Muglit

Why are greddy/defi/vdo/... gauges considered good whereas the autometer gauges are looked down upon?
Is it just elitism or are they really better?
If they are better what makes them better so I know what to look for in a gauge.

quikrpm'z

i like my blitz gauges way more then the autometer, mainly because of overall build quality. With the blitz gauges the face is completely flush angainst the sides, and is more lit then the autometer gauge. They both work, but u can tell the quality difference.

maxim

Both my A/F and my Boost gauge are made by Autometer and they suck. The needle on my boost gauge always sits about 1psi less than what it should be. I don't know how other A/F gauges compare to the Autometer, but it is so inaccurate(just bounces back and forth until you reach 60%+ throttle).

X2BOARD

Heh, he, sounds more like a vaccum problem !

maxim

Why do you say that? When the engine is off, the needle on the Boost gauge shows about 2 Hg below zero. Sorry, it is not a vacuum problem.

Muglit

maxim-
How do you know that the boost is 1psi off?

I ask because my main concern with gauges is not really fit and finish because I know that comes with cost but rather accuracy because what is the point of getting a gauge if it is not accurate you might as well not have one.

maxim

Well, the wg has a 7.5lb spring in it and at max boost the gauge shows 6.3-6-5psi. I am quite sure that since the gauge just sits about 2 Hg below 0 when the engine is off, I am really at around 7.3 - 7.5 at full boost. I've riden in a set-up almost identical to mine with the Autometer Pressure gauge, but the guy also had an AVCR and the AVCR displayed about .7 more pressure than the gauge itself. I have also seen this problem quite a bit from other users on this board.

My suggestion is to go ahead and buy the Autometer then soon buy the Blitz SBC-iD or the AVCR that displays the pressure electronically or just buy either one if you already have the money.

Muglit

Thanks that is what I was looking for.

Does anybody know the design of the autometer gauges compared to the others and could suggest why the gauges are off?



[Modified by Muglit, 11:40 PM 4/3/2002]

ElectronVTEC

I use the Defi-Link gauges and quite simply, they rule. Simple as hell to hook up and very, very responsive. My friend has had both a GReddy and Autometer EGT gauge and neither is as quick to respond to changes in temp as my Defi. I'm only using the EGT and Boost so far, but I plan to get Oil Temp and fuel pressure as soon as money permits. Just my $.02, EV.

Aeka GSR

I've got a liquid filled Autometer boost gauge that sits at 0 boost when turned off. well i lied, i havent hooked it up yet, but the presure can be bled to set the gauge to read a perfect zero when it is off. I have yet to see how it actually works when hooked up, autometer didnt give me a "T" fitting and ive been all over town looking for one with no luck. Are they supposed to come with a T?

AlphaKennyWun

heres my experience with my autometer boost gauge:
the needle faded from red to orange and boost is 1 psi less that it should be.
autometer =

93LSivic

Me too. Crappy *** autometer. I think Im gonna go for the Defi link system whenever I decided to save enough money for them......

CRXRageD

I have the same problem with my autometer boost gauge, it is like just below 0, but not quite in vaccuum when the car is off. I personally think it's a piece of ****. I was ready to toss it as soon as I hooked it up. Now, I am going to get a Greddy with peak hold and warning. I have some great results with my greddy A/F and fuel pressure gauges. I was considering the Blitz DC's but I am not too hot on the idea of the seperate brain just yet. In the long run for just the boost gauge the **** will run me damn near $300 because I have to by the Link Unit. If I ever did buy it, I would be about $700 in the hole for 3 DC gauges, which I think is too much considering I have some nice Greddy gauges already. Then goes the matching problems. I do have an autometer oil pressure and water temp but they are electrical, I have no idea if they are accurate but they work and I do tune with them so my verdict is Autometer mechanical boost gauge blows. Their electrical gauges are better, and from what I have heard their liquid filled gauges are much better than the the electricl and mechanical. Sorry for the long post. Anyone ever have any experience with the Blitz DCs? I want some but, my better judgement says no, because I'm about to dump $700 on the SBC-id/powermeter combo. Can someone help a brotha out?

Mr.Ito

Blue_Lude

Anyone know if Apex gauges are good? I'm planning on purchasing a boost and egt meter...tia

voltronR34

I got to ride in my buddies race car ( Ford Focus rally car ) with all auto meter stuff. the boost gauge wouldn't sit still for a second. I asked him whats the mater with his gauges and he says.....it was cheep, so thats what I put in.
My brother got a electrical water temp gauge from autometer, took it out of the box and said forget this junk. He is gonna send it back and not even deal with it.
Both me and my brother have a bunch of Greddy gauges. Looking over the construction and the parts they came with they seem very nice. Just have to wait untill everything gets installed to see how well they work.

98Psi ITR

i would highly suggest against the autometer egt. i've only seen 1 person with a problem using the greddy egt and i would consider him a moron, so go figure.

greddy gauges are proven.

Arturbo

Last time I said something bad about autometer I got flamed for it. I got responses like, "if they were so bad why does nascar use them?" Well maybe because Greddy is in Metric, and Autometer isnt.

I can afford the Greddy and Ive been very happy with them.

csufweed

my take is no guage will be perfectly accurate. ok, so we all know the autometer is off by 1psi... cool just add that to what it reads. air fuel meter guages are just there for a rough estimate. to correctly and accurately get an air/fuel reading you wanna jump on a dyno and hook it up to one of those air/fuel meters. if these things give you a ball park figure, then its doing its job. now maybe those $200 guages come a lil closer in accuracy, but i highly doubt any guage will be as accurate as the very expensive machinery they got at dyno facilities. just my take on it... spend nearly $1000 for guages or spend $200 on guages and spend $800 on something else?

superman0710

the way i see it ( and the way i've always seen it ) is that you pay for what you get. Sure the greddy or apex or blitz gauges may be more but the quality and sheer aesthetics supercede those of the autometer substantially. I'm currently planning on all the parts for my turbo build and a few of my friends started getting on my case about how i'm "wasting money" on greddy gauges. I don't believe it's wasting money unless the product you buy truly serves NO purpose. the fact that the greddy gauges have better construction quality and accuracy (not to mention) look better, to me, merits purchasing them.

but, as always, it's a matter of personal preference. Save 500 and use it for go fast or use it for more accurate readings and nicer aesthetics. It's up to you.

dariusz

I use only Greddy gauges... why? because I have a friend with a Supra and conecting the autometer gauges we read 18psi, and measuring with greddy, blitz or apexi we read 25psi, this difference is a lot.

Autometer is good as a cheap gauge... if you like good quality go with greddy, blitz or apexi

MaxBoost

Werd.

If it's a psi off then figure that in, guages are not supposed to be the end all. A) The Autometer EGT guage doesn't have to be 100% perfect, unless your not planning on dyno tuning your car at all as long as the damn needle doesn't pass your mental safe point your ok.

I concur that the Autometer air/fuel guage is a joke. It runs of a stock 02 sensor, and it's cheap ****. I would NEVER depend on it. It's there for looks, for the riceboys.

If it was up to me, I would use a greddy air fuel guage with brain and heated o2 sensor, and an auto meter EGT and boost guage. Spending $800 on guages when your trying to go fast for cheap is just not economically sound. If your dyno tuning your car, you hopefully will only use your EGT to determine when there is something wrong with your car. And if the boost guage is 1psi off, big deal. Add a psi...

If you have the money for the defi guages then go for it obviously. But for a drag kit on a civic or something simple, im pretty sure the autometer stuff will be more than sufficient..

I do agree that autometer quality is no where near that of Greddy, Apexi, Defi, Blitz, etc...

voltronR34

I think the issue is not so much a calibration issue as much as it is about consistancy. Do you trust your gauge to give you heads up in the event that something is going wrong? Thats the reason I bought gauges at all, safety. If Autometer can acuratly display a change from the normal operation of what ever is being metered then that is what I think counts. Personally, I will not dump a ton of $$$ into my turbo motor and then trust a cheap gauge.