[rwt65]

Am wanting to put extra gauges into a Sierra and how its been done it?
Did you use a pillar mount or pod on top of dash?
I have seen them in the air ducts, but am not keen to do this.
Any suggestions?
Cheers

[Microwire]

Pillar mounts look good IMO and are in a easy position too. I wouldn't go for a pod just because I don't like the look of them. or an alternative would be a hole saw and mount them in the dash.

[whincup]

ive seen older style sierra air con vents (the round ones) used. looks good, and perfect if you dont use the fan anyway

[Kermy87]

I made a fiberglass mount for my tacho and gauges
Looks good, easy enough done,

[Gwagensteve]

Kermy, What was wrong with the tacho in the dash?

Pillar mount gauges are going to result in a defect in a sierra because the pillar is so narrow you'll get done for reduced visibility. They will also result in a defect from the taste police for impersonating a ricer.

What/how many gauges do you want to add? Pretty hard to justify more than oil temp and maybe volts IMHO.

Steve.

[alien]

if i was going to do it, i'd be cutting a hole in the dash above the indicator and headlight stalks...

[rwt65]

Want to run Water Temp and Oil Pressure gauges, have a fresh Gti engine installed.
I like the location of the air vents but really want to keep them as I like having them working in summer.
Would a Pod on the dash or Pillar really be cause for a defect?
Has anyone used a Pillar / Pod and if so what brand/type?
Is there a digital gauge available that allows you to change between functions on the same gauge?
Cheers for the feedback

[Gwagensteve]

You already have a water temp gauge. There's no need for two gauges telling you the same thing.

I don't really see the point in an oil pressure gauge. If the motor is healthy it will have oil pressure.

If you run crazy angles and are worried about uncovering the pickup then the light will tell you enough. If not, hook the light to a buzzer.

In my opinion an oil pressure gauge is just a way of telling you something you already know.

In any case, there are very compact digital options for both. no need for a 2" gauge for something that's barely ever going to get looked at two weeks after you've completed the conversion.

Steve.

[alien]

^^ this is why i bought my IR temp gun rather than installing a tmep gauge with degrees on it... once i established with the gun what reading meant what on the gauge i was happy... and now the gun gets used for all sorts of other stuff, but mostly in the kitchen to check surface temps before/during/after cooking meat =)

[rwt65]

Nice idea the IR temp gun. Could give you a better idea were Too Hot is on your standard gauge.
I have recently had a head crack and the standard temp gauge was not showing much above half way, let alone near the top of the gauge.
I like the idea of having a more accurate temp gauge to avoid overheating issues.
Maybe oil pressure is not so needed, but personal choice.
I was asking if and how others had gone about mounting extra gauges
Cheers for the feedback

[fordem]

Gwagensteve wrote:

You already have a water temp gauge. There's no need for two gauges telling you the same thing.

I don't really see the point in an oil pressure gauge. If the motor is healthy it will have oil pressure.

If you run crazy angles and are worried about uncovering the pickup then the light will tell you enough. If not, hook the light to a buzzer.

In my opinion an oil pressure gauge is just a way of telling you something you already know.

In any case, there are very compact digital options for both. no need for a 2" gauge for something that's barely ever going to get looked at two weeks after you've completed the conversion.

Steve.

The oil pressure gauge gives you an indication of the health of the motor - yes - if the motor is healthy you will have oil pressure - but without a gauge how do you know that it is healthy?

The low oil pressure light comes on at around 4~5 psi - IF you're are into a low oil pressure situation - by the time you see that light, you've already damaged something - with a gauge you'll see it drop long before the light comes on - giving you the time to shut the engine down before you damage it.

We can also adopt the same approach with the coolant temperature - why bother to fit a gauge - if the cooling system is properly maintained, that engine's not going to overheat.

Have you ever has a classic Mini? They came from the factory with a single gauge - had speedometer and a fuel gauge - charge and low oil pressure warning lights, high beam & turn signal indicators - not even an idiot light for the engine temp. The first car I ever fitted a gauge to was a classic Mini, and I fitted a triple gauge set, amperemeter, water temp & oil pressure.

Another thing to be aware of - your oil pressure gauge will also tell you more about your engine's running temperature than the coolant temperature gauge will - if you learn how to interpret it.

The cooling system has a thermostat that regulates the flow of coolant to maintain operating temperature - the lube system doesn't - on an engine that has been driven hard the oil temperature rises and the pressure drops BEFORE the coolant temperature rises.

You can even see the ambient temperature of a hot day show up in the oil pressure.

If you don't want to fit an oil pressure gauge - that's your choice - but I'd rather have them and I can get decent quality triple gauge sets for lest than USD$40 so I fit them to everything I drive.

[fordem]

rwt65 wrote:

Nice idea the IR temp gun. Could give you a better idea were Too Hot is on your standard gauge.
I have recently had a head crack and the standard temp gauge was not showing much above half way, let alone near the top of the gauge.
I like the idea of having a more accurate temp gauge to avoid overheating issues.
Maybe oil pressure is not so needed, but personal choice.
I was asking if and how others had gone about mounting extra gauges
Cheers for the feedback

A standard temperature gauge sender is a coolant termperature gauge, not an engine temperature gauge - it needs to have coolant around it for it to measure the coolant temperature, if the coolant level drops, below the level of the sensor, the engine will overheat without the gauge showing it.

If you have an oil pressure gauge - you WILL see the oil pressure drop.

IR guns will also give you wide variations depending on where you take the measurement - so choose carefully - measure at the water outlet elbow, as close as you can get to the coolant temperature sensor, if you're trying to get an idea of what the coolant temperature is.

[Kermy87]

Gwagensteve wrote:

You already have a water temp gauge. There's no need for two gauges telling you the same thing.

I don't really see the point in an oil pressure gauge. If the motor is healthy it will have oil pressure.

If you run crazy angles and are worried about uncovering the pickup then the light will tell you enough. If not, hook the light to a buzzer.

In my opinion an oil pressure gauge is just a way of telling you something you already know.

In any case, there are very compact digital options for both. no need for a 2" gauge for something that's barely ever going to get looked at two weeks after you've completed the conversion.

All these gauges were functional on my turbo"d engine g13ba water water temp, boost and oil pressure , I see nothing wrong with that does any one else, as for the tacho, my steering wheel is too small
And is in the road so I put it In

Steve.

[Gwagensteve]

Fordem, your comments about the uses of gauges are all accurate, I'm just challenging their requirement for our use. There might be a case for extra gauges in an engine that is highly strung and where small changes in pressure or temperature might indicate immanent failure, but that's rarely the case in our application - we generally have a stock or close to stock engine.

Adding gauges to monitor something like an ancient and rebuilt A series engine in a classic mini might well be justified, or a pyrometer on a tuned diesel. Likewise, an auto trans temp gauge is as important as an engine temp gauge to a car with an auto.

Adding oil temp (and boost) to a motor with an aftermarket turbo might also be justified for troubleshooting. Once the engine is sorted though, neither of these should really be of much use because they should never change enough to be of concern.

I'm not even so sure that a tacho is that necessary after initial setup - it will always be showing the same revs at the same gear and road speed, Idle speed won't vary much, the rev limiter applies at the same RPM and the boost threshold won't vary unless you change setup or turbo - how is it more than a setup tool, or is it just cool to have a gauge that swings around quickly on the dash? I'm going to assume you can hear what the motor is doing and that tells you more than the tach. A shift light ( or series of) is far more useful.

I think that some people regard gauges as tough guy stickers - more gauges = more engine credibility. It's not necessarily the case. In my experience, when I am putting my engines under the most stress, the last thing I'm doing is worrying a gauge. Hence the reason a buzzer on the oil pressure light will do more to save a motor than an oil pressure gauge.

Steve.

PS I'm not seeking to start an argument - run as many gauges as you want - I'm just pointing out that you should know exactly why you are fitting them. A big row of gauges might look cool, but if none of them are telling you useful information because they never fluctuate (or you don't know what constitutes and "out of range" figure) then there's little point.

[Kermy87]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Fordem, your comments about the uses of gauges are all accurate, I'm just challenging their requirement for our use. There might be a case for extra gauges in an engine that is highly strung and where small changes in pressure or temperature might indicate immanent failure, but that's rarely the case in our application - we generally have a stock or close to stock engine.

Adding gauges to monitor something like an ancient and rebuilt A series engine in a classic mini might well be justified, or a pyrometer on a tuned diesel. Likewise, an auto trans temp gauge is as important as an engine temp gauge to a car with an auto.

Adding oil temp (and boost) to a motor with an aftermarket turbo might also be justified for troubleshooting. Once the engine is sorted though, neither of these should really be of much use because they should never change enough to be of concern.

I'm not even so sure that a tacho is that necessary after initial setup - it will always be showing the same revs at the same gear and road speed, Idle speed won't vary much, the rev limiter applies at the same RPM and the boost threshold won't vary unless you change setup or turbo - how is it more than a setup tool, or is it just cool to have a gauge that swings around quickly on the dash? I'm going to assume you can hear what the motor is doing and that tells you more than the tach. A shift light ( or series of) is far more useful.

I think that some people regard gauges as tough guy stickers - more gauges = more engine credibility. It's not necessarily the case. In my experience, when I am putting my engines under the most stress, the last thing I'm doing is worrying a gauge. Hence the reason a buzzer on the oil pressure light will do more to save a motor than an oil pressure gauge.

Steve.

PS I'm not seeking to start an argument - run as many gauges as you want - I'm just pointing out that you should know exactly why you are fitting them. A big row of gauges might look cool, but if none of them are telling you useful information because they never fluctuate (or you don't know what constitutes and "out of range" figure) then there's little point.

Fair call, it was my show car so everything used to look pretty and shiny, I was just giving him an idea of how u can mount them as a pic says more than words, as for police and transport dept never been
Inthe shit for it in 6 yrs, been pulled over shitloads, most coppas love my rig and turn a blind eye, good for me