Stock guages and maybe some extras...

[X2Xtreme360]

I've heard the stock 3 guage setup in our cars for the water temp/oil pres/and battery sucks. Do they suck because the guages themselves are not accurate? Or is it because they aren't setup correctly? I would like to have the guages as accurate as possible, and I'm also thinking of some new guages as well. Probably 2 more (maybe 3). I have an N/A, but I was thinking of a guage to monitor my Air/Fuel mixture and either my Oil temp, Fuel pressure, or both. Any suggestions and/or write-ups on this?

[Morphius289]

Deft Racing now sell those prosport gauges that are supposed to be like the Defi gauges. Supposedly they're pretty damn good, and really really cheap. I'd try them out if I were you.


And yes. Our stock gauges aren't so great.

[X2Xtreme360]

Wow. Thanks a lot that looks awesome. Now I don't know weather to go super blue all round or stick to the amber interior lights lol. What all is going to be involved with the stock guage replacements? Is it a direct swap? Also, are we 52mm or 60mm?

[ZRYDERVR4]

The shift light does it tell u when to shift to get the most power out of the gear or does it tell u when u are able to shift so u don't shift to early?

[X2Xtreme360]

Well even though that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, the shift light is just a guide. It's supposed to tell you when to shift to get the best fuel milage, but it's never accurate. And if you mean the red light, that is a warning light to let you know when you're redlining. And there's really no such thing as shifting too early. In slow city driving I shift as low as 1500 RPMs and I skip 4th gear and go straight to 5th.

But make a new thread if you're gonna post about something totally different than the original topic.

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by X2Xtreme360

Wow. Thanks a lot that looks awesome. Now I don't know weather to go super blue all round or stick to the amber interior lights lol. What all is going to be involved with the stock guage replacements? Is it a direct swap? Also, are we 52mm or 60mm?

you have to pull the dash. PITA. or, if you're clever and have small hands, you MIGHT be able to pull the stereo and Climate control panel, but i'm not sure if you'll be able to remove the stock gauges that way. i still think you would have to pull the entire dash.

and i think you'll also have to run new wires from the engine to the gauges for the specific item you are monitoring.

Originally Posted by ZRYDERVR4

The shift light does it tell u when to shift to get the most power out of the gear or does it tell u when u are able to shift so u don't shift to early?

huh? i assume you're talking about those big, dumb tachometers with the shift lights? those things are a waste of money, look like crap, and make your car look like crap too. you can set the light to come on whenever you want to. but in theory the bigassTachometer is for racing (drag, autocross, road course...no, not street racing). the flashing light tells you when to shift so you don't have to look down at the stock tachometer and take your eyes off the road. most people set the light to come on at max power (rpm).

however, i find this argument quite weak b/c 1) if you are racing, you should know your car well enough to know when to shift by listening to the engine, and 2) if you need to glance down at the tachometer, it will only take a split second and you should be smart enough not to take your eyes off the road in the middle of a turn or when passing another car.

if you are still learning/mastering driving a stick, a bigassTachometer with shift light is not going to help you.

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by X2Xtreme360

Well even though that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, the shift light is just a guide. It's supposed to tell you when to shift to get the best fuel milage, but it's never accurate. And if you mean the red light, that is a warning light to let you know when you're redlining. And there's really no such thing as shifting too early. In slow city driving I shift as low as 1500 RPMs and I skip 4th gear and go straight to 5th.

there is no warning light that lets you know when you're at redline. there is a rev limiter that will let you know this, and you'll know it when you hear it.

[X2Xtreme360]

Well they have that bolt on peice at 3sx to monitor fuel pressure that either comes with a guage for the engine bay or without one for a cockpit hookup. I think I'll add that in a guage pod along with an oil temp guage and an air/fuel guage.

Can anyone tell me exactly how this peice works?

http://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/pric...Block_Adapters

It says it's for installing oil pressure and temp guages, but do I have to have this in order to do so?

[X2Xtreme360]

sorry... repost, ignore.

[Igovert500]

Swear I've seen it cheaper somewhere...probably ebay. If you do a search you will find tons for half htat price. Just make sure you get the same size. But that piece screws onto where your oil filter would normally sit. Then you screw your oil filter into it. Like so:


It makes it really easy to hook up the sensors, rather than tapping the stock sending units, or fabricating your own sandwich plate.

Also I think you meant oil pressure, not oil temp. I think pressure is more important to monitor. If temp is something you are worried about, put in an oil cooler.

I think teh stock gauges are 52mm if memory serves me right. And finally, instead of going through the hassle of removing hte dash. It is quite a bit easier to install an A-pillar pod and put hte gauges there. Like so:

[X2Xtreme360]

Well I was thinking both pressure and temp but I can probably get away with only 2 gauges rather than 3. And yes I'm getting an A-Pillar pod but I'm also going to upgrade my stock gauges as well, so I'mm gonna have to take the dash apart.

[X2Xtreme360]

I found an awesome write-up on the oil pressure and temp gauge setup using the sandwich plate. I am curious though, does the pressure sensor and wiring come any cheaper than ~$130 for both? I'm looking at the defi sensor and wiring. Can I just use regular electrical wire? and then all I will need is the sensor, right?