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What brand of gauges should I get?

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Old May 12, 2004, 07:58 AM
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Question What brand of gauges should I get?

What brand of gauges should I get? I am getting a boost, oil pressure, and fuel pressure. Which is the best. I was told Autometer is not accurate. Is that true?
Old May 12, 2004, 08:15 AM
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I had an Autometer mechanical boost gauge and was not impressed. It was very slow to respond, though I cannot say that it was not accurate. Since then, I've moved up to a Defi electronic boost gauge and the differences are like night and day.

1. The Defi gauge is much quicker to respond. I can barely touch my the gas pedal and the needle moves in response. By comparison, my Autometer boost gauge was very slow to respond. The Defi gauges seem much more sensitive.
2. The Defi gauge records (i think it's up to 30 seconds), can warn you, for example, if boost goes too high and can tell you the highest boost you've hit.
3. Defi gauges will probably me much more expensive than an Autometer gauge. I paid 60$ for an Autometer boost gauge and 300$ for a Defi boost gauge and the control unit.
Old May 12, 2004, 08:17 AM
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i use all autometer ultra-lite gauges, my point is, if they good enough to use in professional cars (nascar) then they're good enough for my car. I haven't had any real issues with them
Old May 12, 2004, 08:18 AM
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Spa Technique
Old May 12, 2004, 08:23 AM
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Thats what I am thinking. If they are not good, why do racers use them? Cause they get sponsored? So Defi is the best? What about HKS?
Originally Posted by nastea
i use all autometer ultra-lite gauges, my point is, if they good enough to use in professional cars (nascar) then they're good enough for my car. I haven't had any real issues with them
Old May 12, 2004, 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by speedomodel
Yeah, I love my SPA gauges



6 gauges in the space of 3, gotta love it.
Old May 12, 2004, 09:50 AM
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defi boost gauge has two types... the BF and D series... BF is slightly bigger, requires a control unit but has memory feature as well as being more digital, AND its easier to hookup. D series is cheaper, will blend in with the orange OEM dash colors, works just as nicely as BF gauges but requires more wiring because no control unit...
Old May 12, 2004, 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by JVBEvo5
What brand of gauges should I get? I am getting a boost, oil pressure, and fuel pressure. Which is the best.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I've always had a thing for VDO gauges. Guess I'm still a BMW guy at heart! Plus, you can get them in metric as an option. I don't know about you guys, but I still think of temp in terms of Celcius and pressure in terms of bar.

I just ordered a set of three gauges (Boost, Oil Temp, and Oil Pressure) from 42 Draft Designs . I know that they're VW guys, but we worked together and they've put together a nice kit for the Evo including all senders and adaptors and everything plus a guage panel and both red and ice-blue LED lights (to match both the center panel and gauge cluster...your choice). Total cost was about $200.

Emre
Old May 12, 2004, 10:06 AM
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i am running dakota digital gauges. So far so good, quick response, easy to read and has warning settings on boost and such.
Old May 12, 2004, 10:06 AM
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Is Defi the only one I should get? Any compliants about the VDO?
Old May 12, 2004, 11:00 AM
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Be careful about which VDO gauges you get. Make sure they're electrical and not mechanical. With a mechanical oil pressure gauge, you have to run an oil line into the car, which I don't like, as it has a potential to get messy.

I'm partial to my SPA's.
Old May 12, 2004, 01:34 PM
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I run a regular AutoMeter Sport Comp series mechanical boost gauge. And I gotta say, it seems OK for me. The price is definately right ( I think I paid like $50 ), and it seems to be fairly accurate.

I've also heard very good things about Omori, Vishnu sells them. You could try their site. The Omori have color adjustments, which is nice.
Old May 12, 2004, 02:10 PM
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Omori for me...
Old May 12, 2004, 02:12 PM
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I believe Omori is actually exiting the US market as we speak.
Old May 12, 2004, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by jansolo
I believe Omori is actually exiting the US market as we speak.

Vishnu is one of the only US dealers left I believe.

If I had the money, I'd get that Defi Concept HUD system. That is P I M P.
http://www.defi-shop.com/product/con...ncept_top.html


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