Maybe someone can provide some insight on this. Why does the CM lack gauges? Speedometer. Thats it. Two speedometers actually and one of them would make Flava Flave jealous. No water temp, no battery voltage, no boost gauge. Im new to this scene so I guess Im missing something.

 

Nope, that's the trend. They're even eliminating the dip stick. The trend assumes (common joke intended) that people only want vehicles they don't have to pay attention to so nanny computers are added. Don't worry though, when a warning light comes on you'll know something is wrong moments before it becomes fatal. I'm just glad I won't be around to see the day you get in, say where you want to go and sit back for a quick nap and it becomes illegal to physically operate a motor vehicle.

 

Wow. That is sad and infuriating to know. I also noticed I need an encyclopedia and trial and error to set my lights, locks etc. As we advance in technology, it seems we make things less user friendly.

 

Sorry for the rant, but it's getting worse. I'm currently infuriated by manufacturers encouraging drivers to drift off into la-la land in their current advertising scheme. And don't worry about traffic, we'll stop your car for you so you don't kill the family at the next stop light....as long as that fuse doesn't blow or nanny doesn't fry a processor.
Now, I'll quietly find something else to do.

 

Your good man. I feel the same. I have no patience for crappy drivers let alone distracted drivers. I saw a commercial the other day where people were driving, eyes closed singing at the top of their lungs having a great old time and the car beeped to let them know they crossed the center lane. The more crap they add to these cars, the less people actually have to know what they are doing. Hey, just get in, the car will tell you what to do.

 

Now-a-days...that's what Scan gauges are for. They can be a wealth of information. I have also installed a Boost and oil pressure gauge in my 2005 R52 S.

 

The boost gauge install seems simple enough and inexpensive. I thought of doing that.

 

I have a scan gauge2 on my 12 cms all4, mounted on a cravenspeed.com mount over the tach

currently showing oil temp over coolant temp (left) and oil press over boost (right)

also has many other options to show including volts

 

I like that. Thats all inclusive. I just remembered another question I had. What is the factory boost number? I haven't been able to find a definitive answer.

 

There's a lot of negative opinions up there ^^ about why these things are missing.

But be honest, when you're driving to and from work on any given day and the car is not giving you some bad sign of the apocalypse, do you care what the water temp, oil pressure, long term trim, intake air temperature, etc. really are as long as they're within a normal range?

You probably don't.

And if you do, you're probably modifying your car anyway and want to operate it outside of that normal range for fun. Which is fine. You can also install gauges or get a scangauge like bmwr606 did.

Not having to worry about various gauges and dials and indicators probably reduces maintenance calls and eliminates the need to rely on someone knowing how to interpret a gauge that isn't obvious. I suspect most non-car-enthusiasts would see an oil pressure gauge reading zero with no warning lights and ignore it. Better if the car simply tells you to pull the f*^& over and get service.

 

You make a pretty good point. To be honest, I can live without the gauges, but it just feels very weird not being able to monitor things. This is the first car I ever had that didnt have gauges so it does make me a little uneasy. Especially in FL where I have had multiple cars overheat.

 

And sure, I dont need a gauge to tell me my car has overheated, but one quick glance and I know immediately.

 

max boost seems to be temperature dependant ...

on a very hot day, over 100F, I have seen 14.2 max
on a very cold day, below 0F, I have seen a max of 12.6

a tune will increase the numbers, I have a milltek downpipe back exhaust and a DOS intake but still stock tune

 

the boost is probably adjusted because of the air density on cold days. you can fit more oxygen into cold air at a given pressure.

Of course I'm not anti-gauge at all. My miata had a pretty typical layout but I still added a few more: boost, oil pressure, EGT, water temp... helpful since I did a lot of my own tuning.

 

I like the idea of the scangauge thing, but I prefer real mechanical gauges. Then again, if you're reading off the ECU, that's what is making the programming decisions I guess.