What 5 gauges and where?

[harrop.senator]

So I've just received the notification that the 3d printed console mount gauge cluster will arrive today.

So I've got two surrounding my steering wheel built into my fascia.

Up here I know I definitely want an afr guage. The second gauge I'm unsure between , boost, oil pressure or oil temperature.

The other 3 are down under the stereo so it needs to be less important casual glance gauges.

Set up is a manual a2a cooled , cammed and flex fuel l67 with an LS1 pcm and map based.

Oil pressure is very important but apart from cutting it off a lot of the time can be to late if have a big issue quick.

Oil temperature can show me if I may run into a pressure issue as I've cooked the oil and it needs to be shut off.

Boost I don't think will be that important as I'm not running a maf so can't lead to a big issue?

I think all up the 5 I want Afr , boost , oil press , oil temp and water temp.

I don't think I really need an ethanol percentage gauge it'll just be extra wank. I've not got variable boost like a turbo with a controller I've just got dual spark tables.

What would you run , where would you run them?

 

[_R_J_K_]

Vacuum guage is always a useful addition to any car, just run 5 of those.

 

[vc commodore]

Oil pressure is one of the most important gauges that should be within eye sight....The sooner you see oil pressure drop, the quicker it can be shut down and less damage occurs....I'd be putting that up top with the AFR gauge...

Water temp is important....Got to know if it gets hot so it can be shut down...Not as important as oil pressure, so I'd put that near the stereo...

The other 2 I'll leave upto you, but oil temp and boost are good gauges to have...

 

[figjam]

Why fit a water temp gauge when you get one in the dash as standard ?
Oil pressure + oil temp + volts + transmission temp (?) + whatever.

 

[Dirty WH]

While it is far from cheap at $340, redarc sells an oil pressure/temperature gauge to free up a space for a different gauge if desired.

Personally, I’d run the afr along with the oil pressure/temp gauge on the steering column. Any other less important ones can do in the console gauge pod.

Alternatively, if selling a kidney for a dual reading gauge isn’t ideal, I’d run afr and oil pressure up top. Oil temperatures shouldn’t need much more than the occasional glance here and there.

 

[_R_J_K_]

Why fit a water temp gauge when you get one in the dash as standard ?
Oil pressure + oil temp + volts + transmission temp (?) + whatever.

The dash gauge is usually not particularly fast or informative compared to a gauge where you can see temps displayed degree by degree and the change is relatively quick. There are also a lot of temp gauges now where you can also set up audible and visual warnings to activate when it reaches a certain temp. Looking at the parts list, one would expect this car to see some track time if only occasionally, I would take that any day over volts (which you could also argue the dash can display).

Believe the trans is manual too.

Was there a brand of gauge you hand in mind OP?

 

[harrop.senator]

Was there a brand of gauge you hand in mind OP?

That's the hard part. I've found SaaS muscle actually fairly accurate but I don't want narrowband AFR and there's is. I don't know how much the flex fuel/boost rich will throw it out and it reads lean stoich rich.

I like autometer a lot but I can see it costing a K for 5 gauges.

I've seen these new prosport gauges I've not used before. Anyone heard of them?

Then there's the fake defis but I've not seen one to know there accuracy.

Trans is manual or it'd probably be afr and trans temps. I've cooked a couple expensive autos now haha.

Spot on about the dash temp gauge thing will cop a hiding hopefully if it's reliable.

There's three manual boxes in the shed and I don't know how long they'll last. I won't be flat shifting this thing and won't need to dump the clutch so may surprise me longevity wise.

Vc see where you're coming from on oil pressure. I've never had an oil pressure in a hurry job. Have only had them go down slowly and not be right when hot leading to new oil pumps or bearings. Hence why I didn't know if temp of oil was more important for when to bring it into the pits.

Ta dirty wh I'll look them up mate.

 

[Pollushon]

Another vote for oil pressure (long stroke), not sure how I lived without one before. It's a great insight to engine health/operation. You really start to see how oil viscosity behaves in specific conditions (ambient temp, how you drive, the oil you choose) and once your used to its behaviours you can pick an issue instantly. You don't really need temp when you have pressure - hot oil gets thin, drops pressure. AFR (no one likes it too lean) and boost with vac (no one likes leaks) for sure. I think those three are fundamental to the boosted, spirited life to keep things in perfect order. Engine water temp probably less so, I'm looking into a w2a intercooler flow and temp sensor with gauge cause no one likes high charge temps

I spent the big bucks on Autometer, they look great but are super accurate and reliable. Otherwise what's the point?

 

[07GTS]

dont worry about the petrol to ethanol fueling too much as u just set it up for petrol power enrichment and the ethanol will be fine because of the flex sensor stoich shift, ethanol can be a little leaner commanded fueling then petrol if u want every last hp out of it but u prob wont notice it as u get a much boarder fueling range on ethanol and more just means cooler anyway so safer, if u do get one make sure its wideband and just set it up for lambda so u see the same values no matter the petrol/ethanol mix

 

[harrop.senator]

The lambda idea is great and makes heaps of sense. Thanks heaps man.

Oil pressure will go up top with my afr by sounds. I think boost , water temp and oil temp down under the console.

Just got in an hour ago and it was here. Wacked it in the senator for a squiz , utes out front in the cold.

Unsure if will fit as well without the extra padding in the pov pack , but don't think it'll require gluing or screwing unless I can really get it out the hole .

$60 well spent , definitely prefered it to hole-sawing my cluster surround and panel bonding pvc in and smoothing