what is better, as far as reliability (leaking and lasting), accuracy and ease of installation??

mechanical..


or electric ????

 

Well your pictures show Analog vs. digital.

I personaly use Analog gauges, cause they offer on thing a digital display doesn't offer, thats a trend.

Now as far as mechs vs electric, well I kind of hate getting my leg hit with hot Oil, so I've always been an electric fan.


Ron

 

for a fuel gauge, the mechanical is a PITA, but the electrical was alot easier to hook up.. no isolator, but they are more expensive, but worth it IMO.
~Murt

 

dou have to have a computer controled car to use electrical guages? also are they as acurate? i am lookin to put a fuel pressure guage in my car and i don't wunna have to hook up a mech. cause it seems like a pain. oh by the way i will have a carbed 350

 

No, the computer has nothing to do with the gauges.

 

i heard that Electric Guages don't come in a Full Sweep guage.... is that true? And i know that second guage is digital... but by electric i mean it's use of a sending unit...

here is an electric guage on the first design.. notice its not full sweep... i wouldn't use a non full sweep guage.. thats why i showed the digital guage, but i figured the two electrics would be the same as far as acurracy since they both use a sending unit..

 

how do u hook up an electric guage? and wut is a full sweep ? thanks

 

Full sweep means that the needle can travel over 270 degrees worth of rotation, as opposed to 90 degrees. Breathment's first picture, of the AutoMeter Ultralight gauge, is a full sweep. His second picture is not a full sweep, it's a 90 degree sweep. Full sweeps are usually mechanical gauges, 90 degree sweeps are usually electric. Some smaller mechanical gauges are only 90 degree sweeps, too.

You'd hook up an electric gauge by removing the stock gauge sender/switch from the engine. (A sender is used for a gauge, a switch is used for an idiot light, like a "low oil pressure" warning light.) Then you install the new gauge sensor. Then you run a wire from it into the passenger compartment, and hook up the gauge.

A mechanical gauge uses a mechanical connection. I.E., if you want a mechanical oil pressure gauge, you'd run tubing from the engine to the gauge. The tubing uses brass fittings to go into the engine and the gauge. So the tube winds up carrying hot oil inside it.

For temp, you get a temp probe attached to the gauge, and you lead that wire thru the firewall. You can't cut the wire.

Racers prefer mechanical gauges, but I think "now", the electrics are just as accurate. They're also easier to install. They also can't leak. (I had a leak on my pillar mounted oil pressure gauge, it stained my door panel. Oops.)

 

Autometer make a few electrical full sweep gauges. Get a catalog, and check them out. I saw about 6 or so under there UltraLite section.

I prefered electrical gauges on my racecars dash.
It allows a cleaner installation (I guess ? see pic), and allows me to hook up the gauge warning box. Now all of this came at a price I think my dash set me back about 750 bucks, and took some time to make, but it was fun .



Ron

 

Hm, so should I change my message to say "old-school racers" or "some racers"? Looks good!

 

Gauges in my race car include Battery voltage, Engine oil pressure, tranny oil temperature, coolent temperature, exhaust gas temperature. I also use a very bright idiot light for oil pressure in case I'm not watching the gauges.

The only mechanical gauge I use is oil pressure. The only downside to it is that I need to run copper line. Take the plastic line that's included in every mechanical oil pressure gauge kit (including autometer's racing gauges) and throw it in the garbage. Although it will work fine on the street you will never pass a tech inspection if you take it to the track.

There are really only 2 mechanical gauges. Engine oil pressure and fuel pressure. If you want to run a mechanical fuel pressure gauge it must be mounted outside the drivers compartment or use a fuel pressure isolator. You can't have any fuel lines of any sort inside the drivers compartment.

Every other gauge you will use will be electric. There's nothing wrong with electric gauges. They usually just have bulkier sending units but can be quickly disconnected.

Other mechanical gauges you can buy are coolent temperature (pain in the butt running the probe since it can't be disconnected from the gauge) and boost/vacuum (not always needed).

I wish the underside of my dash looked that clean. My switch and fuse panel is crammed with relays and junction blocks.

 

@ 33 I thought I was old school ?

Maybe not yet.


You got to have that copper tubing. Not only is that oil hot, it stained my pant's.

Hey Stephen, I don't know if you considered painted your gutted interior, but thats going to be my nightmare this weekend.
Man -- It must of took me 10 hours to prep, and prime. Those %$^#ing tar strips covering the drain pans were an absolute pain in the but !!!
It was black, and now she going to be gloss white. funnnnn

BTW: Pep boy has a very excellent selection of electrical connectors to clean up the installation. They just cost bu-cu bucks. It took me a embarrassing amount of time to clean up the cars electrical. I must of removed a 38 gallon garbage bag worth of wires. But the reliability factor went up 500 percent by doing all this.

Ron

 

ok say i get a mechanical fuel pressure guage with the isolator do i can set it up in my car. do i still need to run a solid fuel line up my a-piller to the guage or do i splice into the fuel line under the hood then the isolator has a wire that i run to my guage?? i am really confused please help. i really don't wunna run a line and i can't afford 180 bucks for an electric guage.

 

so Oil Pressure I run an actual line with oil in it going to the guage..?

Water temp i just use a copper line, like those used in ovens\deep friers (are these realy that accurate)?

and trans temp i also use a copper line?

correct?

 

For a mechanical oil pressure, yes, and the gauge will come with the fittings. It'll replace your stock idiot light sensor. If you only have one hole in the block, you'll need a T-fitting to keep your fuel pump safety switch going.

For a mechanical water temp, no, it comes with a probe already attached. You'll need a big hole in the firewall, because there's a fitting "stuck" on the wire between the probe and gauge. And like Stephen said, you can't cut the wire.

Is there a mechanical trans temp gauge? I thought Autometer just made electric?

89, an isolator hooks into the fuel rail. Then, a hose filled with (I think) brake fluid (or oil? coolant? whichever) goes between the isolator and gauge. So you're not running a wire up the pillar, you're running a hose- but the hose won't have fuel in it.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the fuel isolator line from the isolator to the gauge is a special line with something like antifreeze in it (same as mechanical coolent temp gauges use). It allows the isolator to transmit the fuel pressure to the gauge.

Since this talk on gauges, I've been thinking of adding another idiot light. I want one to tell me if the engine gets too hot. Using a fan switch sending unit in the head I should be able to use it to turn on a light. It'll be a reminder that the engine is up to temperature and the fan(s) need to be turned on.

What's the on/off times of that sending unit? The one in the passenger side head.

 

according to Autometer, when they replied to my email... they said that NON of their Electric Guages were full sweep. and above someone said there were... are they ing me??

and yes they do have a mechanical trans temp guage. Its in the jegs magazine, not on their site or at summit.. weird i know..

 

For full sweep electric gauges --- Autometer Part #'s: 4361-4365,4375 for 2 1/16 & 4461-4469 for 2 5/8.

Unless there catalog is wrong, it says '2 1/16 AND 2 5/8 full sweep electric gauges.'

Go to there online catalog Page 60.

http://www.autometer.com

Ron

 

For a Autometer UltraLite Mechnical 2 5/8 Trans Temp Gauge:

Jegs

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...693&prmenbr=76


Summit

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=5016',650,505,'ATM4451



Ron

 

Ok, i double checked the email they sent me, and they don't have full sweep ELECTRIC TRANS temp guages... sorry

the three guages i want are
TRANS TEMP
WATER TEMP
OIL PRESSURE

 

The only one I see is the Water Temp in the Electric full sweep UltraLite Series, however you might check out Accutech gauges.

If you do find the Full Sweep Electric gauges you want , just remember that the oil temp, is the same as the trannie temp gauge aside from the wording on the front.

Are you sure you won't settle for a regular electric trans gauge ?



Ron

 

Full sweep electric gauges are usually considerably more expensive due to their construction. The ones I've seen use a stepper motor and servo type mechanism instead of the usual moving coil.

 

ok, im going mechanical i think... im 70% sure on it now