How Gauges Read?

[Qwooootz]

Okie heres comes the NooB Question:

Just really curious on the purpose of certain particular gauges, what they read, why, and the significance of them if any?

Gauges such as, Volt, Oil Temp, Water Temp etc. Im sure theirs a whole heap more out their, just looking into gettn a few for the Em1, but need a reason for having some extra guages apart from the cluster that reads the speed, taco etc hehe

Cheers

[destrukshn]

volt, well, some people may have big systems, and want to monitor what volts they are at when crankin it?
oil temp, so you don't cook your motor.
water temp so you don't overheat your motor, and start blowing shit. lol.

[Qwooootz]

so how do u know whats a moderate temp your water or oil is suppos to be?

also how about air/fuel?

[destrukshn]

well.. boiling point of water is 100 degrees.. lol, thermostat opens at around 75 degrees or so, so normal operating temp i guess is around 80-85 degrees?
oil dunnoes.

air fuel, mainly i reckon for boosted cars, but to monitor if your leaning out or running rich, you don't want to lean out.
lol

[saxman]

a/f guages are a complete waste of money unless you're running a wideband o2 sensor, regardless of if you're stock, modded, n/a, turbo, etc

[destrukshn]

a/f guages are a complete waste of money unless you're running a wideband o2 sensor, regardless of if you're stock, modded, n/a, turbo, etc

yes, what he said.

BUT, i've heard different from tuning shops, they say, they are not completly useless, they give a rough idea of the mixture, but not 100% accurate.

[Boban]

And let us not all forget that out friendly po-po can defect you for having gauges in places that obsturct your view. Having said that i do have 2 gaudes on my A-Pillar and i haven't had any problems yet

[CUL8R]

a wideband like my plx m300 is fantastic coz it gives an electronic readout of ur a/f. bloody awesome!

[EK4R]

what oil pressure do

[saxman]

tells you what the oil pressure is...

[Qwooootz]

tells you what the oil pressure is...

smarta$$ answer LOL

but whats the relevance for it? why do we need to know the pressure?

[saxman]

a certain oil pressure is needed for the motor to run safely.

a gradual loss in oil pressure will show you if there's a leak somewhere... a sudden loss of oil pressure may allow you to stop the motor before catastrophic damage is done.


honestly, though, chances are if you see the oil pressure hit the floor, it's too late, and you can keep an eye out for leaks/burning oil, but just keeping an eye on the oil level... like you should anyway.