Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

I really want three new guages - boost in PSI, oil temp and exhaust gas temp.

Boost and temp will be cheap Splitfires. I think I'll match it with an oil or water temp guage so there's a neat 3 guages in the central console.

The EGT however will end up being most likely an Autometer or Apex EL on the A-pillar.

Seems ok? I have doubts about the A-pillar as I don't want to be defectable.

T.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/22870-what-guages-are-important-to-you/
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Shane

It may only be heresay, but isn't an A-Pillar legal as long as its below the top of steering wheel? That's where I just put mine anyway *shrugs*

Anything u mount on the dash/a pillar has to be lower than the highest point on your dash. Tried to mount a 5' tacho legally in my old car, didnt work, but close :(

I have EL boost on the A-pillar and Water Temp, Oil Temp and Fuel Pressure Defi's on the console. Also AVCR and RSM (mmm - Gs) are on the dash.

I look at the AVCR and water-temp most of the time. I use the speed readout on the RSM for highway driving (it flashes at 103km/h).

G's are good for passengers :)

I've never understood why people want a boost gauge. I set my boost on the dyno, and I leave it. Most boost controllers have a digital boost readout anyway.

People say "What if your boost spikes? or if you overboost to 1.5 bar? Don't you want to know about it?"

I say in reply: "You should set you boost up on a dyno and iron out all the spikes there. Has your boost controller ever "broken" and you've overboosted over what you set your boost controller at? I haven't."

Anyway. If I were to have any gauges it would be:

Water Temp

Oil Temp

in WA u can get permits for a pillar mounted gauges, aslong as they dont obstruct the vision. I had permit for Oil pressure gauge and monser tacho(albiet that was a wank permit haha). But we also have permit for the Sti with boost and oil pressure.

small gauges are fine. In words of guy at pits, cop was an idiot for point out the gauges as a defect.

"Boost and temp will be cheap Splitfires"

Don't get anything cheap - unless you just want them for the 'looks'. Otherwise you are defeating the purpose of trying to accurately monitor what's going on with your car.

As for "why have a boost gauge?" - if I, for example, blew a hose, the boost gauge would instantly tell me that. If there is a problem with the car, and it is boost related, the gauge will instantly tell me that. If my car starts to spike (for whatever reason), I can see it instantly and shut her down.

And my other 2c: buy defi

Originally posted by DaiOni

As for "why have a boost gauge?" - if I, for example, blew a hose, the boost gauge would instantly tell me that.  If there is a problem with the car, and it is boost related, the gauge will instantly tell me that.  If my car starts to spike (for whatever reason), I can see it instantly and shut her down.

What hose could you blow that would affect boost? Intercooler plumbing? Silicon hoses on the intake plumbing? They'd all REDUCE boost, so you don't have to worry. The only thing would be the hose to your wastegate actuator.... How many people do you know who's wastegate vacuum hose has fallen off? None?

You'd notice any increased boost, or an "unlimited boost" effect from the wastegate problems before you'd look at the boost gauge anyway, true?

What other reasons are there that the boost would suddenly decide to spike? If you have a decent boost controller, I can't see it EVER changing it's settings, unless you've stuffed around with it.

The only time I can ever see a boost gauge coming in handy is when setting up the car's boost levels and gain/balance.

I think Summoner gave the truth :) Everyone loves it because it's the most active gauge. The others (water temp, oil temp, EGT, whatever) don't move anywhere near as much, and doesn't have the "COOL" factor :D

Yes, I too like boost gauges cos they move :) Everyone wants to see something working and it's actually doing something. I think boost gauges are important (to me anyway) because I have the Profec B boost controller (no boost display). I have low and high boost and sometimes I like to see what the max boost is set at. I sometimes adjust the low and high settings too, so I don't want to set it too high and blow something. I think boost gauges are useful.

"What hose could you blow that would affect boost? Intercooler plumbing? Silicon hoses on the intake plumbing? They'd all REDUCE boost, so you don't have to worry"

I'm talking about the sequential setup of a late model rx7, which is my case. Your original post didn't specify 'skylines' which is why I responded as such. On my car, the boost gauge is a neccesity - which is why 'people' sometimes need them. However, I can't imagine why having a boost gauge would be a bad thing on any turbocharged car.

The defi gauges have a memory function - so you can record the boost gauge (for around 3 minutes) and play it back. This is a great little diagnostic tool - which has plenty of uses.

You are damn lucky to get DEFI link gauges! :) They are quite pricey aren't they? Is it true that when you start up the car the gauges calibrate and the pointer on the gauges moves right through the range? Example: If you have a boost gauge from 0bar to 2bar, when you start the car the "pointer" moves from 0 bar to 2 bar and then moves back down to 0bar? Nice :D

my cefiro has a tomei boost gauge and i have hardly looked at it. Mind u at present my EBC isnt wired up properly(so it looks), so i was curious as to what boost it was running, seems to be about 0.7bar or so.. Short of that i doubt i'll actually be looking at it :)

yeah, the gauge cycles on start up, beeps, has a whizz-bang closing down 'ceremony' etc

I got them because they are made by a company that specialises in gauges - not a company that makes all sorts of shit, and does gauges on the side.

I've shopped around and they are by far the best quality on the market.

And yeah, expensive, but not as bad from within japan (cost me about 34,000 yen for the control unit, boost gauge and holder)

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Back again. I returned to Japan in Jul/Aug to spend time with the car on my birthday and remind myself what all the sacrifice and compromise is for. It happened to line up with the monthly morning meet in Okutama, which I have been wanting to go to for a long time. It's a unique event at a unique spot with really rare, interesting, and quirky cars. It's where all the oldheads and OGs gather. The nighttime scene at DKF certainly has its place and should be experienced if you're into cars, but there's too much bad attention and negativity around it now. IMO the better time is Sunday morning at DKF or Okutama; it's more chill and relaxed. I'm glad I was finally able to go, but not sure it's worth the drive from all the way from Nagoya immediately the day before, unless I was already staying in Tokyo for the days right before the meet, because you have to wake up quite early to make it in time. Funnily enough though I didn't drive the car all that much this trip because it was just too damn hot. While there were zero issues and running temps were nominal and the A/C was strong, RBs already run crazy hot as it is. Sure, it took it all like a champ but something about driving these cars in the ridiculous heat/humidity bothers me and makes me feel like I'm asking too much of it. I'm just me being weird and treating the car like a living thing with feelings; I'm mechanically sympathetic to a fault. Instead I was mainly driving something else around - a KX4(silver) 2001 X-Trail GT, that I acquired in May. There's a few different flavors to choose from with Xs, but visually it's the Nissan version of the Honda CR-V. Mechanically it's a whole different story as this, being the top-trim GT, has an SR20VET mated to a four-speed auto and full-time AWD! It was a very affordable buy in exceptional condition inside and out, with very low mileage...only 48k kms. Most likely it was owned by an older person who kept it garaged and well-maintained, so I'm really happy with how it all worked out. It literally needs zero attention at the moment, albeit except for some minor visual touch-ups. I wanted something quirky, interesting, and practical and for sure it handily delivers on all three of those aspects. I was immediately able to utilize the cargo and passenger capacity to its full extent. It's a lot of fun to drive and is quite punchy through 1st and 2nd. It's very unassuming -in the twisty bits it's a lot more composed than one would think at a glance- and it'll be even better once I get better tires on it(yes, it's an SUV but still a little boat-y for my liking). So...now I have two golden-era Nissans in silver. One sports car and one that does everything else; the perfect two-car solution I think👍 The rest of the trip...I was able to turn my stressed brain off and enjoy it, although I didn't quite get to do as much as I thought. I did some interesting things, met some interesting people, and happened into some interesting situations however, that's all for another post though only if people really want to know. Project-wise, I went back to Mine's again to discuss more plans and am hoping to wrap that up real soon; keep watching this space if that interests you. Additionally, while working in the tormenting sweatbox that is the warehouse, I was able to organize most of the myriad of parts that my friend is storing for me along with the cars, and the 34 has a nice little spot carved out for it: And since it can get so stupid hot in there, that made it all the more easy -after I was standing there looking at the car and said 'f**k it'- to finally remove all the damn gauges that have mostly been an eyesore all this time. Huzzah. The heat basically makes the adhesive backing on the gauge mounts more pliable to work with, so it was far less stressful getting this done. I didn't fully clean it up or chase the wiring though; that will happen once I have the car in closer possession. Another major reason to remove all that stuff is to give people less reasons to get in my car and steal s**t while it's being exported/imported when/if the time comes, which leads us to my next point... ...and that is even though it's time in Japan is technically almost up since it's a November car and the X would be coming in March, I'm still not entirely sure where my life and career is headed; I don't really know what the future looks like and where I'm going to end up. I feel there's a great deal of uncertainty with me and as a result of that, it feels like I'm at a crossroads moreso now than any point in my life thus far and there are some choices I need to make. Yes, I've had some years to consider things and prepare myself, however too much has happened in that time to maintain confidence and everything feels so up in the air; tenuous one might say. Simply put, there's just too much nonsense going on right now from multiple vectors. Admittedly, I'm struggling to stay in the game and keep my eyes on the prize. So much so in fact, that very recently I came the closest I ever have before to calling it quits outright; selling everything and moving on and not looking back. The astute among you will pick up on key subtext within this paragraph. In the meantime I've still managed to slowly acquire some final bits for the car, but it feels nice knowing there's not much left to get and I'm almost across that finish line; I have almost everything I'll ever want for my interpretation and expression on what it is I think an R34 should be. 'til later.
    • Thanks for that, hadn’t used my brain enough to think about that. 
    • Also playing with fire if they start to flow more air down low than what the stock twins can. It's not even up top you need to worry, it can be at 3000rpm and part throttle and it's getting way more flow than it should.
    • Any G40/1000 or G40/1250 results out there?  
    • You still want a proper tune on the stock ECU though. Stock tune + stock ECU with GT-SS/-9s is probably playing with fire if you're running more than stock airflow/power.
×
×
  • Create New...