Additional gauges? Needed or bling?

[raymo19]

Now that everything has finally come together with the FI upgrade and the clutch replacement it occurs to me I may need to consider additional gauges to monitor what's going on with the engine. Given the following:

Comptech SC/AC with AP2 pulley
RC 550cc injectors
AEM EMS - 1052
Modifry temp gauge fix
< 300 whp

What gauges (if any) should I be looking to add?

The coolant temperature seems to be well taken care of with the Modifry gadget. This time of year I'm mostly between 160-190 (3 to 4 bars) and don't anticipate a great deal of change in warm weather (4 to occasional 5).

But I've always felt an oil pressure gauge would be nice. And now an AF gauge might be comforting.

Any recommendations for gauges to add and where to place them? Or just trust that the tune will take care of me?:confused:

[donutdanny]

Don't really know exactly about the S but on my Vette I've got a fuel pressure and a boost gauge. Of course the Vette gives a little more info on the DIC than the S so that is about all I need to monitor. Good luck.

[ninja]

oil pressure and oil temp might be good to have, just as extra info.

[gomarlins3]

I have an AEM wide band for the A/F and a boost guage. More for peace of mind than anything else.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/gomarlins3/Guages.jpg

[repiv]

I have the following: Oil pressure, Boost, Air/fuel and I have an ECU display that puts out coolant temp and intake air temp.
Oil pressure is nice because the dash light tells you when the situation becomes too late. An oil pressure will tell you if something is wrong is you know how to read it.
Boost is also nice so that you can be comforted in the knowledge that your supercharger is working OK and the belt tension is fine. It's a nice way to know when you have developed a leak or if your belt needs to replaced or needs to be tightened.
A/F gives you comfort in knowing that your engine is running safely when it counts the most.
I have the SOS pillar pod that holds 2 guages and the 3rd is held in it's own shell and is attached to the dash right beside the pillar pod.
The ECU display of coolant temp and IAT was a "toy" but it has shown me the characteristic way that the intake air fluctuates up and down depending on the driving circumstances. The ECU display is mounted on a Panavise mount.
It looks something like, but the 4th gauge is gone now.
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=94475
The ECU display:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=253294

I have the UEGO wideband A/F gauge but I was getting by just fine with the Autometer narrow band before. I just wanted the wide band to confirm what the narrow band was already telling me. Besides, I was in a spending mood at the time.

BTW, can you tell me about the Modifry coolant temp thing?

[desmo4]

SPA makes the nicest gauges I have seen. All electronic and microprocessor controlled and completely programmable. And 2 gauges in each case. So less space for more information.

Jonathan

[raymo19]

Thanks for the replies and pictures. I guess now I need to research my options and decide which gauges and where best to mount them. I'm thinking AF, boost, and oil pressure are the likely candidates.

GoMarlins I like the looks of those. Where did you get them if you don't mind me asking?

Dave, here's a link to Modifry's site on the ECT module. Basically it allows you to change the temperature at which the bars light up to more useable values. I got it because the AEM doesn't operate the temp gauge. It seems very accurate so far.

http://modifry.com/products/ect/ap1.htm

[fltsfshr]

I run boost and fuel. I use fuel on startup and boost just to check the belt tension.
I have modifry's temp fix. It works pretty well.

If I was doing the whole thing over as good gauges are expensive, I think I'd pick up a little mini notebook and use the dash display inherent in the aem.
I'd probably put in on a folding mount so it paralleled the side of the console when not in use.

fltsfshr

[need4speed]

Hey REPIV, Your garage looks as bad as mine..............................

[blownS]

If ur limited to 2, oil press and boost would get my vote. A/F and water temp are also important IMO, esp if ur turbo.

[desmo4]

SPA Gauges
They also have 2 color illumination choices

http://forums.s2kca.com/photopost/data/500/medium/spa_GAUGES.JPG

Science of Speed A-pillar mount is much cleaner installation than Autometer. I had both

Jonathan

[gomarlins3]

GoMarlins I like the looks of those. Where did you get them if you don't mind me asking?


The guy I take my car to bought it all and installed it, Ijust pay for it. The pod is from Autometer and he said it was the most expensive guage pod he had ever seen for a Honda. For the two guages, shipping, and the pod it was $450. Not cheap, but Ilike them.

[2NR Werks]

Take all the gauges out of your dash including Speedo, tach and fuel gauge!
On a boosted applications THE MOST IMPORTANT gauge is the wideband! We live or die by it. Under boost this tells if your motor is running correct. This will keep the motor safe if your tuner knows what he is doing. We also tune our customers cars for maximum performance and also gain them gas milage at crusing speeds by using the wideband. One customer is over 350whp and is getting 29 mpg on the highway.

SPA gauges give you the most bang for the minimal real estate in the A-Pillar and are one of the best gauges we have installed and operated. Serious boosted engines need to be running good products to protect your investment.

[MugenRioS2k]

Go all out it never hurts to have more info than you need if you know what you are looking at


http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=347318

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=347321

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=347320

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=viewimage&img=347319

[repiv]

Hey REPIV, Your garage looks as bad as mine..............................

It's well used.:pineapple:

[timg]

Personally, I don't run any gauges in my S2000. I wanted it to look as stock as possible. I do log data every few months though just to make sure everything's still in good condition.

On my Monte Carlo, I have an AEM wideband O2, AEM boost controller (the picture is of my old Autometer boost gauge- the new AEM one matches the AEM wideband), and OBD2 gauge.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/12/web/2148000-2148999/2148595_31_full.jpg

Tim

[Jerome]

raymo 19, I have purchased Dyno Tune (dynotunenitrous.com) guages for my '02 Comptech S/C & I/C S2000. I had the supercharger and aftercooler installed last November and have been very pleased with the 290 rwhp. I looked around at what was on the market for boost, air/fuel (wideband), and fuel pressure guages. I decided against an A-pillar mount kit because they make the A-pillar fatter thus limit forward field of vision slightly. The guage cluster that is available that fits on the radio cover door costs too much and is not in driver's usual forward field of vision.
I selected the Dyno Tune: LC-1 Wideband Air/Fuel Ragio Guage--Square Display and the Square Digital Boost Pressure Guage (can order these with red or green LCD displays, size: W=2.12" D=0.6" H=1.37"). These small (black/key chain remote size) digital meter display units will fit end-to-end (using Velcro) on the S2000 dash top between the A-pillar and the hump for the tachometer. The boost pressure guage when used with an optional selector switch can display boost pressure or fuel pressure (requires extra fuel pressure sending unit and wiring harness). The two display units can do the job of three guages. The fittings for the fuel and boost pressure sending units are male 1/8" NPT. To tap into the fuel line just before the Comptect banjo fitting, you can order from Dyno Tune a two hole guage adaptor 4 or 6AN blue swivel with male and female on opposite ends (comes with one hole plug). The Air/Fuel guage requires the welding of a bung (for wideband OX sensor) on the head pipe just before the cat. I just had the bung welded on the head pipe (kit includes a bung plug) and will have the guages installed next week when my Honda tech gets back from vacation. Dyno Tune claims the fuel and boost pressure guages have resolution down to 0.1 psi and are direct sunlight viewable. I will post on this thread how the guages perform.

Jerome

[raymo19]

Well it took about a year but I've come up with a solution that works for me.

http://forums.s2kca.com/photopost/data/523/medium/dr1.jpg

http://forums.s2kca.com/photopost/data/523/medium/dr2.jpg

It's an autometer pod with a third gauge fabricated in. Visibility is no problem and the information, while not really necessary, is quite comforting.

[repiv]

Raymo, that's looks terrific. You must tell us the details.

[Seattle2k]

I agree. Was the 3rd pod fiberglassed on?

[Slambo]

Get PLX devices,
http://www.plxdevices.com/products/dm100/

And this Sandwich plate, this plate has NPT tapped holes, for the sensors, just make sure its tight. :thumbup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OIL-FILTER-SANDWICH-ADAPTER-00-06-HONDA-S2000_W0QQitemZ350058368513QQihZ022QQcategoryZ1493 2QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

You can read 4 functions from one Gauge all at the same time :)

[repiv]

Get PLX devices,
http://www.plxdevices.com/products/dm100/

And this Sandwich plate, this plate has NPT tapped holes, for the sensors, just make sure its tight. :thumbup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OIL-FILTER-SANDWICH-ADAPTER-00-06-HONDA-S2000_W0QQitemZ350058368513QQihZ022QQcategoryZ1493 2QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

You can read 4 functions from one Gauge all at the same time :)
I'm not about to throw away the gauges I've got or even sell them for next to nothing. They work just fine and I'd like to just find a better way to mount them. Raymo just showed a better way.

[Slambo]

These are some pix of the Modules;

There web pages doesnt really give a good idea of there size.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/Slambog/IMG_1408.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/Slambog/IMG_1395.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/Slambog/IMG_1394.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/Slambog/IMG_1406.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd30/Slambog/IMG_1401.jpg

[Filthy's s2k]

^^^^ How do those work, is the install easy ?

[Slambo]

Ill post pic when Im done, for the most part it looks like plug and pray :p

[raymo19]

Raymo, that's looks terrific. You must tell us the details.

Thanks Dave. I'm very pleased with the results; it almost looks stock - at least to me.

Seattle2K - very perceptive - it is indeed fiberglass.

Now for the story.

Back in January I decided to upgrade to a 9 lb. pulley so while I was at the speed shop the owner and I got to talking about the lack of gauges in the S and brainstormed about different places to mount them. I mentioned that it would be nice to offset a third gauge on the 2 gauge A pillar pod. He called his fabrication guy and in about a week it was done.

The downside is I had to buy two pods to get the third gauge. As of now it's a one of a kind but if there is enough interest I'm sure more could be made. It should be possible to build 2 from three original pods.

Folks can post here or PM me if you're interested.

[Jano]

Get PLX devices,
http://www.plxdevices.com/products/dm100/

And this Sandwich plate, this plate has NPT tapped holes, for the sensors, just make sure its tight. :thumbup:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OIL-FILTER-SANDWICH-ADAPTER-00-06-HONDA-S2000_W0QQitemZ350058368513QQihZ022QQcategoryZ1493 2QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

You can read 4 functions from one Gauge all at the same time :)

Thanks for the picts, the demo on their site looks interesting.

I would have 2 concerns though. First - I bought a ProSport boost gauge (Defi on the cheap!) and while it is actually very accurate, looks great at night, is fine in the evening and early morning, it's almost unreadable during the day in bright sun. I would worry that any display-type gauge would get washed out in bright sun with the top down.

Second, I'm not sure why those boxes need to be that big for each sensor? It only really becomes cost-effective if you utilized the single display for at least 2, preferable 3 or 4 gauges. I guess they could be trunk mounted?

[Jano]

Well it took about a year but I've come up with a solution that works for me.
It's an autometer pod with a third gauge fabricated in. Visibility is no problem and the information, while not really necessary, is quite comforting.


Very nicely done BTW. Much better than dash mounting the 3rd gauge. Looks like you did a great job preserving the original color and texture of the pod. :thumbup:

[Scott Howard]

Now that everything has finally come together with the FI upgrade and the clutch replacement it occurs to me I may need to consider additional gauges to monitor what's going on with the engine. Given the following:

Comptech SC/AC with AP2 pulley
RC 550cc injectors
AEM EMS - 1052
Modifry temp gauge fix
< 300 whp

What gauges (if any) should I be looking to add?

The coolant temperature seems to be well taken care of with the Modifry gadget. This time of year I'm mostly between 160-190 (3 to 4 bars) and don't anticipate a great deal of change in warm weather (4 to occasional 5).

But I've always felt an oil pressure gauge would be nice. And now an AF gauge might be comforting.

Any recommendations for gauges to add and where to place them? Or just trust that the tune will take care of me?:confused:

I'm in the same position, I'm probably gonna go with Boost and EGT for my Comptech S/C kit. I need to get a fuel pressure gauge too.

[repiv]

The downside is I had to buy two pods to get the third gauge. As of now it's a one of a kind but if there is enough interest I'm sure more could be made. It should be possible to build 2 from three original pods.

Folks can post here or PM me if you're interested.
Thanks. I'm sure some folks will jump on this. Myself, I'm a bit of a tinkerer and I might try it when I have more time. However, if you have an idea of what it would cost to have your guy do it, I might just consider it more cost effective. I currently run the SOS pod.


I'm in the same position, I'm probably gonna go with Boost and EGT for my Comptech S/C kit. I need to get a fuel pressure gauge too.
For a supercharged engine, EGT is not so critical as it is for a turbo. You might also consider an A/F gauge instead of fuel pressure if 2 is all you can mount. Boost will tell you how the blower is doing (belt tightness and leaks) and A/F will tell you about the health of the engine under high boost conditions. A/F will give you a hint of failing fuel pressure. Leaning out will also give a hint of EGT. I see A/F as being more useful. If you go turbo one day, then sure, do the EGT.