Ok, this is my first time ever possibly going supercharged. I've had 2 turboed cars be4, and now it's s/c time (cali resident). Now i got a few questions...

Do i NEED a boost gauge or is there even one for a supercharged car?
(my buddy has a functional one in his Cobra, but i don't really see the need since our s/c is belt/pulley driven for boost)

I'm gonna be getting an a/f ratio and oil temp gauge as well...any others that i NEED?
(please note the NEED part...i know there are others that i can get but i only want what is necessary)

What is the difference between electrical gauges and manual gauges...besides price?

Thanx ahead of time for any answers to my questions.

-Ty

 

Well you don't NEED any of those gauges.

But, a boost gauge, afr gauge, and oil psi gauge would be nice to let you know if/when something is not working correctly. They're available to provide information to the driver. The only gauge you really NEED in a car is a speedometer and fuel gauge, but everything else is there to help.

 

if i were you id switch the oil temp gauge with an oil pressure gauge just incase a seal goes and you dont notice right away

 

Ya, you don't need any of them, they are only a means to inform you of your cars vitals. Though if "you" have to have gauges, then id say... Boost, Air/Fuel, Oil Pressure are the most sensable.

 

what about the UEGO? would that be a good one to have? or is it the same as the A/F Ratio one?

 

awesome thanx, now can anyone tell me what the difference is between manual and electric gauges

 

www.autometer.com

 

thanx yamaha...so pretty much if i get the mechanical gauges...they work just as good, just powered...like a rolex? And these are 1/3 of the cost from the electric ones...i might be going mechanical. Thanx again everyone for your input and hope to be joinin the ranks with u all in the f/i area soon. Not gonna describe too much because of my fear of the scionlife curse!

 

you really don't need any additional gauges for the supercharger. turbos need additional gauges for monitoring purposes. because hot exhaust gases spool the turbo, you need to keep an eye on your egt's. because the supercharger develops boost in a purely linear manner directely related to the engines rpms, you can't overboost unless you misshift and send your rpms through the roof. and again since the supercharger is mechanically driven and only goes to 7 psi at redline, you don't need to really worry about your air fuel ratios.

putting gauges in for the supercharger is pretty much a waste of time and money, unless your going to start tinkering with it with a tune, and supercharger pullys and headers and intake and so on.

 

well the pulley is gonna be upped to a 9.5 psi pulley out of the box...still don't really need the boost gauge?

 

well, if you started tinkering with the pulleys like say smaller supercharger pulleys and larger crank pulleys to make more boost than 9.5 psi. it would be good to see how much more boost you would be making.

 

well some people would insist that they are less accurate, but i would honestly recommend the electric gauges over the mechanical ones. what would you rather have running into the the cabin for your boost gauge, and oil pressure gauge, a couple wires, or a hot oil line and vac line... just food for thought. chances are itd be fine... but could be messy if the line kinks/chaffes/breaks and starts spewing oil everywhere... especially if you dont catch i t right away.

 

if you got your mind set on it, just get the boost gauge (i plan on getting them aswell) since they are also cosmetic mods too

 

I thought, for example, the AEM boost gauge was mechanical sensor wise but digital display wise, so you get the best of both worlds. Accurate reading and accurate display.
I could be off on this one.
But yeah, I think a boost gauge is good for a SC because if your not reaching the full 9.5, you can tell somethings wrong, like your belt sllipping.

 

get electric gauges. the only mechanical gauge i recommend is a boost/vac gauge because its just air. as for oil pressure... do you really want to run an oil line into the interior of the car? spend the extra $$ and get electrical gauges. they arnt much more expensive then mechanical (depending on what you get).

 

i would also recommend at least a boost and a/f guage,boost guage to make sure your running the proper boost level(as stated above belt slipping)or if theres a problem with the bpv.and a good a/f guage not the cheap autometer one,again just to make sure your running your af's where you want them,theres alot of things that could go wrong with your fuel system,and you dont want to be boosting if there is one.if your planning on running a 9.5 pulley why not just get a wide band 02,cheap insurance if you ask me.

 

I myself have AEM Guages (Wideband A/F, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure)

The Wideband is for future tuning / and monitoring (I got the one that came with the Bosch sensor)

The Oil pressure is obviously for monitoring the pressure to be sure no big problems

The Oil temp is because I will be tweaking the coolant temp sensor just a little, and the Oil temp pretty much mirrors the coolant temp.

I got all AEM so that they'd all match