Any ideas on what types of gauges to buy?
I haven't a clue.

 

I have boost and a/f ratio, i suggest boost and oil pressure

 

The choice depends mainly on your preference. Since the MINI does not come with an oil pressure gauge or a (for MCS) boost gauge, many people (like me) add those first. Even though there is not much you can do with a boost gauge, it helps to show you any measurable gains you might get adding perfomance goodies to your car. If you have Navigation, adding a water temperature gauge is a wise choice, since having nav robs you of the temperature gauge, leaving you with only an idiot light. The MINI OEM gauge set adds oil temperature and volts.

 

Thanks for the ideas, now onto brand?
Like these: http://www.42draftdesigns.com/sw.htm

Or something else?

 

found some cool guages for the mini exact replica of the original clocks
but they are expensive
look in the 60mm warning section bottom of page
same face and backlight colour
http://www.greddy.com/

 

I second this question. However, I have an additional detail to ask. Can you explain how to read the gauge? Tell me what the acceptable range is and what to do if it goes outside of the acceptable range. Etc....

 

I like the boost guage I have, and the oil pressure gauge is nice too.

But at 14-15 max psi, the the boost gauge is the one I refer to constantly....on the right

 

DEFI brand. Boost, EGT, oil temp. The car already has a oil pressure sensor why add another one. Oil temp is a far better early warning than pressure. If you plan performance mods fuel pressure is another good. A/F gauges are worthless unless you go wide band such as a Lambda. Mostly depends if you want function or just to look cool.

 

Anyone know where is the factory oil temperature sensor located? Is it just on cars with the factory oil temp. guage?

Thanks,
Dave

 

Be careful with the Stewart Warner's. We've returned three due to manufacturer's defects and thus stopped carring the line.

 

I'm working on adding a boost gauge as I type. You can go to gallery - bahamabart to see the early phases.

What you see was done by purchasing 3 autometer parts - gauge, cup and extended mounting bracket. About $90.00 in parts. Mounting bracket had to be shaved.

Need to get a black screw and bolt to tiddy it up but I don't think it came out too bad. You guys like?

 

Thanks.

 

Lookin good

 

Here is some advise. Additional gauges are added to help monitor you Mini's vital systems. You do not want to skimp in this department. A cheap set of gauges that have questionable accuracy are worthless. No point in going to the trouble. A high quality set of gauges will be expensive. Autometer is a well known brand but that have many levels of quality. Be careful what you buy. The lower line of Autometer is complete junk. To me their top of the line stuff is marginal. VDO is another source that has a low line and a high line. Their higher end stuff is pretty good. After much testing and experimenting I opted for DEFI. Three gauges with a controller will run you about $700. I look at that as a small investment to help protect a big investment. My .02

 

Have you painted your ring around the speedometer black? I like that.

 

I would DEFINATELY go with a guage pod. I have the Range Line Pod with the Autometer (mechanical) guages. Got them at Webb Motorsports. One thing that Randy pointed out that I had not thought of is the use of the oil guage to tell when the car is warmed up completely. If you go by the H20 guage it will tell you the car is warm WELL before the oil reaches a stable state. A prett cool use for that.

Plus it is FUN FUN FUN to make the boost needle jump around in the twisties

 

When I was flying piston aircraft oil temp and pressure were vital. I love my boost gauge but it is mostly for my entertainment.

 

Well this does definately confirm my suspicions, with lack of postings about ranges and what to do, that people who buy gauges don't buy them to actually monitor and adjust from, but just to look pretty in their cars. This is so sad.

 

Gauges provide baseline information (what they read under normal circumstances) and warning information (when the reading is something other than what you have normally experienced). Each car, driver and climate is different, so stating hard and fast rules is not possible.

What is done with the warning from the gauges will also vary by driver and where he/she happens to be at the time the warning is given.

Case in point: the gas gauge. At what point do you fill up? Do you think that is the same for every person?

 

Baseline of what? Say for instance I put a oil pressure guage into my car that doesn't have the proper pressure. So now this bad reading is my "normal" or baseline reading?! Or I put a water temp guage into a overly hot running car. So when it initially reads 280 F under normal operating conditions, this is the normal or baseline and I'm supposed to accept it?!

I just don't BUY that philosophy!!

There has to be normal limits (high and low) for each of the various items that aftermarket guages can monitor.

 

Actually all the rings on my MCS are painted the graphite metallic color that matches the dash color. Factory option. That photo does make it look black though.
Here's a marginally better view.

 

I have to agree with kevinR about baseline. I've installed the Autometer's boost and oil pressure gauge and MINI's oil temp. I did this during my first month of ownership so I could get a good base line. I feel that accurate gauges are too expensive for my needs. I want to know when the car is not running in the "normal" range.
I know the boost needle sits at 11 under wot above 4000 rpm and reads about 23inmb at idle and that varies with engine temp.
The oil pressure at cold start up is 75, at idle when hot 13, and under full load about 70. My oil temp gauge is too far for me to read the numbers. I just watch the needle. These numbers may not be accurate enough to compare to another MINI.
If I were to race my mini or do research into enhancements I would need much better gauges and a base line. But I think a base line would have to be built around several cars in many situations.
Installing gauges for me is about understanding what is going on now and what has happened before.:smile:

 

How easy is it to hook up the boost gauge and run it into the cabin?

 

I currently have the following Autometer UltraLite gauges: Boost (30psi), Intake air temperature (IAT), Exhaust gas temperature (EGT), Oil pressure, Oil temperature, Water temperature; and a Defi Air/Fuel (narrow band).

My plan is to replace all of the above gauges with the Defi Link System, including Boost, EGT, Oil Pressure, Oil temperature, Water temperature, Fuel pressure, and another temperature gauge for IAT. The current A/F gauge will be replaced by a PLX (wide band oxygen sensor).

One of the main values for the gauges is to monitor change. Aside from functionality, a well-arranged gauge system does have eye appeal, at least for some of us :smile:. It's difficult to talk about "normal" values for each gauge, because they are a function of a variety of factors --- ambient temperature, length of time the engine has been running, type of oil, type of pulley, ECU setup, driving conditions, etc., etc. With that said, I have found my monitoring system to be helpful.

A few examples: When I changed from a 15% to a 19% pulley, my boost gauge only showed about 14.5 psi where I should have had about 17 psi. This was investigated and we found a defective by-pass valve. The water temperature gauge near the speedo is virtually worthless. It basically shows either no reading or halfway up the scale. My water temperature gauge shows me when I've hit 180-190 degrees F. With the a/c off and during heavy traffic conditions with very slow or stop-go traffic, the temperature may rise to 230 degrees F. When that happens, I turn on the a/c and the water temp then falls to under 200 degrees F. When the engine is cold, the oil pressure may be 40-50 psi, but as the oil warms up, the pressure may drop to 5-10 psi, especially if the engine is idling. Of course, that pressure rises as the revs increase. If I were at 4000 rpm and the oil pressure were 5 psi, I think I would be quite concerned. For oil temperature, I usually see 210-225 degrees F after the engine "warms up". On the track, I've seen 275 degrees F. IAT may rise to 130-140 degree F during idle/stop-go conditions, but once there is sustained speed, it's nice to see that temp drop to under 100 dgree F (occ. 80 degree F), with an ambient temperature of about 60-65 degree F. That cooler charge temperature should be good for performance. The EGT can be quite variable, but under increased load, e.g., fairly sustained 5-6000 rpm at the track, the temperature may rise to 1500-1600 deggree F. There have been times when the needle is buried at 1600 (gauge limit), perhaps suggesting a somewhat leaner a/f. The temperature has not forced me into the pits, but, assuming some accuracy in the measurement, I do get concerned. BTW, on the track I usually just see the shift light on the G-Tech Pro Competition meter. Individual gauges are only checked occasionally when on a fairly long straight-away. On the autox course, I don't see any gauges, because I'm working on looking ahead

It should be obvious that some of the parameters that are monitored (esp. A/F) can be very useful in tuning an engine, either by directly modifying the software or by using one of the piggy-back devices, e.g., the Apex'i S-AFCII or Select. Of course, direct software tuning would be best, but for some of us that can't be done .

 

Ahh, but if you followed eurekame's and KevinR's advice, the 14.5psi should have been your baseline and you wouldn't be the wiser that you had a defective by-pass valve...

BTW, thank you very much RECOOP for all of the handy information!!