(Sr20) Gauge Chat Thread

[bataangpinoy]

THIS IS NOT a thread asking to show your gauges, what kind etc..


This thread was created in order to determine the best place to fit your aftermarket senders, vaccum fittings etc.

Oil pressure:
I was going to simply put oil pressure it in place of the OEM unit. I then got to wondering if it would be better to place it in line with my turbo feed line. Any input?

Water Temp vs Oil Temp:
I also got to questioning the importance of having an oil temp gauge over water temp. I would again replace the oem water temp sender with the aftermarket one.

Boost:
Boost gauge would be a VDO mechanical unit, and i would run the tee inline with the wastgate vaccum hose. Could i just run a brass fitting from the compressor housing as opposed to using the nipple on the throttle body?

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by bataangpinoy

Oil pressure:
I was going to simply put oil pressure it in place of the OEM unit. I then got to wondering if it would be better to place it in line with my turbo feed line. Any input?

If you don't care to do a relocation, you can get a sandwich plate that goes between the filter & the original OEM base. They come with ports for oil temp/pressure. Inline with the turbine feed is not a good idea IMO... It's hot over there. Also, since the turbine oil supply basically gravity-feeds between the top of the center cartridge & the drain to the pan; I am not certain that a pressure reading would be incredibly accurate in that location.

Originally Posted by bataangpinoy

Water Temp vs Oil Temp:
I also got to questioning the importance of having an oil temp gauge over water temp. I would again replace the oem water temp sender with the aftermarket one.

They both have their merits depending on what type of driving you do. If you drift or spend a lot of time at high rpm; having both may suit you. They make hose adapters for after market coolant temp sensors so you can run your gauge & still have the OEM functionality on your cluster.

Originally Posted by bataangpinoy

Boost:
Boost gauge would be a VDO mechanical unit, and i would run the tee inline with the wastgate vaccum hose. Could i just run a brass fitting from the compressor housing as opposed to using the nipple on the throttle body?

No. In order for the gauge to properly read both boost & vacuum, it needs to be connected to a port on the intake manifold. Bov & actuator can be connected directly to the compressor housing or charge pipe nipple(s).

[Nachtmensch]

Originally Posted by bataangpinoy

THIS IS NOT a thread asking to show your gauges, what kind etc..


This thread was created in order to determine the best place to fit your aftermarket senders, vaccum fittings etc.

Oil pressure:
I was going to simply put oil pressure it in place of the OEM unit. I then got to wondering if it would be better to place it in line with my turbo feed line. Any input?

Water Temp vs Oil Temp:
I also got to questioning the importance of having an oil temp gauge over water temp. I would again replace the oem water temp sender with the aftermarket one.

Boost:
Boost gauge would be a VDO mechanical unit, and i would run the tee inline with the wastgate vaccum hose. Could i just run a brass fitting from the compressor housing as opposed to using the nipple on the throttle body?

Sorry to hear about your choice in VDO, but I digress.

Vacuum should be after the throttle body, before the head. Basically anywhere on the intake manifold. One of the ports above the throttle body works well, or using a tee fitting in to the fuel pressure regulator's vacuum line.

Oil pressure is fine in the factory sender location. The threads are different than most senders, but they are similar enough where it will thread in if you force it, not causing a problem in most cases. The recommended solution and if you worry about the threads, using a oil filter sandwich plate will be the best and simplest option in that case. (As mentioned by Mikester, these typically have room for a temp gauge as well) With a short sweep electric gauge, make sure this sandwich adapter is grounded well, otherwise the gauge way show incorrect readings.

Oil temperature is great for track use or for engines that see a bit more abuse. I will take my personal car for instance. I have both a water temp as well as oil temp in the car. Water temp is done through my PowerFC, oil temp being a Stack part number ST3509.

Under normal conditions, water temp heats up faster, indicating operating temp, about 80C for me, while my oil temp gauge may only be at 40-45C. Obsiously the engine's oil is not up to temp, in which case I avoid hard driving until it gets to where I am comfortable, 70-75C.

On the other end of the spectrum, at drift days the engine sees lots of abuse. The radiator and radiator fans help keep the water temp steady, between 80-94C. While the coolant temp is steady, the oil temp continues to rise, especially wen hot lapping. I have seen my oil temp hit 115C, making me pull it in and letting it cool down a bit. Without the oil temp gauge, I would not know about this heat, the breakdown of the oil, or the viscosity dropping (oil pressure gauge was showing low readings at this time)

[bataangpinoy]

thanks for the insight fellas! in regards to the hose adapter for water temp, i have seen that but i'm personally not a fan of that or the oem gauge. so the oe sender is getting binned.

as far as relocations, i was looking at using a circuit sport unit. i just didnt want to have too much shit hanging off the side of that thing, i dont wanna clutter up my engine bay too much.

@ NachtMensch, i would LOVE to just pony up and buy a stack 8130, but the pricing is a little steep for me. im building this car to be competitive in pro-am, and i want to be able to monitor everything; would make any diagnostic work that much easier... but i gotta finish within budget. if i get the stack unit then i wont be able to afford tires lol