I got a pair of gauges for christmas, Boost & Oil Pressure.

However, now that I am thinking about it, would Oil Temp be a better thing to watch? After reading randy's FAQ, that is where they saw issues with larger pulleys. The gauge is still in the box, no issue to return it....

any thoughts? Any recommendation other than that? I won't be getting far enough into mods for an EGT or anything...just doing the basics, intake, pulley, one-ball - it's a street car....

thanks!

-jac

 

IMO oil temp is a good daily gauge - better than pressure for letting you know when it's ok to stand on it.
I do miss the (real) OPG that the miata has. Not as accurate as oil temp, but the readings do indicate when the oil has warmed up. I like the OPG for long term health - oil pressure is life...


edit: oops change the second 'temp' in the first sentence to pressure.

 

wait...you said temp twice....i think you meant you preffer the pressure gauge....yes?

Sadly, my 95 only had the idoit gauge. All the stuff i did to it, i never changed that out!

-jac

 

The official OEM Auxiliary gauges include Oil Temp ... not Oil pressure. I would assume MINI had a reason for doing that?

 

Oil temp.
Sender location still up for debate last I remember though.

 

I wouldn't assume anything... how often do you see manufacturers include voltometers and leave off the important things.

Personally, I say go for Oil Pressure. If you lose pressure, cutting the engine off will save it. Boost is almost completely pointless. Oil Temp is only worthwhile if you're actually going to do something about high temps, such as install an oil cooler. If not, then the gauge, at least in my mind, is pointless - just another needle to watch move around.

 

If it's the same reason they include a voltmeter, I'd like to hear it (I've got Nav, and no water temp. ) I've tried to find a water temp or oil pressure gauge similar to the OEM, but without luck. I may just swap out both, so they're the same style. Just depends which wins the battle - my **** self or my cheap self...

Jac - I'm a bit torn, but I guess if I had to choose I'd take temp. Alternatively, go crazy and get some cool (aka $$) dual display gauges.

 

The voltmeter I understand in that OEM MINI batteries go dead a lot and it might tell you yours is heading downhil

MINI "could" have done the oil temp and chose not to. Why?

 

Yea, that's the canned response around here, and it's a particularly weak one. There's nothing that makes the Mini battery die any quicker than any other car. 99.99% of drivers aren't going to know the battery's going dead until it won't crank that morning, and 95% of the remaining ones will know it's getting low without staring at a voltometer for the previous three years.

 

The same reason manufacturers don't include useful water temp gauges. They don't want people freaking out and running in for service every time the needle moves a little. Besides, how many people know what an acceptable oil temp range is? You probably couldn't get five people in here to agree on a range if you had to.

 

Most people dont pay attention to gauges anyway since most are just sold with idiot lights. I do watch the oil temp but know exactly where it "usually" sits including highway driving.

I did freak out when I saw it jump and bounce around to 160C and bounced back ... No way it could fluctuate like that in a few seconds. Turned out the wiring was fraying againt some metal so they had to reroute the wiring.

Don't know about others, but I look at it (when I remember)

 

I have both, the oil temp. was an oem thing, while oil pres. was my doing. Now I'm not a big fan of having HOT engine oil pumped into the cockpit though a little plastic tube, but I do look at oil pres. like my car's blood pressure, as long as we got some we're good. Oil temp is just that ,I'll look at it from time to time, but hey if the temp gets too high the pressure will come down too and I'll know whatever I'm doing I better stop it soon. If I could only have one or the other I'd take oil pressure.

 

One thing to consider.......oil pressure is basically on or off. Idiot lights work well for something like that. Oil temp is more usefull in everyday driving. Lets you know when the oil is hot enough to get on it.

 

Exactly what I use it for, very useful. Surprising how long these cars take to get to operating temp (around 100). Funny, the M Coupe's temp is twice that

 

I have the Chrono Pac (oil temp + oil pressure + water temp) and I like the feeling of knowing what's going on under the hood. As ScottinBend said....oil temp is a good thing to know before you romp on it + if you spend any time on the track, it will give you a good indicator as to the overall health of the motor.... plus it just plain looks cool...IMHO

 

both oil temp and oil pressure are valuable gauges to have.

if only i could find a place to tap for oil pressure....

 

Yah, your right I tapped into the top of my oil filter to get oil pressure, the dealer wasn't happy about it, but then they're not happy about having to sell MINI's at a bmw dealership

 

bah, screw the dealer. i'm so sick of dealing with Classic, i dont even bother taking anything there anymore.

The tech is a d*ck too...

 

thank you all for your info... Of course, i'm still on the fence!

If i were to swap from the pressure gauge i have now to the temp, which one? Looking at summit's offerings of 2 1/16th Ultra-light Autometers, seems to be three options for temp gauges:

ATM-4347
$45.95
Product Line: Auto Meter Ultra-Lite Analog Gauges
Gauge Type: Oil temperature
Gauge Range: 100-250 degrees F
Diameter (in): 2 1/16
Sweep: 90 degree sweep
Sending Unit: Electrical

---

ATM-4348
$48.95
Product Line: Auto Meter Ultra-Lite Analog Gauges
Gauge Type: Oil temperature
Gauge Range: 140-300 degrees F
Diameter (in): 2 1/16
Sweep: 90 degree sweep
Sending Unit: Electrical

---

ATM-4341
$62.95
Product Line: Auto Meter Ultra-Lite Analog Gauges
Gauge Type: Oil temperature
Gauge Range: 140-280 degrees F
Diameter (in): 2 1/16
Sweep: Full sweep
Sending Unit: Mechanical

While i like the full sweep, i don't want to run oil into the cockpit, so the mechanical gauge is out i think.

So, that leaves us with the other 2...100-250°F or 140-300°F....which one?

Also, i found a good write up on tapping for pressure...where is the best place to tap for temp?

thanks!

-jac

 

Check out TonyB's posts for oil temp tap point (and big saga...) The OEM aux gauge uses a sensor in a replacement drain plug. Not sure about where the chrono pack pulls from.

 

mechanical temp. gauges do not send oil or water into the drivers compartment the way pressure gauges do. it uses a conection very simalar to your everyday type themometer. there are also devices that allow mech. pressure gauges to be used that do not allow hot fluid into the drivers compartment. check out autometers wb site for more info. it you purchase the minimadness oil cooler kit it comes ready to install both pressure and temp senders. i have the "factory" oil temp and volt. i like the gauges and read them reg, but find them hard to see in certain lights and unreadable on the track or on a serious twisties run.

 

If I had to choose one, I'd go with oil pressure versus oil temp. Like someone mentioned before, very few people know where oil temp should be, I know I don't, I imagine if you did quite a bit of research you could use oil temp to know if the oil is reaching temperatures that cause it's accellerated break down etc etc, you might be able to get decent information out of one, if you did the research to understand what different temperatures mean.

Oil pressure I find to be more useful, the idiot light for oil pressure usually comes on when the pressure is already so low that you are on the verge of damaging the motor, if not already damaging it. With the actual oil pressure gauge, you can see oil pressure dropping and know there is a problem before your motor is damaged from loss of oil pressure. I know often oil pressure decreases if the oil is a bit low, so you can know you need to add oil before there is an issue (this doesn't excuse you completely from checking the oil levels, but if you're forgetful like me, its a good back up), also and probably more importantly, you can catch your oil pressure dropping abnormally before it is actually to critical levels, giving you time to get to the side of the road before more serious damage to the motor is done.

So, thats why I'd choose oil pressure over temperature.

 

As was stated above......oil pressure is either on or off. Very rarely will you see oil pressure slowly go down. About the only thing that affects pressure is the oil pump failing. Unless of course you aren't watching the level or age of the oil. But then again you shouldn't be using a gauge to do that now should you ;<)

By being able to see the temp of the oil you can see when the engine has properly warmed up.

 

From my experience, oil pressure is not merely just on and off, although mostly there is the issue of the only real problems when there is no oil pressure, which is most often directly related to oil pump failures. I think of the oil pump as the heart of the motor, and by monitering oil pressure or in the analagy blood pressure, you can have some awareness of an impending fatal problem before it occurs. As the oil gets hot, it generally thins out and the pressure will drop a bit, hence you could get a general indication if the car is up to temperature by the oil pressure gauge.

I know the mini's water temperature gauge is on the lame side, but a good water temperature gauge is a pretty reliable indicator of if the motor is at proper operating temperature.