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mzeeb

Boost Gauge

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Well, I managed to miss yet another Tuesday evening get together with Club Smart Car folks last night (I din't roll into town until after 7:30 :angry: )...and I had so wanted to show off my new boost gauge!!My goal here were numerous:- I wanted the gauge to fit into the existing clock pod (my Pioneer head unit has a clock), and- I wanted the gauge to portray instantaneous boost as an analog gauge ;) , and- I wanted to use an electronic gauge (I have no use for plastic piping snaking from the engine to the dash).I've got a Scangauge but things like RPM and boost are just too variable for digital readout (IMO).Attached is a picture of the set up as running down the 401 yesterday; note I was doing 105 km/h (into the wind) at 2500 RPM and was generating about 13psi boost!!! :speak_cool: It's interesting to note how variable the boost is when drafting a truck, passing at full throttle, etc.Note, my trip home (with the wind), I could maintain the same speed (& therefore same RPM) at ~5psi boost.I only wish I could have found a slim enough gauge without vacuum (diesels don't create vacuum) :( An interesting bonus, the gauge has a "peak" button (silver button near the bottom) that lets you review and/or reset the maximum boost seen since the last rest => yesterday my peak was ~15.5 psi or just below the 1.15bar spec.post-6677-1257364372_thumb.jpg

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was it a big deal to install?

Not really. :lol: Since it's an electronic gauge, there's a harness that has to run into the pod the way the power lines ran to the clock.Getting the clock out of the pod wasn't a big deal, but the new harness is a little thicker so it's tricky to snake along the pod mounting bracket. The actual gauge I got is only 1.25" deep which just fits into the pod after a little trimming to the interior of the pod.The power leads can be spliced into leads found under the center console panel; there's a lead for ground, for switched power, and for power switched with the headlights (ie. illumination of the buttons, etc.). The gauge uses the last lead to change the display to amber (from white) when the headlights are switched on.The signal lead includes +12V and ground leads as they are required by the sender; the sender returns a signal proportional to the pressure seen. By far the trickiest part is tapping into a boost signal. I tee'd into the line below the MAP sensor and ran the included pressure tubing to the sender that came with the gauge. You'll need to either get the pressure tubing into the cabin through the double grommet in the firewall or extend the gauge harness through the double grommet in the firewall so that you can leave the sender in the engine compartment; that part is tricky too because it's so hard to reach (I have a Cabrio and the "tailgate" is a back breaker when you need to lean over it to get to the engine compartment) :doh: Well worth the effort though.

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Nice work. Looks pretty good. I did one of these last year also. Then had some matching dials for all the pods and speedo made up by metal monkey. Here's a pic of mine.

post-3479-1257482009_thumb.jpeg

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Nice work. Looks pretty good. I did one of these last year also. Then had some matching dials for all the pods and speedo made up by metal monkey. Here's a pic of mine.

I reeeaaallly like that; looks great! :thumbsup_anim: What brand / model gauge did you use?

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