i just ordered the autometer quad guage pillar, and i dont know what brand of guages to get.... i was looking at the autotecnique cuz i have the speedometer guage and it would match.... but what is a nice guage for a good price...... i wanted s/c boost, volt, oil temp, and exhaust temp.............thanks for ur help guys...............p

 

Uhh... volt gauge? Why? I take it you have a supercharger, so why not run boost, EGT, oil pressure, and water temperature? Volts really shouldn't be a concern, neither should oil temp.
As for gauges, I don't care for Autometer... the quality of their products doesn't do much for me... that goes for all the other ricey gauges that are out there... the ones that are like ten different colors. VDO are nice, but they look better in euro cars. Why not stick with something Japanese... Defi, Greddy, Blitz, HKS, or Apexi? All of them offer playback units like Defi does. The Defi gauges are awesome... pretty much the best you can get. Greddy are very nice, a little plain, but I run them in my VR4 and I love them. Blitz are decent enough... they have some that are very thin if you don't have much mounting depth. HKS changes their gauges like once a year... and Apexi has the indiglo-style illumination if that is your thing. With most Jap. gauges, you'll have to dremel out the pod a bit as they are 60mm for the most part... not 52mm.
For any gauge, stay away from mechanical oil pressure gauges. Can lead to a huge mess in the interior if the line breaks.

GL!

 

lol sorry but whats egt.... and do you have alink to the defi guages... they sounds great..... but the autometer is where i got my pillar from, i hate their guages also..... but let me know.......thanks dude that helps alot

 

Do a google search on "Auto Gauges" or "VDO Gauges". Lots of sources and info there.
Here is my setup.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v699/n...ent=Gauges.jpg

Walt

 

egt is Exhaust Gas Temperature

As far as guages goes I come from building many muscle cars and myself and my buddies all we ever used were Autometer. The muscle car I have, has Autometer Ultra Lites in it now and thats what I plan on putting in my box because I like the style of them over the other brand of guages out there.

 

In my Eclipse i have 10 autometer gauges (ultra lite series), and i would never run anything else. they look good, and i've never had any problems with them!

the gauges i have are ALL mechanicl and this is a list of them i've never had any issues with:

Speedo
tach
oil press.
boost
egt
water temp
oil temp
volt
fuel level
nitrious]

I bought a triple pod pillar for my XB from Summit along with autometer ultra lite series gauges (VOLTS- for stereo purposes, AIR PRESS- for air ride, WATER TEMP- Because the XB doesn't have one)

Why do you plan on running an EGT & boost gauge? the only reason you would need them is if you had a turbo or s/c! and like someone said.... i would use oil press. over oil temp. you won't have to monitor the temp.

 

Newt: that looks great man, good job on that.... and krazy: i am planning on supercharging my xb using the pe300 kit..... but i still have to figure out what type of gauges i want,.... and what is the difference on mechanical and electric.... i dont get the diff........

 

I'm partial to all things Japanese, especially when it comes to my vehicle. I don't do ricey bits, or cheapie wheels, or neon... but that is just me. I prefer running some brand of Japanese gauge because they pretty much all have a playback function. The Defis really shine here. The Greddys I run in my VR4 have a warning feature as well as a reply feature that shows the highest level they achieved. For me, that is perfect for when I drag race. I have enough to think about... setting up on the lights, stutterboxing, launching, shifting, etc... when I am done I can review my gauges and the info from my datalogger.
These features are just things you pay extra for. If money is tight, or you really just don't give a ____ and you want a gauge that has the ability to match your crazy neon, great! If you want some extra eye candy every time you turn on/off your car, check out the self-check feature of the Defis.
As far as mechanical gauges go, I'd be just a little too nervous about a pressurized oil line running inside my vehicle. Electric gauges have a sensor unit usally in the engine compartment. It gets the reading and sends it to the gauge. Mechanical runs a line straight to the gauge... either carrying air(boost gauge), or oil(temp/pressure). Take the precautions to make sure that line doesn't rub up against anything. And don't get one of those stupid Autometer A/F gauges. Spend your money on a hooker, some coke, a Hustler, scotch... anything but that gauge. It won't really tell you anything. Even if you have the ability to finetune your A/F mixture, it still won't do you much good.
GL! Remember, it doesn't matter what gauge you get... as long as you're happy with it that is all the counts. A full Defi setup is almost $900. Add a few more if you can't install it yourself. My Greddys were $300. And remember, most Japanese gauges are 60mm... so you get more viewable area. A 52mm gauge pod can usually be massaged to fit them.
Ignore the steering wheel... I now run a suede Momo unit. :D

 

In my past experience i have found the electrical gauges (Autometer) to be a little off. a mechanical gauge is dead on due to a direct line. but like Romanova said.... be VERY careful where you rout the lines for the mechanical gauge. make sure not to kink the line too.

And the A/F autometer gauge is a pile of ____. i wouldn't give $10 for one! WORTHLESS and UN NEEDED!!!

As far as play back on the Jap gauges.. thats an awesome feature! The Greddy, Apexi, and Defis are all bad ___ gauges. I wasn't concerned with play back from my gauges since I have a DSMLink in my Eclipse. I can datalogg a ton of ____, and with my Blitz boost controller, it has a 'peak' hold so i can go back and see how high my boost was on that run! I can change Fuel, timing, set my launch limiter, rev limiter, idle, and a whole lot more! as you can see, i really didn't need gauges with a memory.

As for the XB tho, if you plan on s/c it, i would deffinitly do a boost and egt gauge! the egt will help with tuning, and the boost gauge lets you know if you your boost level(which is a must), and the 3rd gauge is up to you, but i would do Oil Press. well.......wait a min. Does a s/c reguire an oi feed and return line like a t/c? i'm a Turbo junkie, not a superchager guru. My logical guess would be no, but theres some wierd ____ out in the world today!

 

Also remember, all Jap gauges are in metric. Be prepared to convert BAR to PSI, Celsius to Farinheight, etc.

 

I think must have gauges should be Water Temp, Oil Pressure & Voltage. At least that is what I am going to do in my box.

But if you are thinking of super charging your box then I would agree that you'd want a boost and EGT guage to help monitor and being able to tune it to your liking.

 

Anyone thinking of gauge packages that include an oil pressure might want to consider getting a 150 psi range gauge. I just installed gauges and my oil pressure is running over 100 when cold and even fully warm at over 1800 rpm is 85 to 95. At first I suspected the gauge but confirmed today with a manual gauge. Same reading. Also, checked the xb service manual and it said 55 to 80 OR HIGHER is normal at full temp and 3000 rpm!! That is some serious pressure.
What really disappoints me is I went to three dealesr here and none could tell me what the pressure is supposed to be. Some spouted out figures they obviously pulled from a hat, like "12psi" or "not over 35." The only half honest answer was "don't know but if you give me an hour I can find out."
Now I am in the hunt for another gauge!!!

Walt

 

oo i like the defi gauges, but i cant seem to find a dang definate site to order them from.... can anybody help me out with a link or someplace i can order these gauges.? thanks for all your help

 

oo i like the defi gauges, but i cant seem to find a dang definate site to order them from.... can anybody help me out with a link or someplace i can order these gauges.? thanks for all your help

 

check out the gauges in the Audioformz.com xB...those blue digital ones are CLEAN

 

Gruppe-S has them. www.gruppe-s.com I believe. Remember, you need the control box to run the gauges.

 

wow those blue ones are phat, but which would be better, mechanical or electric, which is more reliable and stuff........ but damn these gauges are all really expensive... i was thinking along the lines or like 50 bux for each gauge.... but anyways.... lol

 

i've got the autometer 4 gauge pod and i painted it. im running 4 air pressure gauges for my bags. here's a pic: all the gauges are mechanical air pressure from the autometer carbon fiber series:

 

Which paint did you use? Does it match the other pillar?

Walt

 

where did u order the pillar from? that looks nice