gauge recomendations

robyn402 · Jul 30, 2009, 09:34 PM

curious what guages you need for n/a and what ones you can live without?

i've got oil temp, oil pressure, volts and tranny temp(not hooked up yet, due to not having an adapter for the cooler line)

i figure a/f is kind of a must have if your doing any real n/a work but what about oil temp and pressure?

the volts is actually useful as i'm running a two amp system so its nice to know when the volts are gettin low if i'm listenin to the music with the motor off,

after having both oil gauges in my car for about a month just seeing the oil temp gauge get to its operating temp 180 degrees F and having the oil pressure gauge going up and down with rpms i'm kinda wondering if i really need either of them

i'm planning on keeping the car as a daily driver but doing random drag, lapping/ auto cross events with it

joeyj · Jul 30, 2009, 11:45 PM

oil pressure is > oil temp IMO because the pressure lets you see when mivec is activating, and will let you know if you have any kind of oil leak (always a big plus)

a/f is good for tuning on a piggy (make sure you have some kind of data logging software), but get a wideband gauge not narrow, narrow band will do you no good other than to look at it go back and forth and give no valuable information.

so i would stay with those two plus the volt meter soley because you mentioned you like'd for seeing when your getting low listening to music with the motor off if you're just doing a 3 gauge set up.

hackish · Jul 31, 2009, 06:54 AM

If you get an AF gauge then get an innovate wideband or an AEM wideband those little blinky light ones that go back and forth are useless. Also, make sure you get a decent quality gauge. The only thing worse than no gauge is one that shows you the wrong values so that rules out most of the cheap ebay ones.

-Michael

RalliartN · Jul 31, 2009, 10:05 AM

I find the oil temperature gauge most useful in the 2006 RA. Depending on outside ambient temperatures and the kind of driving I'm doing, temps range from 190F to 250F (so far). Sustained highway speeds greater than 120 km/hr in the summer can generate high oil temps in these cars. There are local backroad courses I blitz and oil temps spike really quickly. I'm keeping an eye on this to decide soon if the driving I like to do requires an auxiliary oil cooler or maybe synthetic.

Oil pressure gauge? Only useful if your oil drain plug falls out regularly.

Get what you pay for? Almost always! Except an expensive STRI temp gauge I bought has decided to start randomly swing up and down like a tach. It's just the sensor but STRI wants the gauge, sensor, and all wiring sent back (can't buy just a sensor!). So I've spent more than the gauge is worth just on the time to install it then remove everything and get it shipped out. Moral: buy a Stewart Warner locally for less than 1/2 the price.

robyn402 · Aug 1, 2009, 02:37 AM

well oil temp stays at 180 degrees F with mitsu oil or royal purple as i found out tonight, oil pressure is good i guess, air fuel i/m kinda hesitaqnt of now, as i'm just going to reflash the ecu no real tuning so to speak so debating if its really needed