Quote:
Originally Posted by BRZSS
The dummy light only activates around 2 psi or maybe it was 4 psi? Regardless its so low that it just about makes it pointless. As for the pressure on a gauge debate. Its personal preference. I'd rather have it. And the question of seeing it while going hard...
One could argue why run a boost gauge then? Who's looking at that gauge while driving hard? I run a Cravenspeed steering wheel mounted dash pod. I only run the left cup as it covers the mechanical speedometer (who looks at that one compared to the digital one in the center?) and use a 60mm Depo Racing 2 in 1 gauge. It reads boost with a needle display and displays oil pressure on an led display.
I figure if pressure drops suddenly the fast swing of the numbers will catch my attention if I'm on it hard.
But to each their own.
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This ^
If there is a 1 in 10 chance you will catch it and potentially save your engine, and the total cost outlay is like 60 bucks and an hour of install, its a pretty significant no brainer to me.
anyone boosting an NA engine should be glancing at their gauges quite frequently. just as frequent as all their other gauges (rpm, speed, temp etc).
if these cars were boosted from factory, then yes, doing so would be considered overkill, but with the significant change boost brings, its always a good idea to pay attention to your sensors. especially when driving hard.
Consider if the oil pan cracked around the weld for the return line due to heat stress from the welding process, or the RTV you used to put the sump back on was not up to the job/you didnt clean the surfaces properly?
a slowly dropping oil level like this will lead to the pickup sucking up the occasional bubble of air before running dry. your needles going to go apeshit. you are going to see it in the corner of your eye.
if you are driving so hard that the peripheral awareness of your gauges is too much of a distraction, you are driving far too hard for far too long for it to be considered safe on public roads and you probably deserve to lose your license.
if you are on a track (OP has specifically stated that he wont be tracking it) then you have even more time on straights to check your gauges and monitoring pressure and temp is way more important in track conditions.
from experience, if you spin a bearing on a track you may not notice the knock/sound until you come off the throttle at the end of the run.
if you had a pressure gauge you would immediately notice the loss in oil pressure. you might save your crank and thus essentially save the short block from a write off. you might even get away with only needing to replace the bearing (and obviously the cleanup work etc).
IMO, spending an extra few hundred dollars to monitor everything rather than just boost is a no brainer. in the off situation thats 1 in 10 that it might save your engine, its still hella worth for the outlay, especially when you are considering spending upwards of 5k+ on a turbo kit.
plus it looks mad.