aftermarket gauges. mechanical/electrical. pros and cons?
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aftermarket gauges. mechanical/electrical. pros and cons?
i was lookin to buy some gauges for my car. probably oil pressure, oil temp and water temp..?! i dont know which do you guys reccomend is the most important to monitor. i was wondering, each gauge has a mechanical and electrical counterpart. i heard mechanical is better in some cases and electrical is better is other cases. searched but i couldnt find. to my understanding any gauge that reads pressure mechanical > electrical and temperature readings electrical > mechanical. i would like to get all mechanical because the electrical ones are about two times as much. is this smart or no? thanks for the help.
The biggest issue with a mechanical guage for oil pressure is going to be the fact that you would have to run a live oil line into your cabin. Somethin about hot oil rollin around in my cabin just makes me a lil nervous, especially considering it would be under pressure and the slightest leak or damage in the line would be... lets say not so good.
Had a oil presure gauge fail on me in one of my old DSM's at the track and it started a nice little fire in my dash. *thumbs down*
Had a oil presure gauge fail on me in one of my old DSM's at the track and it started a nice little fire in my dash. *thumbs down*
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Rep Power: 0 yeah with any mechanical gauge you have to have fluid running beneath your dash... electrical are more expensive but better in the long run... shelling out a few extra bucks for an electrical one is better than shelling out a few hundred to repair your car if something goes wrong with the mechanical ones... they are also a lot easier to install... 
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Mechanical gauges are a little more sure fire because its not running through a wire. The higher end digital processing gauges (defi, blitz, etc....) work fantastically, the autometer electrics (the older style ones without the control box) are a bit tempermental. Really the way it usually breaks out is if the car is a street car with a full interior, then keep the fluid under the hood and run electrics. If its a race car with no interior, then running mechanicals is fine because leaks wont ruin anything and you'll see them quickly.
lol looks like i gotta invest another 300 in the gauges. 
... money money money. gotta pay to play i guess... 
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