Autometer gauges - which ones would be most beneficial?

Re: Autometer gauges - which ones would be most beneficial? (VWguy)


Air/Fuel & Exhaust Gas Temp & Shift Light. Very nice combo imho...


[Modified by VR6Jim, 8:05 AM 11-28-2001]

Re: Autometer gauges - which ones would be most beneficial? (VWguy)

Here is what a friend said to me when I was asking the same question. Intersting how I started talking about this stuff yesterday, just didn't bring it to the vortex.
I was also having a debate with myself, autometer or VDO. Wouldn't mind having something that backlit red or blue with red to match the interior of a MKIV and something that is easy to read. Besides, VDO has some nice prices I think.
Me personally, I think I'm going with oil pressure and temp which is the only reason I suggested it. Good luck figuring everything out and finding someplace to buy them in Canada.
One last thing... if you have a MKIII I guess you already have the oil temp in the computer which is why you didn't even bring that up. If that's the case, I guess you can ignore some of what I said sorry


[Modified by GUINNESS_VR6, 11:20 AM 11-28-2001]

Re: Autometer gauges - which ones would be most beneficial? (GUINNESS_VR6)

AutoMeter's AFR gauges will not work on wideband O2 sensors as seen in Mk4 VR6s and the later 1.8Ts. I tried it, it didn't work out. Then I looked up AutoMeter's site and read their nice explanation. Their AFR gauges require 0-1 volt DC signals while my Mk4 VR6's O2 sensor was sending it a 0-5 volt signal. It thus pegged itself on the far right of the scale. You'll need to weld in a narrowband O2 sensor if you don't already have one in your exhaust pipe.
That said, I think an oil temperature gauge is, by far, the most useful aftermarket gauge to have in your car. It tells you when the engine is truly warmed up inside, as water temp gauges are usually too over-dampened by the factory to be accurate. I've found that when my water temp gauge says "190 - normal" my oil temp gauge is telling me "don't even think about it, pal!" indicating oil temps under 100 degrees (with the sensor in the pan).
An oil pressure gauge is really only useful if you either know you have oil pressure issues or you keep your eyes GLUED to it, which of course you simply can't do. That's what the warning light is for.
If you have a stereo or extra lighting (like more than an extra 100 watts) a voltmeter is useful. An ammeter will be much harder to wire in, as you'll have to run huge cable to it since the meter will actually be inline with the load on the lines. Voltmeters are wired in parallel with the load on a circuit and are thus much safer to deal with.
-Adam