I have a 3 gauge pod that my friend gave me, and I was trying to decide what gauges to get to fit in the slots, what would u guys say would be the best options?(except boost) or is it pretty much gay to have gauges without boost haha. Thank you
Best gauges to use without boost gauge??
- Thread starter LupercioStang
- Start date
I personally think pillar guages on a Non power adder car are gay. I also think that any car (Boosted or Not) with 3 guages on the pillar is very ricer. If you really want to put gauges i would stick with the important ones. IE Oil Pressure, Wideband,Fuel Pressure.
is ur car boosted? If not then then maybe fuel psi, engine oil, and something else. If ur car is boosted then yes run a boost gauge unless u just dont wanna know....
Oil psi - because the factory oil pressure gauge is nothing more than a dummy/idiot gauge at best...
a vacuum gauge (an accurate one) is one of the easiest, best tools at detecting and diagnosing engine issues, large and small.
fuel pressure should remain in the engine bay like I did here. there is no need for it to be in the cabin as you adjust it from the engine bay. Having it in the cabin only inconveniences your tuner.
these other gauges...water temp, oil pressure, etc...if you think you're going to be making a WOT pull and be staring at your gauges and be able to shut it down the instant you see an issue, you're nuts. by the time that gauge lets you know there is a problem, the motor is already toast.
wideband and boost in cabin for your tuner for when he's making pulls. if you can't find a tasteful place to put two high quality gauges not on your paul walker a-pillar, do us all a favor and sell your car.
Different strokes for different folks. I would say a boost guage is the least critical of aftermarket gauges.
In our cars I would say oil pressure #1 since like was said the factory gauge is a dummy light.
Water temp is up to you. The factory gauge will report the engine temp but not as accurate as an aftermarket one.
Widebands are neat and can tell you if you have issues many places. Once, my wideband was going a little lean when I was into the throttle. Found out the fuse for my secondary in-line pump blew.
I've got too many gauges in the car but it came with them so I'm not going to pull them. I aslo just bought a used Fuel pressure gauge due to the fuel pump issue I had before. I have oil pressure and water temp in a clock pod and will end up having Boost and fuel pressure in a cluster bezel and an innovate LED wideband in a column pod. Perhaps it will be a bit busy in the cluster area but I didn't want any pillar gauges.
In our cars I would say oil pressure #1 since like was said the factory gauge is a dummy light.
Water temp is up to you. The factory gauge will report the engine temp but not as accurate as an aftermarket one.
Widebands are neat and can tell you if you have issues many places. Once, my wideband was going a little lean when I was into the throttle. Found out the fuse for my secondary in-line pump blew.
I've got too many gauges in the car but it came with them so I'm not going to pull them. I aslo just bought a used Fuel pressure gauge due to the fuel pump issue I had before. I have oil pressure and water temp in a clock pod and will end up having Boost and fuel pressure in a cluster bezel and an innovate LED wideband in a column pod. Perhaps it will be a bit busy in the cluster area but I didn't want any pillar gauges.
in all honesty what im gonna do is run the dual aeroforce guages then u have the ability to run a shiftlight, boost gauge, wideband, not to mention you can monitor all the other parameters the engine reads. Plus it plugs into your OBD2 port and u can check and clear codes with it.
Oil Pressure and Water Temp are #1 and #2 in my book.. 3rd guage put whatever you want, wideband is what everyone and their brother has now it seems. I like the aeroforce interceptor guage myself.. I wouldn't call it ricey as long as it's cleanly done, maybe a little ricey if you have a boost guage and no boost.
Wow...there's a lot of negative feelings towards A pillar gauges. I guess haters gonna hate lol...
I have a triple gauge A pillar pod, with my oil pressure, fuel pressure, and a boost gauge. It'a practical, functional, and it lets me know what I need to know. I don't feel that any part of my car is "rice" but to each their own I guess.
I will be adding a wideband so I can keep an eye on everything. Too much money spent already to risk not being able to watch everything closely.
I have a triple gauge A pillar pod, with my oil pressure, fuel pressure, and a boost gauge. It'a practical, functional, and it lets me know what I need to know. I don't feel that any part of my car is "rice" but to each their own I guess.
I will be adding a wideband so I can keep an eye on everything. Too much money spent already to risk not being able to watch everything closely.
I sort of lump pillar gauges in with the people who think they have to have the loudest exhaust that ever existed.
I put a dual pillar gauge in my car once upon a time. In retrospect I wish I never had. It was cool when I was 18, but it is waaaaay too "look at me!" now. I guess I just prefer more subdued design as I get older.
SVTContique
New Member
Ive got:
Wideband, Boost, Oil Pressure, Coolant Temp, Oil temp(useless and wanna get volts or something better)
Im boosted though.
I didnt put any in before the SC.
Wideband, Boost, Oil Pressure, Coolant Temp, Oil temp(useless and wanna get volts or something better)
Im boosted though.
I didnt put any in before the SC.
+1. These are two of the most important readings you need on a N/A car, which also happen to be the two least accurate stock gauges in our cars.
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so if you're making a WOT pull and your oil pressure suddenly drops, you're going to be able to safely let out, pull over, and shut down? even if you were staring only at that one gauge the entire pull, your motor is toast before your brain even processes the thought of pulling your foot off the throttle.
a vacuum gauge (an accurate one) is one of the easiest, best tools at detecting and diagnosing engine issues, large and small.
fuel pressure should remain in the engine bay like I did here. there is no need for it to be in the cabin as you adjust it from the engine bay. Having it in the cabin only inconveniences your tuner.
off topic: where did you get the adapter fitting to put the pressure gauge directly on the rail, ive been looking for one since ive bought my car..
on topic: id run a wideband, oil pressure, coolant temp on an NA setup car.
I can completely respect your point of view :beer:
I think you may have mis-quoted me, and you meant to say that to someone else. I didn't say anything about watching any gauges, having enough time to shut it down, etc. Doing a WOT pull...yeah, you're probably going to be in trouble if your oil pressure drops to zero, and I agree completely with your quoted statement above. But being able to monitor things with your engine I feel is very important. If your oil pressure gauge drops dramatically, you know something is very wrong, whether this situation arises upon start up, cruising down the highway, etc.
SVTContique
New Member
+1 Plus if your doing a pull your looking at your AFR not your oil pressure.
Oil pressure lets you know how good your motor is running. If i was doing a pull and was at 50PSI oil pressure i would know that my motor is close to toast.
LS1 adapter
Yes, and no. No gauge is really useful to a driver, as any "you failed" monitor a gauge can present a driver will never have enough time to react to. The ones I listed...boost and AFR...are only semi-useful to a tuner, while he is on the dyno. Even then, most of them have their own boost and AFR hook ups.
I'm trying to hang on for dear life, keep the car straight, and MAYBE shift when the huge light blinks.
No. Oil pressure to a point is a random number, there is no ideal pressure for all motors. Different engines have different readings and within a certain "zone" is acceptable. Where a pressure gauge is useful is noticing a change in oil pressure to see if something is wrong.
For example, my crate motor puts out ~30psi at hot idle. If at some point my hot idle reads at 15psi, I will not make a WOT pull and find out why.
Same goes for the fuel pressure gauge I am adding. If a problem with one of my pumps shows up as a different pressure reading, I will shut down and investigate.
I wouldnt put the A-pillar gauge pod up. I think it looks bad and just gets in the way honestly. My favorite gauge pillar is the one that fits in the factory instrument panel and has 2 pods on each side, it looks factory almost and is very subtle plus its right there in front of you. I have that and then also the gauge pod on my steering column for my A/F gauge so its right in my face, that way if it gets lean I can let off ASAP. The other gauges I have are oil and of course boost. I dont feel I need more then that at the moment.
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