What gauges should i install?!?!

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

ok first off thanks for the posts! and also the budget isnt a HUGE concern. but spending a couple hundred on a gauge seems alittle silly to be unless its REALLY worth it. but with that being said, i have a 94 GT which means OBD1!!!! so that kills the aeroforce which is a damn shame b/c it seems pretty worth the money. but i also like the look of the analog gauges not the digital readouts.... also the color scheme inside my car is all black with blue lights at night. so i would need a black gauge that glows blue.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

also i was kinda leaning more toward oil temp and oil pressure. water temp is almost always going to stay the same and if it starts to overheat i can tell from the smoke!

lol and i heard that the cheap air fuel ratio gauges are pointless and dont work unless you get a wideband one which are like $200 which is alittle much for a air fuel ratio gauge for me dont you think?

MustangChris · Aug 16, 2012

you can get a white faced guage and put a blue rubber thingy on the bulbs.

for a couple hundred bux, I'd hunt down used gauges.

Do a oil pressure for sure, fuel pressure, and coolant. that should about max out your budget (as I suggest avoiding mechanical guages with piping hot fluid running through them. lol)

volt meters arent much use until you get into some heavier builds, doesnt sound like youre running boost (so no need for boost and a vacuum guage isnt going to help anything), etc. etc. etc. If you can squeeze out an extra couple hundred bux, get a wide-band.

edit: but if you're close to stock a wideband isnt really worth it either... ....... lol.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

i am stock except for my flowmaster catback. i was even thinking about going with a 2 inch tach with a shiftlight in it just so i have something moving and flashing for looks. and go with a oil pressure.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

i think im going to get this one for sure. http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/elite-10-color-tachometer-gauge.aspx
it will be nice to have a shift light and something for the passenger to look at. but what else would you think is the most optimal gauge? you said air fuel ratio doesnt do much for a stock engine?

KidK9 · Aug 16, 2012

First, I think that gauge is tacky as hell. But if you want it, go ahead. Second, what the heck does the passenger need something to look at? You sitting still? Have them look out the window. Third, stock engine, the only thing you need is a tach, maybe oil pressure, maybe better temp gauge.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

so the question now is, water temp, oil pressure, or wideband air/fuel ratio

MustangChris · Aug 16, 2012

well, it will tell your if your stoich, but on a stock car with a stock tune, its safe to assume that. Not worth the $250.00 guage in the least, ya know?

Since you're stock(ish) Id suggest coolant and oil pressure for sure.

fuel pressure is not really needed since you have a stock tune, stock fuel system, and stock fuel pressure regulator.

the tach is a cool idea, tho. be kinda fancy. old-school dragster style...

if you want flashy lights and what not, a cheep way to go is a narrowband a/f ratio guage. I sold mine for $5.00 + $5.00 shipping.... lol. it says "Air fuel ratio" and has a bunch of flashy lights. ... . its litterally a $5.00 wow-factor. lol. Its 99% useless....

MustangChris · Aug 16, 2012

Big_T said:
so the question now is, water temp, oil pressure, or wideband air/fuel ratio

just do water and oil pressure. skip the wide-band and either do your tach idea or get a narrow band air/fuel.

things you should know:
NHRA rules prevent you from placing mechanically driven fuild gauges in the car. Engine fluids are not allowed to pass the firewall (IE: the line of scolding hot oil running over your feet, into the dash, into a plastic gauge face pointed directly at your pretty lil' face)

options:
#1) cheep mechanical gauges - mount on the outside of the car.
#2) cheep mechanical gauges - mount on the inside of the car and risk the dangers.
#3) expensive electric gauges - mount on the inside of the car and live without fear.

lol.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

i agree! mechanical gauges = No good! im doing electrical gauges but the analog ones. But im installing the clock gauge pod so i can only go with 2 for now so i think im going to go with the tach and the water temp due to the fact i drive through NYC alot and sometimes sitting in traffic on the bridge in the heat is kinda a common thing so i feel it would come in handy more than my oil pressure would. once i mod my engine up more i will get a wideband and oil pressure and something else on the side pillar.

MustangChris · Aug 16, 2012

there ya go. sounds like a plan!

and i'm with ya. I got analog face electric gauges too..... didnt want a bunch of damn numbers babblin' at me. lol.

(my widebands are digital, tho. but they are in front of the shifter. lol.)

ttocs · Aug 16, 2012

see the techno-geek in me found out I believe in love at first site. The first time I saw the PLX designs gauges I knew that when it came time for me to do gauges that it would be my brand I had to have and was willing to save a little for. I am sure we have all done it before...

The only problem after that was I am too anal to just screw a gauge pod on that everyone else had, or could have. Sometimes I wish I were easy to please, but most days I would rather just enjoy the show I made and its worth all the time.

Big_T · Aug 16, 2012

thats a cool gauge pod. the only thing about it is the way i lounge in my car i feel would get in the way and i wouldn't be able to see my other gauges. plus i want to get rid of the stock green clock that sits on my dash so if i get the clock gauge pod then i kill 2 birds with one stone.

ttocs · Aug 16, 2012

that pic is with my head in the headrest, camera right infront of it. Yea you will not be able to tell when you are going less then 15 mph, or when the engine starts super cold. If you need the gauges to tell you that then maybe you should drive a taxi. And besides the temp sensor is in the stock location so this is the only way a stock gauge can get more useless. There are some warning lights blocked but when they light up they cast the light across the top of the cluster shroud and is still easy to notice when it comes on. I see them light up when I start the car.

RichV · Aug 16, 2012

I think gauges on a street car are kinda love/hate for me.

Accuracy is good, and I like knowing what's going on. But gauges are so often overdone with 3 on the pillar, 2 more in the console, another 1 or 2 on the steering column, and a big tach on the side. All with the stock gauges still working. It's like looking at an airplane dash.

My truck has the Attitude with the Edge chip, and whenever a parameter goes out of range ie. temp/pressure/etc, it will beep and flash what value it is. I kinda wish someone made something similar that didn't take up all that real estate on the dash, because at some point it starts to look tacky.

MustangChris · Aug 17, 2012

I agree rich. I put on what i felt was absolutely needed......

ttocs · Aug 17, 2012

RichV said:
I think gauges on a street car are kinda love/hate for me.

Accuracy is good, and I like knowing what's going on. But gauges are so often overdone with 3 on the pillar, 2 more in the console, another 1 or 2 on the steering column, and a big tach on the side. All with the stock gauges still working. It's like looking at an airplane dash.

My truck has the Attitude with the Edge chip, and whenever a parameter goes out of range ie. temp/pressure/etc, it will beep and flash what value it is. I kinda wish someone made something similar that didn't take up all that real estate on the dash, because at some point it starts to look tacky.

I see no reason why a street or racecar should need 28 different guages around them is to be well informed

I got mine after I did my HCI swapp and just wasnted to know how it ws really operating and not mess up the new gear.. I didn't want 28 gauges but did want to knnow what was going on with the couts half the time.