O.K. I'm thinking about putting gauges in my car and I'm looking to find the ones that are best to put in(type not brand) and their benefits. I've looked through past threads and talked to a couple of people and I just want to clear somethings up. Like which ones do you need (if any) which ones are just nice to have. I looked for some the following are the most common. Hopefully this can help others who are on the fence about gauges.I do some track days and lots of spirited driving.

BOOST GAUGE: it goes somewhere under intercooler with a "y" connector(great bear has a link so I won't go into it) this measures engines boost pressure. Why do I need this? Some say its essential to knowing your car others say that since you can't control it why bother with it. whats the main concensus here? most people run in the mid-teens psi.

OIL/FUEL PRESSURE: This goes into the oil filter housing and appearently is a pain to do. Why do I need this, what does pressure of oil/fuel (amount ?) have to do with the way the car runs. I never found any opinions on this one.

OIL/WATER TEMP: I found a reference that this goes the same place as the pressure gauge. (is this correct) Oil temp is for checking operating temp of engine? Water temp (should this be coolant temp). again why is this important for me to know. ( ie high temp = knocking = early detonation gauge lets you know before it becomes a problem)

EXHAUST TEMP: No idea where this goes but I imagine near the CAT. Why do I need to know my exhaust temp? unless its linked to above with early detonation.

BATTERY: Don't all cars have this on it? or is it a gauge like the stock oil temp.

AIR/FUEL MIXTURE: I somewhat have one of these, don't know where its located(internals not gauge) This monitors air fuel mixture to see if runnning rich or lean( again if I can't do anything about it why have it?)

Thanks for your help. I figure if we can get a listing of the gauges in one place people can decide what they need

 

Mid-teens boost is only with a smaller pulley. In stock form, max boost is 11psi, I believe. Boost is by far the best gauge. The gauge moves at every slight touch of the gas. It's actually pretty intoxicating. It's the most "fun" gauge for sure. It'll also tell you if something is wrong with the supercharger or if you have a boost leak!

Oil Pressure gauge is a great safety gauge. It too will vary depending on how warm the car is, what type of driving you're doing and what kind of oil (the viscosity) you're using. It's also a fun gauge to look at b/c it's also constantly changing. It's also the best gauge for safety sake b/c if you're pressure were to drop too low (b/c something is wrong), you're engine could be totalled pretty quickly. By the time the dummy gauge standard in the MINI went on, it would probably be too late.

Me? I got the boost and oil pressure gauges (obviously). But I only got gauges b/c I was having this intermittent oil pressure light come on periodically. After 5 or so trips to the dealer without them finding anything, I need to do something about it. So I needed an oil pressure gauge to make sure nothing was wrong. Turns out my oil pressure is fine, there's just something flimsy with the stock oil pressure light.

HOWEVER, I love my gauges and would get both oil pressure and boost on my next MINI.

 

Greatgro...did you thread the oil filter yourself or buy one that was fitted for the sensor? I've got the parts but haven't tapped into the housing because it looked too thin to hold any thread.

 

the way i did it with the oil pressure is by fitting an additional brass fitting and thread that as well so the sensor would go in.. but im sure mine is different cuze mine is electrical, and got a huge sphere ontop of the sensor that needs to be threaded.... so plugging it into the filter housing in the first place was NOT easy

i agree with greatgro... boost and oil pressure is very important... some people might say you want oil temp and oil presure...
but overall... most gauges are useful..

 

Uh...sure. Actually I had Helix do it! That's what experts are for. I'll keep being an expert in my field and pay an expert in this one to take care of my baby. Oh wait - I watched him do it. He drilled a whole in the oil filter cap. Lots of mircosurgery with these gauges. I could never do it myself. I'd be scared out of my mind!

I was originally going to go with oil pressure and oil TEMP. But Eric (Helix) convinced me that a boost gauge is high on the fun factor. I'm so glad I went for it. However, if I had 3 gauges...oil temp would be next. Water temp would be forth.

 

In addition to prioritizing what types of gauges I'd also be interested in hearing what manufacturers everyone is using as well.

I'm thinking about getting the Alta gauge pod and will obviously only be looking for two gauges. They will be boost and oil pressure...just not sure what gauge manufacturer I should be going after.

 

I had a boost gauge installed, but the damn thing made so much noise...every time I got on the throttle, between 2-3k rpm, the thing would ring like one of those old school alarm clocks...it drove me crazy so I unhooked it (from the engine bay) and now I just have this motionless gauge inside :(


Oil temp is great if you have the GPS in your car

L

 

I installed a small fuel filter in the boost gauge line, which got rid of the buzzing/rattling.

 

My needle vibrates like crazy at the upper end of boost making it impossible to read. Does this filter help this condition?

 

Yep, the filter makes the buzz go bye-bye. Just go to the auto parts store and get the smallest fuel filter you can find (preferably one that has barbs on both ends that will fit your boost gauge line). Mine looks kinda like this:

 

strange.. mine does not make any noise... but you are right.. the boost gauge jumps like crazy when you are hard on it... my last peak out at 1 bar

maybe it's different for electronic and mechanical guages.. both my gauges are electronic so elimates some of the mess of wiring oil and boost right into the compartment.. but much more expensive..

btw.. i got pearl white greddy SMI gauges... just new off trust in japan (who makes the greddy stuff in japan) ..

 

I did a boost gauge and a Spa oil pressure oil temp gauge:

 

I'll post pics of mine. I have autometer gauges (large) with the SPI Gauge pod. IMO, this is THE best looking gauge setup out there. The two pods are independent and can be adjusted to any angle. They are on each side of the tach (for non-nav MINI). They look very stock and light up in orange at night.

BTW, my boost gauge is steady and does not rattle OR jump whatsoever.

 

what type of fuel filter did you buy for the boost line?
all it have to do is inline for the boost gauge line?

i have the buzzing too, wanted to take it away,

 

FWIW, here are my gauges:



Left to right, Intercooler Inlet temp, Tach, Boost, Speedo, Intercooler Outlet temp



Oil Pressure and Coolant Temp

 

Spa gauges are pretty cool. You can get four readouts with only two gauges! Pretty expensive though!

Colorado....how do you like the SPA gauge?

Also, the Defi D-gauges say they come with a bracket. Does this mean you don't need a pod type setup?

 

Thank-you all, great gro for the helpful info. I'm probably going with boost, oil pressure. Second question for the oil pressure will dealer give problems when doing oil change ( warranty already voided so its not a concern) or do do all your own oil changes. Thanks again

 

I think the SPA gauges are great. The memory recall is great for the temp - it has a high reading recall, but worthless for the pressure. It would be better if there was a way to recall low pressure, rather than high. Yes, they are more expensive, but if you figure you are getting two pretty sophisticated gauges than they aren't too bad. the trickest set-up I have seen is a totaly digital dash with 8 channels of information, mounted where the tach is. ($1,000)