Aftermarket Gauges

[AmsOil]

I am ordering new gauges this week (Glowshift Elite Gauges). I am ordering a wideband 02 sensor and gauge, as well as a boost / vacuum gauge. I need to find a third one, and the only thing I can think of would be oil temp. Don't need oil pressure, have an idiot light for that, dont need trans temp, its a manual. Dont need water temp, has the factory gauge. Dont need volts or amps really, no tach or fuel pressure, no nitrous.

So oil temp would be the only thing I could think of to fill this void of a hole that I don't already have from the factory. Would be open to any ideas or thoughts. Kyle

[409industries]

If you're interested in your AFR's the you might want to get an EGT gauge as well.

I am running the following gauges:

Boost
EGT
Oil Temp
Oil Pressure

[MConte05]

Don't trust that idiot light at all.

From what I have heard, when that light comes on, it means your engine died 30 seconds prior, and there is no hope now.

[573]

+1 to everything said above. Also, you might want to look into something other than Glowshift gauges. There's a reason why they're cheap. I have Maddad gauges and am really happy with them. They're not as expensive as the super baller Defi gauges, but the quality is really good.

[AmsOil]

So, if I had to choose between an EGT, Oil temp, and oil pressure, which would you go with?

[pookdizzlehtk]

I'd pick EGT

[MConte05]

If you are doing self-tuning, then an EGT if you are planning on messing with fuel and such, if you are wanting to know about the health of your motor, Oil Pressure.

[573]

If you are doing self-tuning, then an EGT if you are planning on messing with fuel and such, if you are wanting to know about the health of your motor, Oil Pressure.
It's true that the EGT is helpful in that way, as it gives a rough indication of what the air to fuel ratio is. Since he already plans on getting a wideband, which accurately measures the air/fuel, I'm thinking the oil pressure might be the better option. That being said, I have all three.

[MConte05]

Reason I say EGT with the fuel is that sometimes when going leaner, you can start getting pretty high EGT's. An EGT is one of things I want to get soon since I already have a LM-1 Wideband with the XD-16 gauge, right now have left my fueling pretty similar to stock.

[rallyimprezive]

I agree with you MConte. The EGT is great for tuning. Knowing the EGTs will help determine what safe AFRs are.

[AmsOil]

I decided to go with the oil temp, wideband, and boost. So far they are working great, and are invaluable for getting my tune. I have had to take out lots of fuel since going to my stage 3 program, it was running WAY below 10:1 at anything above 3k rpms. Right now everything is at about 11:1 under boost, not ultimate power but should be plenty safe for running around on the street and rallyx.

[02wrxRally]

rather than starting a new thread, I'll jump in this one with my question -

I just have a boost gauge behind the steering wheel and I'm planning on geting a pod for the clock space, so I'm trying to decide on what 3 gauges to get.

Oil pressure is 1 for sure, and I'm a noob so I'm looking at oil and water temp gauges and scratching my head. If the engine is getting hot the oil inside the engine will read hot, right? Won't the coolant also get hot? Does the thinner coolant/water heat up faster than the thicker oil and give you earlier warning or will the oil that's making contact with the moving parts tell you if you're heating up sooner? Or is there some other reason to have one over the other, or both? :shootsself: help me

Also, I won't be doing my own tuning, but I will have one of the local shop's tuner do it when I install my mods, so do I need a wideband? or can the tuner's laptop tell him everything he needs to know? Would it still be a good idea to have a WBO2 or an EGT to monitor the tune during DD and rallyx? (I'm going to be asking my tuner a lot of questions too, but prolly wont tune until the spring, getting gauges sooner)

Thanks

[409industries]

I really enjoy having an oil temp gauge. It gives you a good point of reference to when you can really start pushing the car hard. I try to avoid doing so until my oil has reached a good temperature.

[AmsOil]

I really enjoy having an oil temp gauge. It gives you a good point of reference to when you can really start pushing the car hard. I try to avoid doing so until my oil has reached a good temperature.

Indeed.

rather than starting a new thread, I'll jump in this one with my question -

I just have a boost gauge behind the steering wheel and I'm planning on geting a pod for the clock space, so I'm trying to decide on what 3 gauges to get.

Oil pressure is 1 for sure, and I'm a noob so I'm looking at oil and water temp gauges and scratching my head. If the engine is getting hot the oil inside the engine will read hot, right? Won't the coolant also get hot? Does the thinner coolant/water heat up faster than the thicker oil and give you earlier warning or will the oil that's making contact with the moving parts tell you if you're heating up sooner? Or is there some other reason to have one over the other, or both? :shootsself: help me

Also, I won't be doing my own tuning, but I will have one of the local shop's tuner do it when I install my mods, so do I need a wideband? or can the tuner's laptop tell him everything he needs to know? Would it still be a good idea to have a WBO2 or an EGT to monitor the tune during DD and rallyx? (I'm going to be asking my tuner a lot of questions too, but prolly wont tune until the spring, getting gauges sooner)

Thanks

Does your gauge cluster not already have a coolant temp gauge? A tuner should need a wideband, but they can always install it if they need it. That said, I like having one so that I can see if I start to run too rich/lean, or am spiking or dipping in certain spots that the tuner may have missed. Same with the boost gauge. Of course everything is personal preferance, and whether or not you want your dashboard to look like a cockpit. lol.

But my personal feelings, is that the temp gauge in the car, plus the other temp sensors woud be a bit overkill.

[02wrxRally]

I have the stock instrument panel coolant gauge, but I've also sat on the side of the road with steam pouring out of my hood with the gauge reading normal.

That's a good point about the oil temp, so that's 2. Now I just have to decide if a wideband is worth it for me.

Edit: as far as monitoring a tune - would a wideband be more accurate than egt, and would I need that accuracy?