Sorry for the newb question all, but I have been shopping around for guages for an upcoming sc install and was wondering if there is a substantial difference in accuracy between mechanical and eletrical guages--the electrical ones are like 2-3X more. Worth it?

Also for a sc, if I were to get 3 gauges, would A/F (aem?), oil pressure, and boost be good choices? I am leaning towards defi or HKS for the other two...

 

get oil temp instead of pressure

 

Do you have a Z or a G? The Z has a stock oil pressure gauge.

 

I have a G.

 

I prefer electrical gauges simply because I do not like the idea of oil and fuel being in the cabin of my cars. Imagine the mess if there is ever a leak (even with those water isolator pieces)

AFR and Boost (with peak/hold) would be my two choices. Oil pressure and fuel pressure are nice for tuning and the occasional glance, but I would prefer setting up warning lights for those.

 

i got a mechanical boost gauge, short sweep electric oil pressure, full sweep electric fuel pressure (bc thats all they offered) and the AEM wideband.

electric short sweeps for pressure's are all you need, bc you just wanna make sure they are in operating specs. And tight resolution isnt that critical.

peak/hold is nice. wish i woulda bought the series of gauges that had that. ohh well, too $$ to go changing out everything now.

 

As far as electrical gauges. I run defi's. I love them you can pull up your peak boost or pressure and you can record runs so you can go back through and watch it. My boost gauge does read higher boost than I am running. I am tuned at 10 pounds and my peak boost on my gauge is 11 pounds. Thats the only complaint I have with them.

 

Electrical gauges are not as accurate but as Hal said, the mess that could ensue if a line leaked...not worth it in a car.

 

For something like boost, no harm in using a mechanical gauge as they seem to be more accurate. My experience with electrical boost gauges is they tend to "smooth" your boost readings out, which may not be something you want.

But for fluid pressures/temps, electrical is the way to go. Its a lot easier to tap for a sensor in the engine bay and then just run a couple wires to the gauge then to have to plumb oil or fuel into the cabin.

I'm using Prosport's 52mm amber/white line, they match the stock instrument lighting very nicely and are great bang for the buck gauges.

 

Yeah, I'd say either do oil temp or fuel pressure... Whichever you deem to be more important. There are also companies that make combo gauges and you can run both of these in a single gauge.

And, I prefer electronic gauges because of the routing/installation, as stated above.

Also, the Innovate wideband gauge has a wider range than the AEM. I'd recommend going with it.

 

Thx for the suggestions all. I have stock navi, so my mounting locations are a bit limited, but was planning on doing the a-pillar thing. So, I believe 3 gauges would fit there.

taurran do you have any more info on the particular companies that offer gauges with multiple functions (combo?)

 

^ You should check out this thread:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ight=plx+gauge

if you're looking for multi-function gauges.

 

I'm just using my HKS knock amp and EVC 6 for A/F and boost but I really like the Autometer Nexus gauges and plan on getting some when I do my engine build. http://www.autometer.com/demos/nexus/ I also thought about the Turbosmart e-boost 2 http://www.turbosmartusa.com/index.php?id=42 I talked to a guy that had one and he loved it.

 

The PLX unit listed above seems nice if you want to spend the money for it.

I also like these SPA Tech digitil multi-purpose gauges. You can get them in a bunch of different combos. I like the fuel pressure, oil temp gauge.

Here's an example. You might be able to find them elsewhere for cheaper.
http://store.bimmerworld.com/shared/...t=products.asp