I am going to buy new gauges for the wrx, I want to get an AFR, Boost, Engine temp, Trans temp, Volts, Oil pressure, and possibly an EGT... I would like to know what brands and types people have used and what they like and dont like. Also, I am thinking about getting a new radiator, but I am not sure of the best one to go with on that either! let me know what you all think...:biggrin:
For more than 2-3 gauges I prefer a digital screen output... like a camp2 or carputer. Too much christmas tree action otherwise... especially with the wideband. Engine temp as in water temp? I prefer oil temp especially on a daily driver. If going with traditional gauges, omori and maddad match the interior pretty damn well. I've had defi gauges that I've liked and installed stri and prosport gauges that seemed like a good bargain... didn't have to deal with them daily, so I can't comment on longevity. I liked my koyorad. Everything lined up perfectly, high fin density, and good warranty. I haven't seen anything wrong with mishimoto other than fitment and the cap. I was willing to pay a little more for the koyo tho.
Prosport gauges are a good bang for your buck. I have had them in a few of my cars, they look nice, are accurate and priced great.
I forget what Fuji has, but it shows everything you are asking for on one screen. I know that is what I am going to go with. EDIT: found it... http://www.maperformance.com/zeitronix-zt-2-lcd-wideband-boost-egt-display-package.html
I don't think I am gonna go with the one screen do-hiky... And as far as the AFR or EGT, there seem to be some nice wide band ones out there... I just don't know if I should go with prosport on all them or if maybe so are better than others!?
IMHO, more than three physical gauges gets to be way to many. Sheen's on the money with a carputor/camp for that type of display. With that said, I still really like my Maddad Ultra gauges. Probably the best out there if you want gauges that match the WRX cluster.
I've got the full package from Zeitronix. I wouldn't go any other way, personally. Besides the single screen for four inputs, the logging software is excellent and very useful. I haven't seen a setup that puts AFR, EGT, boost, RPM, throttle position, and a user input together in such a useful package, except for a standalone EMS. I still run a standard boost gauge since the needle swinging with boost is just neat to have, lol. Other gauges could include water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, etc.
what would be the best place to get the koyorad? And what about trans coolers, do any after market aluminum rads have them?
I'm going to disagree with you Bullwinkle on the CAMP, in my experience, and I'm sure Sheen will concur...that system is alot of money for stuff that can be just as easily and more budget mindedly done with standard gauges. My question is this, and I gave this bit of advice in the form of a question at Firestone last weekend, what problem do all those gauges solve? Do you absolutely need to monitor all of those things? IMO, you are just fine with boost, EGT and oil pressure. Those 3 things monitor your engine's vitals and give you instantaneous information about what your engine is doing. AFR means nothing without frame of reference. And a wideband really does nothing for you real time if it isn't being logged with all the other data to go along with it. Boost tells you the manifold pressure minus atmosphere being fed to the intake side of your engine. EGT tells you the temp of your exhaust gas. Excessive temps are a sure sign of detonation or lean running. Oil pressure tells you if your engine is going to crap out some bearings and make your engine take a crap. SO, again I ask the question, what problem does your car or its instrumentation have that the AFR gauge, be it wideband or narrow, solve for you? Were you driving down the freeway and absolutely had to know what the current AFR was at a set RPM and due to not having that information, something adverse happened? The AEM Uego is a great little piece of equipement, but it's not all that useful as something to sit there and monitor while driving. My personal suggestion is to get gauges that give you information and data that you can view quickly and is pertienent to your driving situation. And don't piss a bunch of money away on more gauges than you intend to actively monitor. For reference, I have a CAMP system, and 90% of the time, I don't even turn the damn thing on, because after 6 months of driving my car in its current configuration, I know what my EGTs are at set RPMs, and I only turn it on if I think something is running odd. The DTEC gives me my boost gauge, which I use more regularly, it's nice to know if I'm achieving boost in whatever gear I'm in and if I should downshift to get some more uphill oomph. Otherwise, I don't look at my peripheral gauges very often. I always see guys with like 6+ gauges all over their car, and I want to ask them what the hell they need all that for.
So my question would be, why are you replacing all the gauges that are already installed?? I will give ya the radiator. They are just to damn small. I would keep the tranny cooler that is already there, unless the tranny got messed up and you are spraying clutch material all over the place. Any aftermarket rad will not come with the tranny cooler built into it, and you really don't want to use the tranny cooler built into the rad anyways. You will start using the water to heat up the tranny fluid (ok when cold), but after a bit you won't be able to get the tranny or the water temps to drop. The tranny will make so much extra heat that the rad can't get rid of. And the problem will get worse as the air temps go up. Like you probably have already seen, good luck keeping the water temps below 200-210 when the outside temps get over 90. And don't get suckered into the 160 thermostat either. Waste of money and time. Russ
If you don't already have a screen, yes it can get spendy. I got mine at dealer cost and was willing to pay a premium to avoid a light show. At the end of the day I paid Defi money for 20-some gauges. I agree that if it's a mostly bolt-on car, adding half a dozen gauges isn't necessary. Even if it's a highly modified car, I'd only use the gauges as one way of monitoring.
You bet, the CAMP or a similar carputor system isn't going to be cheap, my point was simply that over about 3 physical gauges can get busy on the eyes, and will look more "clean" in a boxed digital system. The "need" for that many gauges is a whole 'nother discussion, and certainly something that the OP should think about before dropping a lot of cash on gauges he never uses. I would also second (third, fourth?) just going with a set of EGT, Boost, and Oil pressure gauges. I've got these three gauges and still the only one I really use on a daily basis it the oil pressure, as it tells me when the car is fully warmed up (idle PSI drops).
I've quite liked my STRI gauges so far. I have boost (which replaced an HKS one that failed), oil pressure and oil temp. The last two to me are the car's survival gauges, especially since it gets hot here.
I am replacing them because all the ones that I got in the car are all either not working or are on their way out... for one, the boost gauge I got in the car stopped working so i replaced it with what i had. which was a 20# max and just isnt high enough. second is that the water temp gauge jumps a bit.. Also the trans temp gauge has the back lights are all burnt out. On the EGT, the sender has crapped out and just spins between 3 and 6! and the 2 stage intake temp has a bad sensor too.... I think they are just old and need replacing. I like having all these gauges in my car for knowing how it is running... and things like the intake, engine, and trans temp are all things that are nice to be able to see when you want to... If I could find these same gauges i would probably just replace them with what is already in there...
Why don't you just replace the probs on the ones that need it?? EGT probes can be had for under $20 and the same with the air temp probes. That is the one nice thing about the autometer gauges, they do no require any special probes to work, just hit up westach and get the probes you need. IIRC the air temp system was close to $300 and you should be able to pick up a replacement probe for under $30 shipped. Russ
I will look into it.... But I still need to know where to buy that radiator... I don't really like eBay
koyo? Call around. Different vendors will be able to get you different deals. I think I got mine for 350 shipped from gruppe-s during a holiday sale. Koyo makes an auto trans version that has a bracket for the stock trans cooler. Anyone other than ScubaSteve will quickly figure out a way to ziptie the trans cooler onto the rad if you get the manual version without the cooler bracket.
What stock trans cooler are you talking about? The only stock trans cooler is built in the radiator, unless I got an odd one... But I will look into places to get them, I was just hoping maybe some one had a good personal experiance with a sertain place
stock cooler is built into the radiator and that is why you want to keep them apart. With the high stall converter, it will build enough heat to warrant a stand alone cooler. The b&m one I installed is the largest cooler they make. I would just go with the manual radiator and call it a day (that was my plan). Russ
