[Mk2] [Turbo] Boost gauge advise / options

[rob6539]

Hi guys, wondering I could take advantage of the great pools of wisdom again.

I’ve not long had a mechanical Stack boost gauge fitted to the car, however considering it set me back over £50, I haven’t been particularly happy now that it refuses to work consistently. IE, sometime it doesn’t show any boost all, sometimes on tick over the needle sits at -20 in.hg and other times at -30 in.hg.

I’ve been setting the car up to slightly increase the boost pressure (nothing wild) and want a boost gauge that is little more reliable, the other issue I have is that I don’t have large amounts of money to spend on it.

So… does anyone have any advice with regards to a cheap-ish reliable boost gauge, a friend of mine with a GT4 did mention to me that you can get electronic stepper motor gauges for not much above £50!

Does anyone have any experience of using a stepper motor gauge that didn’t cost them over £150!!!

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all

[2mad]

Hi guys, wondering I could take advantage of the great pools of wisdom again.

I’ve not long had a mechanical Stack boost gauge fitted to the car, however considering it set me back over £50, I haven’t been particularly happy now that it refuses to work consistently. IE, sometime it doesn’t show any boost all, sometimes on tick over the needle sits at -20 in.hg and other times at -30 in.hg.

I’ve been setting the car up to slightly increase the boost pressure (nothing wild) and want a boost gauge that is little more reliable, the other issue I have is that I don’t have large amounts of money to spend on it.

So… does anyone have any advice with regards to a cheap-ish reliable boost gauge, a friend of mine with a GT4 did mention to me that you can get electronic stepper motor gauges for not much above £50!

Does anyone have any experience of using a stepper motor gauge that didn’t cost them over £150!!!

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all

I have had cheap mechanical boost gauges to a very nice ones like a hks gauge (i would have for sale if i could remember were i stored it ) and they were all very accurate.
I have a blitz stepper setup at the moment, very expensive, cant see any advantage over nice mechanical gauge though, apart from the blitz are very thin

[shinny]

I have had cheap mechanical boost gauges to a very nice ones like a hks gauge... they were all very accurate.

How on earth do you know that?

[craig]

EMS boost gauge:

[shinny]

TBH, I'd be tempted to get a boost controller with an integrated boost display so there's no need to pay for an extra gauge but kill two birds with one stone. For example, something like a Gizzmo (although that won't show you vacuum) would do the trick.

[jimGTS]

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=180497

[craig]

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=180497

[2mad]

I have had cheap mechanical boost gauges to a very nice ones like a hks gauge... they were all very accurate.

How on earth do you know that?

I was curious and tested all my gauges back to back to see how accurate they were, 2 autometer 1 auto garage and the one i wanted to no if it was accurate a new 60mm hks , all read 1bar boost.
Tested my hks vs blitz and again both hit 1bar boost.

They could of all been wrong but that sort of bad luck makes my head hurt

Kev.

[jimGTS]

[ashley]

Hi guys, wondering I could take advantage of the great pools of wisdom again.

I’ve not long had a mechanical Stack boost gauge fitted to the car, however considering it set me back over £50, I haven’t been particularly happy now that it refuses to work consistently. IE, sometime it doesn’t show any boost all, sometimes on tick over the needle sits at -20 in.hg and other times at -30 in.hg.

I’ve been setting the car up to slightly increase the boost pressure (nothing wild) and want a boost gauge that is little more reliable, the other issue I have is that I don’t have large amounts of money to spend on it.

So… does anyone have any advice with regards to a cheap-ish reliable boost gauge, a friend of mine with a GT4 did mention to me that you can get electronic stepper motor gauges for not much above £50!

Does anyone have any experience of using a stepper motor gauge that didn’t cost them over £150!!!

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all

Sounds like you need to check your install of the Stack gauge before buying anything else...they're decent quality and should do the job if installed correctly

[craig]

^what he said. Stack are top quality products.

[2mad]

Hi guys, wondering I could take advantage of the great pools of wisdom again.

I’ve not long had a mechanical Stack boost gauge fitted to the car, however considering it set me back over £50, I haven’t been particularly happy now that it refuses to work consistently. IE, sometime it doesn’t show any boost all, sometimes on tick over the needle sits at -20 in.hg and other times at -30 in.hg.

I’ve been setting the car up to slightly increase the boost pressure (nothing wild) and want a boost gauge that is little more reliable, the other issue I have is that I don’t have large amounts of money to spend on it.

So… does anyone have any advice with regards to a cheap-ish reliable boost gauge, a friend of mine with a GT4 did mention to me that you can get electronic stepper motor gauges for not much above £50!

Does anyone have any experience of using a stepper motor gauge that didn’t cost them over £150!!!

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all

Sounds like you need to check your install of the Stack gauge before buying anything else...they're decent quality and should do the job if installed correctly

I agree with this too, if its installed ok maybe look at getting a refund on it. You should not have such wild readings.

[rob6539]

Sounds like you need to check your install of the Stack gauge before buying anything else...they're decent quality and should do the job if installed correctly

That's a good point

Although the gauge was working when I first installed it but then decided to play up!

I've relocated the tee piece where I'm taking the pressure/vac from and checked the nylon tube for kinks and obstructions and re-done the brass fitting.

I'll be honest I only checked for kinks at one end of the nylon tube, so I'll drag the whole line through the bulk head and have a proper look over the weekend.

Cheers all, your advice is very much appreciated

[stuMR2lee]

I'm very pleased with my newly installed GFB G-Force 2 Boost controller. Touch screen, easy to install and set up, and shows vacuum and boost.

gazrev1tubby has one in his Supra. Had to have one after his glowing recommendation:). That and the different button colour combinations you can set!

http://www.gfb.com.au/whats-new/product ... g-force-ii

In action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL11Etw7ZSg

I got mine from Tuning Developments who also strongly recommended the GFB over a Gizzmo.

[Hez]

You sure the tubing isn't getting softer when it gets warm and collapsing in on itself under vacuum?

[rob6539]

You sure the tubing isn't getting softer when it gets warm and collapsing in on itself under vacuum?

That's not a bad shout.

I've got some plastic tube protector around the length in the engine bay at the moment, but I'd never really want to trust that stuff too much, especially against ambient engine heat.

I've got a spare length of nylon tube, might be worth replacing the whole lot and seeing how the gauge operates.

Thank you

[Hez]

Grab a few meters of 4mm silicone hose, I once used Halfords washer tubing and that used to heat up and collapse and the gauge behaved just like yours, I thought I was the only person daft enough but a few people have done the same on here

[Marf]

Grab a few meters of 4mm silicone hose, I once used Halfords washer tubing and that used to heat up and collapse and the gauge behaved just like yours, I thought I was the only person daft enough but a few people have done the same on here

I used it to run the boost line to my boost controller unit inside the cabin, cursed when I had to take the interior apart again to replace it

[2mad]

Grab a few meters of 4mm silicone hose, I once used Halfords washer tubing and that used to heat up and collapse and the gauge behaved just like yours, I thought I was the only person daft enough but a few people have done the same on here

This ^^ i used brand new 3mm silicone hose, make shore you dont have any vacuum leaks in the system, this can play havoc with readings.
Must admit it does sound like you've done everything right and your gauge is to blame.
If you live near mk I would be happy to lend you my hks gauge for a test


Kev.

[rob6539]

This ^^ i used brand new 3mm silicone hose, make shore you dont have any vacuum leaks in the system, this can play havoc with readings.
Must admit it does sound like you've done everything right and your gauge is to blame.
If you live near mk I would be happy to lend you my hks gauge for a test


Kev.

Cheers Kev, that's very good of you!

I'll have a go at re-plumbing a new vac hose in over the weekend and see if that makes a difference.

Thank you all