Ok ok it’s time to ask after a brief search but what is the difference?
You can find Gauges brand new from under $50 to $500. I am thinking they are more accurate but how much so?
I am looking into getting gauges so am kinda wondering will any personally appealing gauges be fine to monitor my engine.
gauges are pretty simple
theres not much tech or mystery behind em
you pay for the name in my opinion
theres nothing wrong with autometer gauges or anything like that
iv heard sometimes the cheaper end of the spectrum gauges are innacurate sometimes.
I use all Autometer Phantom 52mm series.
Paid like $50-$60 for each one (Oil temp, Oil Pres, Water Temp which are Electric, and a Vac/Boost which is Mech).
Working fine and look pretty decent. :dunno:
No point in getting all JDM with like $150-$300 per gauge :hsugh:
depends how accurate you need them to be. you get what you pay for. does it really matter if your oil pressure is off by 2psi?
IMO autometer or stewart warner is what everyone should have. any less than that and they’ll probably be inacurate, any more than that (defi for example) and you’re just wasting your money on being “baller”.
Im also running autometer guages, for the price i dont think they can be beat. Ive never had a problem with them and they have tons of styles to choose from.
I would guess some of the higher end gauges would probably be slightly more precise, but don’t quote me on it. My Stewart Warner boost gauge sits at -1 to -2 vacuum when it’s turned off…but ultimately i’m quite happy with it.
Usually the more pricey gauges offer extra features such as memory, LED backlighting or blackened face when turned off and what not.
alright well it seems like I thought just accuracy. This doesn’t matter for me to much simply because well…ya. I also don’t need that blackened face, LED w.e. I think I might go check out Sunpro(Cdn Tire) and than Walmart.
If you’ve seen Defi gauges work compared to Autometer gauges (both electic units) you can cleary see the difference in speed. The defi’s react much quicker and are more accurate in the sense that they dont have what I like to call a smoothing effect whereas the autometer ones do.
There is definitely a difference in quality as to what you pay, its not just the jdm brand. Furthermore, the grade of sensors comes into play but as mentioned above the variance it low so its something that most people wont care about.
At a minimum I would go with Autometer.
Just don’t buy Megan gauges… such pieces of crap lol.
autometer IS bottom of the barrel across 90% of their lineup, the fluid filled mechanicals are about the only setup worth anything and even then they are NOT what autometer supplies to professional teams.
IF you want a cheap gauge that is at least 1/2 way accurate get the Stewart-warner gauges. They cover all the shortcomings and poor build qualities of autometer at close to the same price for the product…
IF you want to go to a bit higher end product then try greddy or DEFi’s ‘racer blue’… if you want top shelf go HKS cornos, BLitz BLM or DEFi’ BF series.
Thanks for the helps guys!