I am in the process of buying parts for motor + turbo build, and i am currently looking at gauges. My question is what are the recommended gauges to have, most important on top, in decending order, I will probably only have room for 3. Here is my list;

1) Boost
2) EGT
3) Oil Pressure
4) Wideband A/F
5) Oil Temp
6) Fuel Pressure

Thanks for any input!

 

You have it right but your going to need a fuel pressure gauge but that shouldn't be an issue since you can mount that inside of your engine bay. Don't know why you even listed that one since most locate that inside there engine bay.

 

Boost, Oil Pressure, Water Temp

I think the Wideband is a must when tuning, but it just serves as peace of mind after the fact.

EGT, for the street...its kind of 50/50 here. I say once again, not entirely critical after it has been tuned.

Fuel pressure, of course. Mount it on the fuel rail and be done.

 

I thought you want to monitor fuel pressure from inside the car also? Cause under the hood you can only monitor it when it idling/reving standing still. Also the Water temp gauge is just your regular engine temperature that comes stock isnt it?

 

stock water temp gauge isn't accurate

fuel pressure is consistent most of the time, and you only need it when you set your fuel pressure. chances of a fpr failing is rare (unless you get a bunk one), i would also want to have a good amount of fuel when i'm driving, never drive close to empty.

but if i were to get gauges it would be in the following order

1. boost
2. oil pressure
3. water temp
4. egt

oil temp isn't really necessary unless you are road racing, and usually you can predict your oil temp but your water temp since they are relevant

forgot to mention, WIDEBAND i believe is a must

 

wideband like LC1 is a must for tunning, but is it really a must to have a gauge showing your A/R all the time? And also there is narrowband gauges, which are $60-$200 and then there are wideband gauges which are like $300+, i belive you only need a "narrowband" gauge when you have a wideband installed already?

 

i think you already have narrow band, you just dont gave a gauge to show it.

 

i'd choose oil pressure before temp, but both are very useful

oil pressure - stock gauge responds to 0 pressure, so if you have no idea if you got 10-30 or 60psi
oil temp - will help you determine the right type of oil to use and if you need oil cooler
water temp - stock gauge is similar to stock oil pressure, it responds to certain temp ranges and skips a lot in between. you'll know if you need your cooling improved
wideband - would come handy in case theres a problem that affects your a/f
narroband - is also handy as it will tell you when you're running in closed loop or lean.
egt - it could come in handy at the time of tuning so you'll know what to expect during certain driving conditoins.
boost - you can save some money if you plan to get ebc with display, you can use that as boost gauge. having boost gauge along with ebc is like having 2 tachometers.
fuel pressure - the one under hood is great if you want to adjust pressure, but for driving, you need the one inside the cabin.

in general, you'll find it hard to keep up with readings at all times. having peaknhold can help you catch what you could have missed.

 

I have boost, oil temp, oil pressure and plx wideband. I will probably get a water temp gauge here soon but the stock gauge is fine for basic monitoring. If the gauge climbs to the halfway mark then you are running into problems. Once it goes halfway it means that if you aren't careful it will be overheating very quickly. For further ECT troubleshooting I just used my laptop/hondata to monitor things.

 

What gauges do you guys use? full sweep electronic ones are like $160-$200 a gauge, for autometer and Defi stuff even more, i cant affort payin $1000 for gagues, that sounds rediculous to me?

 

I use the autometer pro comp mechanical in my honda defi in the nissan. Don't go to cheap makes the gauges worthless imo.

 

I just have a boost gauge and then watch my wideband via neptune.

liam

 

if you want a decent set of gauges and enough information thats how much you could easily spend if not more..

so question is.. what is your budget for gauges?

 

I was lookin at $500-$600 for 3 gauges.

I have pretty much set my eyes on the Autometer NEXUS gauges, they are their top of the line gauge, and 3 gauges + module will run me about $600. Cheaper if i can find some used for sale. My question is, they have a WIDEBAND 02 gauge and sensor, does this mean i can use this to tune with? im not sure if its any good, if its as good as zetronix or LC1? here are the specs;

Includes 8 ft. tubing or wiring harness.
LED digital display.
Requires purchase of Sensor Module, Model #6400 or #6401.
0-4v data output feed for ECU, data acquisition unit, or Laptop tuning
Auto-Dimming gauge brightness feature
Includes high-quality Bosch wideband O2 sensor
Display data in Lambda or numerical A/F ratio
User programmable range
Peak recall/memory
10:1 to 20:1 AFR Range for Gasoline Applications
Adjustable for Alternate Fuel Types (Ethanol, Methanol, Propane, CNG)
6:1 to 18:1 AFR Range for Alternate Fuel Types
User Programmable Warning Function

 

heres what i had in my crx.

fuel pressure gauge under the hood
LM1 Wideband IN car all the time
Greddy Boost and EGT gauges on Apillar
Oil pressure and Water temp in center vents (autometer)

I found this to be a pretty good setup, kept everything monitored nicely.

 

i think boost, oil pressure and water temp are the most useful gauges. i have an egt gauge that i hardly ever look at. i also run a plx m300 that i think is very useful. it can tell you if you are having fueling problems for whatever reason. boost gauge can show you leaks, overboosting, spiking and is essential on a boosted car. also they can be had for $50-$100 in the mechanical versions. everything else i would suggest full sweep electrical.

 

im thinking autometer nexus or defi, not sure which yet, but i know i gotta get a brand name, no cheap ebay stuff.

 

I have a boost gauge and a wideband, thats it.

 

Minimal - Vac/Boost combo gauge, oil pressure, water temp.

Nice to have - wideband display, EGT, oil temp.

As to what kind of gauge - VDO. Cheap and effective, about $30 a pop for mechanicals. I don't care for 7 color multi whiz bang things.

 

Defi>Autometer. Prolly a little more costly though.

 

Omari gauges FTW! Because nobody on this forum uses them. I'll be purchasing them very soon.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hondatec38 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Omari gauges FTW! Because nobody on this forum uses them. I'll be purchasing them very soon.</TD></TR></TABLE>Omori?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hondatec38 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Omari gauges FTW! Because nobody on this forum uses them. I'll be purchasing them very soon.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Omori's are old school (not saying they are bad... because they are great guages, just everyone were I lived had them).... they are nice gauges but pricier than Defi D's..... Also harder to get I had them back in 01-02 sold them to get my defi's

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hondatec38 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Omari gauges FTW! Because nobody on this forum uses them. I'll be purchasing them very soon.</TD></TR></TABLE>

or SPA, i hardly see people with them. i have the SPA boost/oil p and the SPA oil/water temp

 

Yeah. SPA's are nice too.