Alright, i blew my motor recently (sunday) in my 91 DA.

The only thing that was telling me my motor was about to die, was the idiot oil light that came on right before it died.

So, it's been decided that i'm going to put gauges in the car for the next motor.

What gauges would you recommend to keep a good idea of what is going on with the engine? I've already picked oil pressure and coolant temperature.

AF ratio and some other gauges just look like they're there for looks.

 

Oil pressure would be the top of the list. The coolant is not so much since you already have a temp gauge.

 

alright, so definitely pressure. anything else?

 

I can't see anything else useful unless you are boosted.

 

That "dummy" light will save your *** faster and quicker then an oil pressure gauge. You'll rarely notice the gauge and I can assure you that for the 10 seconds the car goes without oil pressure, you surely wont notice its not registering on the gauge......the only thing that might get your attention is a bright orange light coming on saying, "OMFG, you're about to blow your engine." Ive had an oil pressure gauge on 2 occassions and Im telling you, the dummy light will save you long before the gauge does.....given you have about 4 seconds to pull over once it comes on

 

i think the oil pressure guage is very important. it saved my engine like 2 times...oil pressure was dropping due to a clogged oil pickup....and i was able to go to a friends house near by before not have any oil pressure completely. since then i always keep an eye on the guage.

 

I have oil temp and oil preasure. I allways watch the preasure gauge. I am pretty **** about how my car feels, if anything feels weird (even if it is in my head) I will keep a very close eye on my gauges. I kinda hate the way they look, and one day I will relocate them (on the A pillar now) but they do serve a purpose.

 

For boosted cars:
- Oil pressure <-- Very important
- Water temperature <-- Very important
- Wideband O2 <-- Important
- Boost gauge <--Useful
- EGT <--Useful to a point

For N/A cars:
- Oil pressure <-- Very important
- Water temperature <-- Very important
- Oil temperature <-- Ehhh, not real sure if it's needed but it could be useful.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AF-P Dunc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
For N/A cars:
- Oil pressure &lt;-- Very important
- Water temperature &lt;-- Very important
- Oil temperature &lt;-- Ehhh, not real sure if it's needed but it could be useful.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was told that temp wont really change that much unless something is really going wrong in the motor. I like to have it working in conjuction with the preasure. If the temp and preasure are normal you have a good idea that you are running ok, but if something is going wrong at least one of the gauges will be not normal.

I also added a volt meter, and soon will be a water temp. Beofre I add that I need to find places to hide everything. I think the water will go where the dimmer switch is, volts is on the opposite side. Both oils might go where the cup holder is.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AF-P Dunc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For boosted cars:
- Oil pressure &lt;-- Very important
- Water temperature &lt;-- Very important
- Wideband O2 &lt;-- Important
- Boost gauge &lt;--Useful
- EGT &lt;--Useful to a point
</TD></TR></TABLE>


I dont agree with that, the Wideband is by far the most important there....ofcourse I say this because I build decent cars that dont have any problems with oil pressure or water temp, thus those gauges have always been completely worthless to me....the wideband on the other hand, has always been useful.

 

An EGT guage will tell you more about your A/F ratio than an A/F guage that runs off the stock O2 sensor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 integra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


I dont agree with that, the Wideband is by far the most important there....ofcourse I say this because I build decent cars that dont have any problems with oil pressure or water temp, thus those gauges have always been completely worthless to me....the wideband on the other hand, has always been useful.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the motor that went out had 40~50 thousand miles on it, didn't have a problem. I don't think it was a problem with the build. I haven't had the time to take it apart to find out, though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">An EGT guage will tell you more about your A/F ratio than an A/F guage that runs off the stock O2 sensor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

True, that's why the autometer (non-wideband) A/F gauges are called "a light show". They serve no purpose other than for something to laugh at.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 integra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I dont agree with that, the Wideband is by far the most important there....ofcourse I say this because I build decent cars that dont have any problems with oil pressure or water temp, thus those gauges have always been completely worthless to me....the wideband on the other hand, has always been useful.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can feel and hear when the A/F's are off....you can't feel high water temps or low oil pressure.

 

You can feel when your A/Fs are off? You're range of A/Fs must be much much wider then mine, because you can't tell when its running at 13.5 vs 12.5:1. I have a nice orange light that comes on to tell me when my oil is low pressure is low and a bright light and a gauge to show my temps, so I have no need for extra gauges to show me the same crap. If you feel like gauges are needed, then have all the bling bling gauges all over your dash, I've found temp and oil pressure to be useless in my personal car.

 

Is there a cutoff limit to oil pressure?

I mean, is it worth getting a gauge which has a warning light on it, so as a previous poster said, it's VERY likely in the 10 seconds it'll take to kill the engine you won't notice the change in guage. BUT, if you had a nice big Warning LED on the same guage it should solve the problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bangers &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there a cutoff limit to oil pressure?

I mean, is it worth getting a gauge which has a warning light on it, so as a previous poster said, it's VERY likely in the 10 seconds it'll take to kill the engine you won't notice the change in guage. BUT, if you had a nice big Warning LED on the same guage it should solve the problem.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's the whole point with the light. That's kind of redundant.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 integra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can feel when your A/Fs are off? You're range of A/Fs must be much much wider then mine, because you can't tell when its running at 13.5 vs 12.5:1.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep, I can feel a difference.

 

What is the point of a water temp guage? There's already one in the guage cluster. Do you really need to know the exact temperature of the coolant in degrees?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What is the point of a water temp guage? There's already one in the guage cluster. Do you really need to know the exact temperature of the coolant in degrees?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sure that way you can watch when the cooling fan kicks on and off to make yourself feel special.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AF-P Dunc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yep, I can feel a difference.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You must be the car god then, I find that timing makes the car feel much much different, but A/Fs are hard to notice.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the "idiot" warning oil light come on because your car is low on oil pressure or low on oil so having the oil pressure guage redundant already?
-Rik

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rikter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the "idiot" warning oil light come on because your car is low on oil pressure or low on oil so having the oil pressure guage redundant already?
-Rik</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha yeah man that's already been discussed in here at length.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 integra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sure that way you can watch when the cooling fan kicks on and off to make yourself feel special.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Of course that would only apply to sitting idling, because you wouldn't be able to see any difference while you're driving and air is flowing through the radiator anyway.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What is the point of a water temp guage? There's already one in the guage cluster. Do you really need to know the exact temperature of the coolant in degrees?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The stock water temp gauge in the cluster is just an "idiot gauge". That gauge does not start moving until like 225*-ish and will be half way & climbing at 235-240*. By that time, you already overheated the crap out of the motor. Basically if the gauge is 3/4 to red or is on red, then it's too late haha. Hence the need for a <U>real</U> water temp. gauge.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 integra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You must be the car god then, I find that timing makes the car feel much much different, but A/Fs are hard to notice.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha no. I've just been on the dyno and road tuning enough in my own car to know what feels right and what doesn't. Plus it's not just feeling, it's hearing too.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Of course that would only apply to sitting idling, because you wouldn't be able to see any difference while you're driving and air is flowing through the radiator anyway.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Negative, the fans can kick on while driving too. What if you have a bubble in your system...the fans will kick on due to the temp being high? Or what if it's like 110* outside...you'll be running hotter than 200* most likely and a fan would likely kick on then (depending on what fan you have and how it's set).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AF-P Dunc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The stock water temp gauge in the cluster is just an "idiot gauge". That gauge does not start moving until like 225*-ish and will be half way & climbing at 235-240*. By that time, you already overheated the crap out of the motor. Basically if the gauge is 3/4 to red or is on red, then it's too late haha. Hence the need for a <U>real</U> water temp. gauge.

haha no. I've just been on the dyno and road tuning enough in my own car to know what feels right and what doesn't. Plus it's not just feeling, it's hearing too.

Negative, the fans can kick on while driving too. What if you have a bubble in your system...the fans will kick on due to the temp being high? Or what if it's like 110* outside...you'll be running hotter than 200* most likely and a fan would likely kick on then (depending on what fan you have and how it's set).</TD></TR></TABLE>

The stock gauge is somewhat of an idiot gauge, but keep in mind that normally your fan kicks on at like 212* and off at 180ish. On the highway the car will hoover right in the 195 range (enough that the thermostat opens but the fans dont kick on......even when its 110 outside). Your stock gauge will warn you previous to "overheating" because its basically set to read "normal" for the range of "normal" temps, but after that will move upward rather quickly....and it will give you plenty of time before it damages the engine. The only time I've had a problem with overheating was on my nissan when I popped the water pump belt (thus, no water flow) and oddly enough the low battery light came on (it also ran the alternator) before any other lights/gauges moved. On my pontiac the water pump went out and the car never overheated (keeping in mind it has a true temp gauge in it) and yet I knew due to the large amounts of steam coming out of my engine bay. Amazingly enough, there has always been some sign that gave away my problems previous to my gauges. Seriously though, if you want gauges, go for it, it cant hurt to have them, but in my personal experience they've been of no help.

Wideband for the win