so i'm getting a turbo kit and going to buy a glow shift gauges 3gauge pillar pod...the kit i bought comes with the boost gauge and i was thinking air/fuel would be another essential gauge to get but what about the third gauge? is there another gauge that is essential or does it not matter as long as i have the other 2...if so then i might do a radar detector gauge made by whistler

 

AFR, Boost, Oil Pressure.

Done ^^

 

dude glowshift doesn't make wideband gauges so you will need to get one like the AEM UEGO gauge, as for the other gauge i'd get oil pressure.

 

x3 thats what i have uego boost oil presure

 

but they do
http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/tinte...tio-gauge.aspx or i digital
http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/Tinte...uel-Gauge.aspx

 

I wouldn't go with anything other than the AEM UEGO for a wideband. I love mine. I also run boost/vac, oil pressure, and exhaust gas temp gauges.

 

for afr gauge i recommend the innovate wideband, defi, aem or autometer..

 

i have a question:
is transmission temperature gauge necessary if tc is turbo in an auto transmission?

 

I use a innovate lc-1 for reading my af/r and just display it on my laptop, didnt bother with a gauge for it

 

For neccessary, what you need are gauges that tell you the turbo is still operating safely. As stated earlier, the critical ones are AF/R, boost and oil pressure. If they indicate a problem, you can hopefully shut down or at least let off the throttle before doing any permanent damage. They are needed because:

AF/R - if the AF/R goes too high, you'll be running too lean and cause detonation in the cylinder, damaging pistons. Also, the AF/R can be used for tuning.

Boost - if the wastegate fails, an overboost condition can occur, again either causing the engine to go too lean or creating too much cylinder pressure, leading to a blown head gasket, or possibly damaged pistons or rods.

Oil pressure - if oil pressure spikes, the oil line can be blocked, restricting oil flow to the turbo. Less oil means less lubrication and more heat build-up. Also, higher pressure could blow out oil seals in the turbo, damaging it. Low pressure means you have an oil leak, which is very bad if it gets on the hot exhaust manifold.

If you want to go gauge happy, there are others you can add. On the xB, we have no engine temp sensor, so I will be adding one as a fourth guage. Transmission temp can also be useful if you AutoX, do time attack or tow, basically anything strssing the transmission for long periods. Oil temp is another nice to have but not need to have.

You can go with Gloshift for the AF/R., but with UEGO's going for $20 more on eBay, why not spend the extra and get a known reliable product? I've had a glowshift boost and volt gauge, the volt gauge only lasted 6 months. The boost was not completely accurate, reading up to 10 psi on a Greddy supercharger that should go to 8 only.

Anyone know who to go to for the other gauges? I don't need digital or datalogging. mechanical is fine, but I would want a backlight.

 

Well pretty much coverd this thread.....

I have AEM Wideband, Autometer Boost, Autometer, Water Temp, Oil Pressure *Not hooked up yet*

 

So you've had good luck with Autometer? I've heard mixed reviews, but couldn't tell if it was just hatin from brand snobs.

 

so you guys got me convinced on the aem wideband...what is your opinions on the other two gauges going with glowshift for those? the turbo i'm buying comes with a glowshift boost/vac gauge

 

1st link is a narrowband, and the 2nd link is a wideband but glowshift isn't a reliable company if you want to actually know what is going on with your car, if they are more for looks/shows then go for it because they look nice lite up at night.

 

i have autometter boost/vac-volts-oil pressure and they have been working fine, i was SO close to getting a turbokit for my tC but last minute things forced me to not be able to buy it but i did hook up everything before and YES i have been running a boost/vac gauge without a turbo but am saving up again to purchase one. so far my volts is fine and well the boost/vac stays in vac the whole time unless i floor it and then it stays at 0 the whole time until i let go of the gas abit it drops back down to vac. my oil pressure gauge has been working fine as well without any problems and i actually hooked it up to the top of my motor and didn't use the oil filter sandwich adapter to mount it at the bottom, i have met Dan Gardner (Scion tC road race tC driver) and he took a look at my oil pressure gauge for me and said my readings where fine and how to know if i have a leak or am short on oil so it'll all good but i hate having that boost/vac gauge sitting there hopping for the day it hits boost to come.

 

whats the difference in narrow and wideband...also who do you recommend for gauges and i should still be able to use the glowshift piller pod correct? there piller pods are about half that of all the others i've seen and i don't see where that would make a big difference

 

I say your 3rd gauge should be EGT or Oil pressure gauge, it depends on you which one you prioritize.. EGT gauge can tell you how good your tune is, that at times the afr gauge cant tell.. oil pressure tells you if you have some oil leaks or if some reason it goes way above the usual pressure..

 

i have heard that fitment isn't good and remember, you pay for what you get and if you want to have good accurate readings for a force induction car then pay up good money because it will help you out from running into problems because you decided to go cheap with cheap brand gauges. plus you can throw another gauge like the EGT gauge in the cubby panel if you want.

 

ok good point...so look at autometer and aem gauges? who makes a good pillar pod for the tc?

 

defi makes awesome ones, not sure where your budget lays