get a wideband. Must have for tuning.

 

[Hot Cheese]

3 Basics for me are Boost, EGT, and Fuel ratio
Jessica

 

[snowborder714]

I agree with the wideband O2 gauge for tuning purposes (don't need Air/Fuel ratio gauge if you get wideband O2) and the oil pressure because the stock ones are horrible (at least mine is). I'd also get EGT.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Ever since I got dsmlink, the only 3 of my gauges I really only look at is boost. The air/fuel ratio which EVERYBODY should know; at least dsm tuners; is worthless and I just used it to fill up my 3 gauge pod. EGT is also helpful, but now after eing informed, WIDEBAND is the way to go.

So wideband and boost are my choices.