Gauge Selection For Bosted Cars And Why........

[jmciver]

I would like to get a better understanding of the value of the different types of gauges that are installed in most boosted cars. I am still considering a S/C for my car but I only have room for three gauges. At first, the three to select seemed quite obvious, but I would like to hear some of the reasons why some may be more beneficial than others.

If you could only choose 3 gauges from the list, which would you choose and why:

- Bost/Vac
- EGT
- A/F Ratio
- Oil Temperature
- Oil Pressure

When providing your reasoning, provide it from the aspect of a "turn key" application. In other words, for a straight bolt on kit with no internal work or "radical stuff" (i.e. AA Stage I&II, VF Stage I, Dinan Stage I&II, etc).

[redronin]

Alright i feel that ive spent at least a gazillion hours trying to research this subject so i will share my opinions that ive developed in the process.

As disclaimers you must understand the following facts:
1. my car is not currently nor has it before been, boosted, so i speak from speculation. i cannot hide this, so i might as well say it first

2. through all my research i found lots of stuff but never an answer, this stuff is basically preference, how much you value what, etc. everyone can throw their .02 but i cant tell you which guage is best


In concern to your questions.
the three guages i would (did) pick are the following
1. boost. because your constructing this whole new air flow path, the most important thing you need to know first thing is, is it working. am i getting the air i need. do i have a leak?

2. wideband AFR because i wanted to/may play with an asatronic and i want to make sure im in the right values here. this is something that could cause damage if its way off. i wanted to make sure my afr is within a safe range. even if i was going with software, although unnecessary, i would still like the peace of mind to know im good. from what ive read if you run too lean you can blow your engine. if you run too rich you can foul valves etc. both things i do NOT want to pay for later.

3. oil pressure because as i understand it oil is the number one way to save all parts of your car. oil = safe, long lasting if you run out of oil you can damage parts and thats bad. again this is a check gauge to make sure im lubricated enough, operating at a safe level.


the reason i didnt pick EGT, OIL TEMP, was because im not sure what egt is supposed to read, i dont want to get too technical in tuning it, and for oil i just want to make sure im getting enough

[jason 77]

Ok well my current car is still stock engine wise, but I had an Acura integra that was boosted. On the Acura I had 2 gauges, a boost/vac gauge and a A/F ratio gauge. Here is what I learned from the Acura.

-The boost/vac gauge is nice so that you can see if your turbo/supercharger is working properly.

-I found the A/F ratio gauge kind of useless unless you are trying to tune the engine.....

My suggestion would be if you only had room for 3 gauges, go for.............

-Boost/vac= good to see status of the turbo/supercharger

-EGT= I wish I had had this as it can tell you a lot sooner if your engine is having an issue i.e. overheating or something.

-Oil temperature or pressure= same idea as the EGT gauge, might let you catch a problem with the engine before it becomes terminal.

This is just my opinion though........ anyone else agree/disagree?

[Lemonsqr]

If I only could have 3 gauges:

1) Boost and vac: for reasons above.

2) fuel pressure: could give early signs of fuel delivery problem (clogged filter, bad FPR, etc). On a boosted car, not enough fuel or lean condition means bye bye to engine...BOOM! Frankly Im kind of surprised noone mentioned this one.

3) oil pressure: for the above reasons by other posters.

If you want a wideband AF for tuning, then you dont need it all the time, so this can either be a unit you plug in temporarily for dyno tune, or have this gauge located in a discrete place for tuning runs.

[travisbickle]

On my last FI car I went with:

1.) Vac/Boost - IMO, it is clearly the most entertaining gauge to watch and it can provide a wealth of information about the performance of the turbo or SC and all of the plumbing.

2.) Oil pressure - The car had a built motor with balance shafts removed. I was paranoid about oil pressure so I went with it. The BMW doesn't really needs this as it does have a telltale.

3.) Wideband O2 AFR - I chose a WBO2 over EGT because I felt that a lean running condition would be detected instantaneously versus the somewhat delayed symptom of high EGT.

On my M3 I'll be instrumenting it with a 14 channel Innovative Motorsports data logger. For display gauges I'll using their serial data gauges to display Vac/Boost, WBO2 AFR and an "ad hoc" gauge that I'll assign a specific data channel being logged based on whatever strikes my fancy. The datalogger is way overkill but I get off on that stuff.

[ken330]

Have u Guys heard of aPexi I MoNi? Is a all in 1 Gauges that can read water, oil temp, rpm and etc.. Directly fit into the obdII port of the car. Thinking of getting 1.

[Lemonsqr]

Have u Guys heard of aPexi I MoNi? Is a all in 1 Gauges that can read water, oil temp, rpm and etc.. Directly fit into the obdII port of the car. Thinking of getting 1.

Hmm, interesting. I have not heard of this product. In order to read the water temp and oil temp or pressure, the OEM sensors would have to be set up to read actual temp and not be just an "idiot" gauge reading "hot" or "cold". Any more info on this product?

[Chadillac2000@m]

1. Boost (always a good idea to know what levels your boostin too, as we all know too much and there goes your engine)
2. Wideband A/F (allows you to keep a close watch on your air fuel ratios to make sure you aren't running too lean or too rich, both of which can cause damage)
3. EGT (the temperatures coming out of your exhaust manifold can really show you whats going on inside your engine, and most of all can give you a heads up before detonation occurs)

[jmciver]

Thanks for the responses guys. It is good to hear the different reasoning for the different gauges from different people. Keep em coming.

[redronin]

Thanks for the responses guys. It is good to hear the different reasoning for the different gauges from different people. Keep em coming.

if you decide on gauges ill go into a similar rant about which guage i find to be best, but i dont want to bore you if you are not yet looking for that information



one thing i didnt know before i started my project, is that boosted cars often run a low AFR, using the extra fuel to cool the air, the changes in AFR are very small and the dangers of exceeding the correct range EITHER WAY can be disasterous.

in any case if you are using your SC as an out of the box mod, with software, NOT asatronic or smilar piggy back, well then you can skip this because youll have no way to affect the AFR anyways



also just remember, Narrowband AFR is a useless guage, you must find a wideband guageif you so chose. the one i chose was the AEM guage, its very nice and an easy install. pics will have to wait until car is in running shape again :P

[redronin]

also avoid anything that just has stoich/rich/lean values as someone mentioned, these guages dont actually give you any real information and are a waste of money

[redronin]

Have u Guys heard of aPexi I MoNi? Is a all in 1 Gauges that can read water, oil temp, rpm and etc.. Directly fit into the obdII port of the car. Thinking of getting 1.

i think i saw this, is it a little rectangle led screen type deal?


it would help if the OP would include things he wants out of his guages

as this type of guage will probably work, its not easy to read, it doesnt look attractive, it wont be fun for your passenger to watch your boost increase, etc etc. also without looking at it i cant be sure, but skip it if it just pluggs into your OBD2 and simply reads the values from that


you need seperate sensors to ensure that your guages are a completely independant safety check feature. also WB afr will require a seperate sensor in yoru exhaust, and i find it best to get an oil pressure reading close to the compressor unit, not just off your oil pressure switch because it will let you know if there is a problem between the switch (oil supply) and the charger.

[jmciver]

.....in any case if you are using your SC as an out of the box mod, with software, NOT asatronic or smilar piggy back, well then you can skip this because youll have no way to affect the AFR anyways.....
Well, in my case, I don't plan on doing any tuning. Any kit I decide on will be an out-of-the-box bolt on kit (i.e. AA, VF, etc). As such, I would not intend to use any type of piggy back system since these kits control the blower with software and the stock computer. Based on the info from this thread and some thinking, it looks like if the time comes the gauges I would choose would be:

1) Bost/Vac - To make sure the system is making proper boost for power
2) Oil Pressure - to ensure the blower and engine have proper lubrication flowing
3) Wide Band AFR - To help monitor for any trouble (too lean or too rich)

Boost/vac is the one unanimous gauge for what seems to be obvious reasons. I figure oil temp should not be necessary since the car has both stock oil temp and coolant temp gauges. The stock oil temp gauge may not be as accurate as an aftermarket one, but since dashboard real estate is at a premium, oil pressure seems like the better choice between the two. Unless someone can tell me otherwise, AFR seems like a better/quicker indication of potential problems than EGT, but then I don't know a lot about EGT (i.e. what temps are good/bad).

[redronin]

your list looks good to me (and the ones i chose)


there are 2 companies i know that make a standalone AFR wideband, one is AEM the guage is about 300 bucks, can be had a bit cheaper online. youc an change the outer ring and faceplate to match your scheme, i made mine all black, there are silver parts included

the install is very easy, the only trouble is getting someone to weld the sensor into your exhaust.friend did mine.

i also chose defi blue racer guages. they look dope imo, especially at night, they are standalone so you dont need a central unit (nothing against them, they are great if you wanna spend the extra money, but i dont have anywhere to put it)


defi guages are also very easy to install. boost is simple cut into boost line, as with oil, although youll need to get an oil diverter block somewhere