Gauges

[Nathan]

I'm in need of some new gauges. I want a volt meter, vac gauge, oil pressure, air/fuel ratio, exhaust temp, and water temp. Oil pressure is obvioulsy the most important. I want a quality set, but I don't have much money at all. The oil pressure gauge is the only one I'm really going to spend on. What does everyone think I should get?

[SeanB]

Autometer makes some decent gauges.

[johnnytavo]

couldn't you buy some nice konis instead of buying all those gauges

[Hillbilly]

Autometer or VDO are the only gauges I've ever seen in actual racecars.

[johnnytavo]

You can always check out the summit racing website, they make their own gauges and they are very cheap and since they are summit they are probably decent quality too

[Nathan]

I have a feeling I'm going with Autometer for the oil pressure gauge. As for everything else, it is still up in the air. It would be nice to make sure everything matched. But fancy things like matching gauges are for rich folk.

[Nathan]

I found Autometer gauges that are 1 1/2 inch tall. That's great for me. I can hide those places. I have enough places for about 6-7 gauges of that size, and two for the 52mm size. If I go with the 52mm, I can fit in a total of 7. I like to hide them as much as possible and still have them visable easily. I might just buy all matching. At $50 per gauge, I get all of them for $300. I don't think that's bad. I'm worried about the air/fuel, I think it will be expensive. Anyone have anymore advice on were to look or what to do?

[gtfour77]

I found Autometer gauges that are 1 1/2 inch tall. That's great for me. I can hide those places. I have enough places for about 6-7 gauges of that size, and two for the 52mm size. If I go with the 52mm, I can fit in a total of 7. I like to hide them as much as possible and still have them visable easily. I might just buy all matching. At $50 per gauge, I get all of them for $300. I don't think that's bad. I'm worried about the air/fuel, I think it will be expensive. Anyone have anymore advice on were to look or what to do?

Nate, don't buy the cheap narrow band A/F gauge..it's a complete waste of money. If you want a true A/F buy a wideband one. I have a the AEM wideband and am very, very happy with it. I think they are about $350 though...

Also, to answer you oil pressure question from the other day...mine reads about 20 psi at idle...~900-1000 RPM... that's really too bad you didn;t get to check your bearing clearances and your main bearings will have a great effect on oil pressure...The manual states you should have a minimum of 4.3 PSI at idle so you should be ok..

[Nathan]

I am going to house sit for my aunt next week, and when I get back I'm going to open up the motor and try to change the main bearings. I'm still learning, so I make mistakes every now and then. I have a feeling the main bearings might be hard to change. I'm not too worried about an air/fuel gauge yet. I can trust the cars computer for now. I just hate putting my faith in the idiot light all the time.

[gtfour77]

Nate, I would highly recommend getting a good quality oil pressure gauge before you tear in to your engine... it might be fine, sounds like you just had a really cheap gauge that might or might not be accurate...