Which Aftermarket Gauges Are Actually Needed?

[allthewaytotheskyline]

hey im about to buy some aftermarket gauges for my r34gtt 4 gauges in total now which gauges are the most important/necessary ones for a good setup with up 290rwkw aftermarket turbo and computer efcourse!

this far ive got in mind oil temp, water temp, exhaust temp, boost.

dont hesitate to tell me what you think and why.

thanks..

Edited February 19, 2009 by allthewaytotheskyline

[Finchy33]

Oil pressure

I don't trust the stock item.

[R33GOD]

oil, air/fuel, and boost

[The Bogan]

What you need depends on your set up, me personally i'm looking at oil press, oil temp, water temp and air/fuel, all with warning lights, i don't need a boost gauge as i have a electronic boost controller (PRofec B-spec 2) which has a reading which i never look at anyway (if I'm on boost I'm just holding on and watching where I'm going), I'm just looking for gauges that when i have a quick glance at them if the red light comes on i know to back off because there's something wrong.

[allthewaytotheskyline]

hmmm interesting...you have a point mlr.

[MrNeil]

hmmm interesting...you have a point mlr.

oil pressure/temp, water temp, and boost if you're after 4

a/f gauges seem abit dumb to me.. unless they're on a wideband

[allthewaytotheskyline]

so exhaust temp isnt really needed?

[R.3.2.G.T.R]

oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, exhaust temp.. forget a/f as its useless and if have a ebc dont need boost gauge

[paulr33]

none of these are important for a mild street car

the std gauges are fine

whats more important is

how its tuned

watching when it knocks

how your boost controller is setup

these by far outweighs the cost and purpose of having guages everywhere

your boost controller should have a safety cut, ie it should back off if boost flies past the target pressure, ie something fails, it shouldnt run unlimited boost

when the engine is knocking you should have a warning or alarm or some form of protection

it should be tuned so that you get good economy, it has aggressive timing (within knock limits) and is setup for average conditions

[tridentt150v]

Oil temp, last Saturday driving in 46'C day [day of bushfires] my oil went to 108"C, I hated it, but slowed down and it settled on 97'C, so very necessary.

Oil pressure normally is 3.5 at 3000rpm, on this day it was more like 3.0, but I was semi reassured that at least I had useable pressure.

Exhaust temp, cos you can see how hard your turbo side is working and also know when you can turn your ignition off [so you don't always need to use your turbo timer or wait around unlit 2 minutes are up etc]

Water temp, I've never really needed an accurate figure, as long as its not increasing or overheating, then its OK, so you only need an indicator, not a real time measure.

You will drive to suit the conditions and the readings of the above three, the others are handy, but not necessarily condition dependant, more tune dependant. And if you using a PFC [and some other ECU's] then you will get a reading from them during or at the end of the trip anyway.

But I don't do any track days, mainly highway/main road only, so your use could change this.

[paulr33]

even 108 is probably fine for oil temp

[SirRacer]

air/fuel ratio is the biggest bullshit gauge around.

my old car use to read fine when the engine was knocking.

boost, oil temp, water temp is all that i have

[DCIEVE]

oil/boost press

water/oil temp

I wouldnt do without my wideband afr but as above - an engine can knock even when running rich so its not foolproof.

Edited February 19, 2009 by DCIEVE

[tridentt150v]

even 108 is probably fine for oil temp

yeah, could be, but who wants to get stuck on the Hume highway on a 46'C day.......lol

On a normal 30'C or less day, it sits on around 85'C, so a 20'C increase is time for some caution in my books, to be sure to be sure!

On another note, it must have frustrated the hell out of the highway patrol car that snuck out and followed me for approx. 20km into Holbrook and I wasn't speeding or hooning at all - too hot.

[Adriano]

Why would a wideband show knock, they aren't at all related. I would have oil pressure, boost, and wideband. You could fit an oil temp if you are going to track it.

[TriniGT]

Oil Pressure, Water Temp Boost and a proper Wideband gauge.

[allthewaytotheskyline]

ok im beggining to sway to these gauges oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, exhaust temp as my electronic boost controller reads/displays boost and has a auto over boost cut limiter.