A few quick questions to all those that have installed it before:

1) Did you need to purchase anything else to get it to work?

2) Does it come with a boost gauge that only goes up to 15psi?

I have a 15% pulley, K&N CAI, and UUC exhaust and I think I saw a post from Jason @ Promini that said that 15% pulleys should show 16-16.5psi of boost...But then I also read that getting a free flowing exhaust would reduce the boost.......

3) Can you rotate the gauge faces?

4) What size are the gauges?

5) How long have you had it and are you happy with it?

Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

 

1) Did you need to purchase anything else to get it to work?

I needed a vacuum tee and a couple bits of hose and nylon line adaptors. I had these laying around the garage, and I think they were simply omitted from the packaging by mistake. It wasnt an issue for me.

2) Does it come with a boost gauge that only goes up to 15psi?
I have a 15% pulley, K&N CAI, and UUC exhaust and I think I saw a post from Jason @ Promini that said that 15% pulleys should show 16-16.5psi of boost...But then I also read that getting a free flowing exhaust would reduce the boost.......

The gauge goes to 30psi.
I saw about a half psi reduction in boost after installing a Milltek exhaust. This is normal and does not constitute a reduction in performance. In fact, it's a more efficient use of boost. You are no longer pushing against exhaust pressure that would not leave the cylinder because of higher backpressure.

3) Can you rotate the gauge faces?

Yes. The pods also pivot up and down as well.

4) What size are the gauges?

2 1/16".

5) How long have you had it and are you happy with it?

About a year and a half now, and it's been problem free since the installation. Very happy.

 

Thanks for the info Greatbear!


I'll be sure to post details of my install experience....

 

Greatbear.......I'm headed down to Helix this Sat...will be installing the gauges there (myself, accompanying a fellow motorer his upgrades)......And Eric tells me that it is a royal PITA to install.

How was your experience?

Is the oil pressure gauge connected via an electrical interface? I.e. you don't need to tap into any physical lines, do you??

And did you have any trouble taking off the intercooler and putting it back on?

Thanks!

 

I just got my gauges today and the boost gauge only goes to 15psi.


Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's a custom wiring harness so i don't even think I can switch it out for one that goes to 30psi.

 

LotF, I would think that Promini screwed up. My gauge set (and all the ones I seen/heard of) go from 30 inches Hg vacuum to 30 psi boost. Auto Meter makes two electric full-sweep gauges in that series, the 4376 (15psi) and the 4377 (30psi). Promini evidently has a deal with Auto Meter to silkscreen the Promini logo on the gauge faces, but otherwise, both gauges are from the Auto Meter Ultra-Lite series of similar appearing gauges.

Unlike a mechanical gauge, the boost gauge is a full-sweep electronic gauge that uses a gauge sender. The wiring would be identical between both gauges, but you'd probably need a matching gauge and sender set to change the range. Thing is, the gauge set itself is 200 bucks. At least the swap is only a matter of unplugging the gauge and the sender and swapping them with new ones.

It makes no sense to include such a low-range gauge in the kit, seeing that stock pressure pushes 11psi and the typical 15% pulley upgrade gets 15-16 with the 19% pushing over 18psi in some cases. Being that people getting the gauge kit are also modifying their boost, a 15psi gauge will be off scale with some of the most basic mods.

I would contact Promini and give them hell, or at least find out what their reasoning is. And don't let "well, Auto Meter logo'd a shipment of 15s instead of 30s" be the answer. Get the 30 psi gauge if youi plan on going anything over stock or a mild 15% setup. The Promini site does not list the gauge range, nor does it offer an option. In the past, they were all 30psi.

The PITA part of the install is mostly dealing with the oil pressure sender. It's tight quarters work on the back of the engine, under the oil filter. My big paws had to be crammed into the space. The rest of it, from running the wires and vac lines, is no big deal, though the intercooler needs to come out for the vacuum/boost line to be connected, though that's not too bad either. It's nice that the wiring harness is preassembled and tubed, it makes poking it through the grommet into the engine compartment a lot easier, and the install looks practically factory.

 

Thanks for the response. To be fair, however, I must admit I did not purchase these directly from Promini. I got them on Ebay from someone who sold their Mini and did not have a chance to install (it is brand new).

If you look at this picture taken from Promini's site, you'll see it is in fact the 15psi version of the boost gauge!



So I have the UUC catback, K&N Typhoon CAI, and the 15% pulley.

Spoke to Eric @ Helix and he said that I should probably be ok.......

Problem is, if I ever upgrade to 17% or 19% (not likely but possible ), I'd have to change it out......

Hm....

 

And btw, I don't have any Promini logos anywhere on anything.

 

I wonder if you got an early version of the kit?

Here is a pic of mine, it's kinda tough to make out the details, but it does go to 30psi, and the gauges have the logos:


Does your kit come with a large adaptor, a 1/8npt 45 degree elbow and three small 1/8 pipe plugs to mount the oil sender, or does it require you to drill and tap the oil filter housing to install the gauge sender for oil pressure?

 

I have like a "in-the-middle" version of the gauge!

Luckily, I do NOT have to tap into the oil filter housing. Yes, I have the 45 degree elbow adapter and the three pipe plugs....However, they originally made the kit with the 15psi gauge since stock was only 11.5.

One additional question:

Do I have to drain the oil in order to install the oil pressure sensor? Or should I just let the car sit/cool down and let gravity do it wonders?

Also, there's an adapter attached to the oil pressure sendor that goes from 1/8 to 3/8 (?) - and I'm not sure where that comes into play since the 45 degree adapter is 1/8.

Lastly, would it be possible to scan in your version of the instructions? I have a somewhat updated kit with old instructions! Grrrrr.

Thanks for your help......I really appreciate it.

 

Ok I installed everything on Saturday. It was a great learning experience and I am going to write it all up with pics.

It was real easy btw to access the stock oil pressure sensor - from everything I had read I thought it would be the hardest part...but it wasn't...with the right $1.95 tools.

Write up to follow. Thanks for all the info Greatbear...Was very helpful......

 

While I do not have the promini - I installed a 15lbs boost guage. I have the 15 pulley, 1 ball exhaust and CAI - and I spool up to just under 15lbs. I was told that a 15 pulley would take me to 14.5lbs. You should be okay with the gauge. On the upside, you will get max gauge action with a 15 over 30lbs gauge.

My needle is all over that dial

 

I have had mine installed now for about two years and it's great. My boost gauge goes to 30 and the kit came with the 'T' junction as well. The gauges are also marekd with the Promini logo too

 

So I was going to do a whole write up, but I felt the write up already done on the mechanical oil pressure gauge was sufficient.

What I will add is the following:

It is *NOT* hard to access the stock oil pressure sensor.

First thing you need to do is buy the following:

1/2" universal joint which is simply an extension (female to male) that pivots. I also bought the mandatory 1 1/16" deep socket (ended up buying a set only to see a single 27MM at Autozone a few days later!!!)

I also bought a Husky 1/2" socket with a shorter rubber handle than what I already had....

Next you just take off the heat shield. It's held in by two bolts (14mm I think) and it takes a about 30 seconds of wiggling to get it out but don't worry, it will come out.

Once that piece is out the best piece of advice I can give you is to a) do this mod when you car is cold and b) if it isn't, get yourself a nice box fan. I drove from Helix to Silver02CooperS's house in south Jersey and the engine was boiling by the time we got there. Place the fan on to of the fan pointed towards the headers and in 30 minutes it will be cold to the touch! And that was when it was like 90 degrees out! This fan will also be super useful in case you take a test drive and find a leak and have to work on the car again quickly.....

Once I had all threee pieces getting to the oil pressure sensor was a snap.

One note on the red tab that needs to be slid over- you have to PULL it, NOT PUSH it. I just used a pair of needle nose pliers and it popped right up. Then I pushed the tab and pulled the lime green clip right off.

The stock oil pressure sensor isn't even tightened in that much. Just a slight turn and I was able to back it out in a jiffy.

I took my time doing the boost gauge - I think it too me 2 hours. Tapping into the fuel regulator line was pretty easy - just taped up a pair of angled needle nose pliers (to prevent it from ripping the extension tube which I did the first time!) after taking the intercooler off.

By the way the intercooler had ZERO oil in it. After 21K+ miles, I think that's enough evidence to say that one doesn't really need an oil catch can.

I didn't have a stick/wire hanger to push the wiring from the map sensor through the firewall so we ended up just sliding the grommet off to the side slightly and pushing the wire through... I will be fixing this up this weekend.

A word about the GREY WIRE WITH THE RED STRIPE that you need to tap into for power for the backlighting. Took me and my friends a while to find the right wire. I found the first one but when I had spoken to Promini the tech said there were two wires and that I had to tap into it with a test light/volt meter to see which one was correct. Well, turned out we had the wrong wire since I had no juice going to it when I checked it with my volt meter. Buried deep inside the bundle of wires above the fuse box were two grey wires with red stripes. Tapped into the first one and VOILA! There was light.

Another note - when using the brass male to female extension peice with the tree allen bolts, make sure you tape up everything with teflon tape and plug all three holes. I initially only plugged two of them in thinking I had tightened the brass piece enough - but I didn't - and kept going around in circles.....until I realized it would much easier to plug all the holes, tighten them all in, and then back the one you don't need out.

If anyone has any other questions, please let me know.

Here are some pics:

Stock oil pressure sensor:



Box fan at work:




Map sensor (note: I moved this lower since the wire that attaches to the oil pressure sensor is real short!)


Mikey's wife's new 2005 MC and Uptick:



Intercooler with ZERO oil:



intercooler off:



1 1/16" deep socket attached to the WRONG 1/2" drive socket wrench and without the universal joint!






Gauges installed:



Uptick installing Mikey's upper aero grill:



Mikey working on dremmeling his lower aero grill:

 

LordoftheFlies - Thanks for the photos and the tips. Where is this other post you refer to, about installing the mechanical oil pressure gauge?

Would you recommend the Promini gauges? They look very appealing to me because of the OEM look and what they advertise as "plug and play." However, based on the posts here on NAM, I am wondering if "plug and play" is a little misleading. Can you comment on this?

Does the lighting match the OEM orange-ish gauge lighting? Are the needles lit as well? Thanks in advance...

 

matma92ser I have the Promini gauges as well. I think the gauges are great and they come with everything you need to install. They even have a gauge pod to fit a car with the Chrono Pack or Navi (which is why I bought them. I have the Navi). I think they look very stock like. I'm not to sure about being "plug and play (PnP)". They require running wire through the firewall's grommet, changing out the stock oil pressure sender and mouting (very easily) a boost gauge sender inside the engine compartment. Not something a person with general knowledge of under the bonnet knowledge can't achieve.

Lighting - They are very close to stock but the needles are not lit. When you wire them in their brightness will adjust with the enother gauges through the dash adjustment button.

I hope that helps.

 

My backlighting works when adjusting all the light's brightness, but the ProMini gages seem dimmer than than everything else. Have I done something wrong?

 

No, mine are not as bright as the stock gauges they are very close.

Thats why I said:
" Lighting - They are very close to stock but the needles are not lit."

 

I just finished installing a boost gauge on my stock '04MCS. What should I expect to see on the gauge and when.
When I accelerate I get 8-10 pounds of boost but after I reach a set speed, say 60 mph, I actually see a vacuum of about 10 inches.
Please, someone with experience with boost gauge readouts, give me a set of parameters and expected readings. I am totally confused.

I also installed an Oil pressure gauge and someone, I forget, provided a list of values versus engine load and temps, etc.

Help!!!
hogtrader

 

Do a search for "boost gauge" and you should find plenty of threads on the topic.

I would recommend them, especially since they make a version for NAV users (which I am not). Their "plug-and-play" feature isa bit misleading. While it certainly looks cool, all it does is save you a few minutes of crimping and splicing. I'm not complaining - anything to reduce the install time is great - but the install is definitely not so easy, unfortunately. You still have to crimp some ring terminals to your grounds (to facilitate your install), for example, among other things too.

If you have never done anything to your car, this may not be the ideal "first mod". You should come prepared with all kinds of tools and extra bits and pieces (i.e. electrical tape, 27mm deep well socket, teflon tape, box fan, etc.).

As was posted above the needles are not lit. I upgraded my bulbs to RED led's from autometer.....they don't match the stock color very well but they illuminate the gauges much better than the standard bulbs that came with the kit. The Autometer "amber" LED bulb showed up as YELLOW....so I figured red was a closer match than that!

Good luck with the install. Too bad you are in SF....If you were on the East Coast I'd offer to help.....

 

Stock Psi is 10.8 I believe. You have to floor it to get your max psi (WOT).

After reaching a set speed, it is normal for you to show vacuum...unless you are going up a hill in which case the boost might kick in depending on how fast you are travelling and the grade of the incline.

Oil pressure - when you start up cold it should read >50.

At idle after warming up it should be around 12.5.

If you stomp on the gas you'll see your pressure go up ~50 or so.

Just make sure you installed it nice and clean and check for oil leaks after the car has cooled.

 

mdsbrain and lordoftheflies - thanks for the replies. Very helpful. Two things I liked about this kit are now crossed off: OEM look (because of the unlit needles) and plug 'n play claim. I might just end up purchasing the Alta pod and some gauges that do have lit needles. Sounds like the install would be pretty much the same amount of work.

Where does the mechanical oil pressure get it's signal from?

 

You put a part in between the engine block and the electrical sending unit that is on the car as "stock".
If you look behind the ignition coil and to the left (from the front of the car), you'll see a little green electrical connector down there towards the bottom of the engine (really the back side of the engine). That's where you've got to go.

 

FYI the promini gauge setup comes with a very nice adapter for the oil pressure. I'm not sure that other kits will have this "T" adapter....