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Boost gauge help. Which is good? And which is bad?

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Old 05-09-2008, 10:25 PM
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Default Boost gauge help. Which is good? And which is bad?

I want to buy a boost gauge. I am going to run 12psi.

I'm scared of anything that comes from autozone. They have autometer manual gauges $61. Are they any good?

Ebay has glow shift $35. Any experiance with it out there?

What about greddy? They have a nice black on black.

Then there are the electronic ones. Aem.
But they are high. $180

If you use one of the manual gauges can you just pipe it in with the map sensor hose on the mspnp?
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Old 05-09-2008, 10:32 PM
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accuracy isn't that important, i use it more for a quick reference. if i were to do it again i wouldn't even have one
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Old 05-09-2008, 10:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Mach929
accuracy isn't that important, i use it more for a quick reference. if i were to do it again i wouldn't even have one


As Mach said, ACCURACY is not important when you have a megasquirt as you can pull accurate results from the log, however, PRECISION is important. The boost gauge needs to read consistent results even if they are off slightly, as long as they are continuously off by the same amount.

You need a boost gauge, period, very easy to diagnose problems, see how much overboost in cold weather, etc.

Autometer mechanicals are ok, the sport comp series matches the stock cluster.

Greddy gauges are decent as well.

AEM / SPA Design are among the best.
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:03 AM
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I wouldent trust glowshift. Prospot gauges are nice, autometer is alittle more expensive, greddy is a step above, and the aem/defi/etc are really nice and a ton of money.

I have a used flyin miata one, works fine.

I say just search forsale ads for one and get one cheap. My prosport gauges/ flyin miata gauge work fine.

No need to go electrical, unless you really dont want a vac line running in the car.
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:43 AM
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Precision is important as said. Any mechanical boost gauge is going to have some sort of error. Mine reads about 1psi low up to 10-11psi and then reads about 1.5psi low. I know this because I've backed it up with the map sensor in MS. As long as you know the difference, you can be accurate. But there's also no need to buy a boost gauge that goes up to 30psi if you only plan to run 12psi. I use a 30hg-15psi Stewart Warner gauge. It looks very clean and I can see precisely how much boost I'm getting down to abou 1/4psi resolution.

This is the one I run:
http://www.sw-performance.com/index....tails&p=114536
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:54 AM
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I have an ebay glowsport that I bid on and won for 20 bucks and comparing it to MS its only off by 1 psi in vacuum and pretty dead on in boost and Ive had people compliment it HAHA
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Old 05-10-2008, 05:04 AM
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Im using a prosport gauge. No problems here.
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Old 05-10-2008, 08:33 AM
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Thanks, I'll probably go with the used greddy then.

I just want a black on black gauge. That will match my aem wbO2. If I have to, I can go with silver bezel rings. But nothing else in my car is silver.

Anyone selling a cheap Blk/blk boost gauge?
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Old 05-10-2008, 10:02 AM
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I can vouch for mechanicals being off too. I'm on my third sport-comp and this one reads about 2 psi high.
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Old 05-10-2008, 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Toddcod
I just want a black on black gauge. That will match my aem wbO2. If I have to, I can go with silver bezel rings. But nothing else in my car is silver.
While the Prosport gauges have a silver bezel, I painted mine black in about 5 minutes. All you have to do is tape off what you don't want painted and it will look great!
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Old 05-10-2008, 11:01 AM
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just get a ******* autometer. Accuracy isn't important. Now, if it were oil temp, pressure, butt-plug, egt, or afr, accuracy matters of course.
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Old 05-10-2008, 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by jasonrobo02
While the Prosport gauges have a silver bezel, I painted mine black in about 5 minutes. All you have to do is tape off what you don't want painted and it will look great!
I was thinking about painting it. Where do you get Prosport?

Can I hook the gauge up to the vac. line going to the map sensor on the ms?
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Toddcod
I was thinking about painting it. Where do you get Prosport?
I found my gauges here in the classifieds. But you can purchase prosport gauges from prosportgauges.com .

Originally Posted by Toddcod
Can I hook the gauge up to the vac. line going to the map sensor on the ms?
I'm of the mindset that you want to keep your MAP line isolated, but many people, including DIYAT, have it tee'd off of something else. So it shouldn't be a problem having the boost gauge tee'd into the MAP line.
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:30 PM
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I just ordered this from napa. Mabe I can post the page. Here goes.. abra kadabra..... BOOOOMB!

http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S...2999999+109999
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:33 PM
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That is fairly expensive and has a very large range on the postive pressure side. Did you check out prosport gauges? Their mechanical boost gauge is <$40 and their electronic boost gauge is <$60. Oh well. Good luck with the install.
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:51 PM
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Yea, I like the other gauges too. Especially the electric boost gauge. But this one will be here today. I'll be able to get my dash together tonight. Then my injectors in tommorrow night. And if all goes well, my turbo in Monday and Tuesday.

I see you have cops on your post. What is the benefit of cops?
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Old 05-10-2008, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Toddcod
Anyone selling a cheap Blk/blk boost gauge?
I have an SWP 15 psi blk/blk gauge used for a month


I switched to a silver faced dial; the black face dial was used for a month since the silver face gauge was on back order. $30 shipped
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Old 05-10-2008, 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Toddcod
I see you have cops on your post. What is the benefit of cops?
I dare you to read all of this! COP Thread
Main benefits are hotter spark and ability to run larger plug gap. Also, you will never need to buy plug wires again.
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Old 05-10-2008, 03:44 PM
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This is the same thing as the coil packs on ford right? They are cool, but they break down too. At $80 a pop on my moms van. We have replaced 4 of them over 2 yrs.
But I always like to hear about new things and power gains. Let me know how it turns out.
Originally Posted by got rice?
I have an SWP 15 psi blk/blk gauge used for a month


I switched to a silver faced dial; the black face dial was used for a month since the silver face gauge was on back order. $30 shipped
Thats about right. After I already ordered one. A good deal comes across.
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Old 05-10-2008, 04:07 PM
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you need to read the cop thread.
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