Guest Anonymous Posted June 22, 2001 Share Posted June 22, 2001 ok folks, read lots of posts about how Autometer is kinda inaccutate....so...who's gonna have the most accurate gauges? Well, besides having them custom made, or paying outrageuously for em... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 22, 2001 Share Posted June 22, 2001 Okay, I'll bite... Who uses their gauges to do anything more than check that all systems are normal? In other words if my temp gauge always reads 190, despite my 180 thermostat, and oen day it reads 200 then I know I've got a problem, right? Also, it's the electric gauges that were coming out as being innaccurate - not sure if the mechanicals display this same problem. VDO makes nice stuff too - a shame most of it is BUTT ugly! Some of the JDM stuff is cool too with EL lighting that changes colors to wanr you of problems etc. unfortunatly it's super expensive and I've yet to see a decent speedo being built. I'd love to hear if there's another company out there making better stuff that's readily available but honestly I'm pretty happy with Autometer. Their service to myself and others sure has been nice if nothing else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Yeah, I was the one moaning about the Autometer ELECTRIC temp gages being out by 20 degrees F. 4 of them I tested. That and their sensitivity to supply voltage (a regulator chip inside would add less than a buck to each gage!) But I'm pretty particular. If the gage reads 200, I want to know if it's 200 or 220 or 180. Easily fixed though, a few resistors and it's accurate (in a useful range anyway). But the service was great - a liquid filled gage I had bought USED was low on the silicone oil inside. I emailed Autometer tech about another issue and mentioned the oil asking for a part number for some more to put in it. The guy sent it for free, no questions asked. THAT's service! [ June 22, 2001: Message edited by: pparaska ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 I think VDO has some nice looking gauges actually. I really wanted to go with their black face/white lettering 2 5/8" mechanicals.... But no chance in hell I could find them around here. I ended up with autometer mechanical... though I can't comment on their accuracy... yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Drax, can you guys not get anything via Jeg's or whatnot? Do you geta ton of taxes dumped on or what? Seem for little stuff there ought to be a way for us to help you around it... I like SOME of the VDO stuff and have used it. However their tachs are less than inspiring and I don't much like the speedos either. Some of the JDM stuff is so stylized that's not usable IMO. Numbrs need to be in easy to read fonts, bold, and clear. The EL stuff really floats my boat but Autometer claimed that they found that the stuff "aged" and failed in a somewhat short period of time. They have told me that unless they find a way to make it last longer they won't sell it. Bummer but at least they seem to be up front about it. I do agree with Pete on the voltage regulation though - that's just silly. Pete did you simply make a regulated supply for all of your gauges? I finally mounted my speedo last night and will be posting some pics soon. Talk about a wiring nightmare behind the dash - I need to label some of those puppies for later troubleshooting - it's a mess. Out of sight, out of mind though and it's all insulated. I think most of my stuff is all going to piggyback onto one big power wire with some splices and then I'll fuse that sucker. Have yet to find a cheap add-on fuseblock and I HAVE checked the local shops. Grr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Jim, I thought about it but once I discovered how good the regulation out of the CS-130 alternator is (it's within a volt or less from what I've witnessed) and the small change in the reading in that range, it wasn't worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 23, 2001 Share Posted June 23, 2001 Well we can get it, but its not worth it. The JTR manual which listed at Summit for $29.95US, ended up costing me $89 by the time it got to me. $56 in bolts from MSA were $140 by the time they got to me. You get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Drax, is it shipping or customs or what? Seriously, bolts and things are small enough that I'd think someone down here could get them and ship them up if it were simply customs. MSA and VB charge a fortune for their shipping and "handling" too. I don't know about everyone else but paying for "handling" is criminal! I always thought that packaing the stuff was part of their JOB an dnot somehting I shoudl pay extra for! Hrm, I need to get another JTR manual too - my binding has broken and it's falling apart (sigh). Will try hot glue but it's not looking good. Pete - hope my alternator works out that well! Almost done wiring, picked up some fuse assemblies today for a couple of the wires just in case of shorts. Prelubed it too for the heck of it, found a loose fitting or two, It's getting close! Going top have to get plugs and hoses real soon now - wish Jeg's would hurry up and ship my backlogged stuff - hard to fire it with no WATER PUMP PULLEY! Grr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Its everything put together. $56 US = $80 canadian due to exchange. $12US shipping = $18. Then at the border we have to pay taxes (14%) and brokerage. Taxes + brokerage was $40 on those bolts, bringing the total to $140. I was in a hurry for them and I made the mistake of getting them sent UPS. (5 weeks later I got them, but thats another story) If sent USPS taxes and brokerage are waived for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 So much for frikken NAFTA, huh!? Seriously, wasn't NAFTA supposed to take care of all the crock of taxes between us?!? Or was that just Mexico???? David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 I think NAFTA was for Mexico basically. It was a scam to move auto manufacture to Mexico to allow the makers to get cheap labor basically. You'd never know it by the continually elevating sticker prices. Whats funny is the SUV that is so popular is such a low tech vehicle and is relatively cheap for them to produce, yet the price is through the roof. Even standard pickups are insanely priced for what your getting for the most part. I get quite tickled when I see the supposed 'profit loses' they post in the third and fourth quarters. Its all funny money on paper anyway, make a prediction, you don't hit it, you've lost money (that you never for sure were going to get anyway...) business games... blah.. Regards, Lone Ps: Sorry had nothing to do with gauges but I got on a roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Night_rider_383 Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Auto meter gauges is got to be about the best you can buy. I know the 12 volt gauges can get messed up but look at the man. gauges if they was anything better on the market then nascar would use something diff. Look in a nascar stock car and youll find all auto meter gauges, tach, fuel psi, water temp, volts, oil psi, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 24, 2001 Share Posted June 24, 2001 Night, that's a really good point. I'd bet they use the mechanical gages - that's the way I'd go next time. I don't much care for the sport of Nascar racing (it bores me) but I do very much respect the technology. That's the reason I have a Stewart Components water pump on my engine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Pete- Mopar Muscle had an article years ago on voltage regulators for guages. Mopars back when ran a bi-metal strip type regulator that eventually fails. You can put a 7805 regulator (may still be available at radio shack) in the Mopar can, along with a 270 ohm half watt resistor. The modified can works fine- have had it on 2 moprs & an IH. The back of the 7805 package (radio shack 276-1770a) had a picture of the 7805 pinout. The 270 ohm resistor goes from output to ground (stabilizing load for the regulator, one presumes). Other than that, input is from the ign switch & output feeds all the guages. The mopar can may have been needed as a heatsink... don't know. Don't think the guages really draw much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 OOPS- the 7805 is a 5 volt regulator & you are playing with 12. Shuld be a 12 volt version amenable to the same trick. Sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 A.G. I bought the 12 V version from radio shack, but ended up not using it. The sensitivity of the gage to a supply in the 13-14 volt range is low, so I left it alone - didn't want a chip going bad due to a short or jump start or something. Anyway, the stock 240Z gages are regulated just like the Mopar ones - there was an article in one of the Z mags about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 Are the 240z guages regulated at 5 volts or 12? My 240 will probably retain stock guages as they (as someone- you? stated above) serve primarily as indicators of a change from the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 25, 2001 Share Posted June 25, 2001 I'm not positive, but I believe they were regulated to something like 5v, internally. same deal, a bimetal strip heating up, breaking the circuit, cooling, and over again, the "mean" value of the output being about 5V, as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jcp240z Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 One thing about the bimettalic volt regulator used in the Datsun (and other) gauges is that it acts as a compensator for the temp effects in the gauges themselves. The gauge uses a bimetallic meter movement. On a cold day the meter would read lower than on a hot day. The volt reg compensates for this and gives a more accurate reading over a range of environmental conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Night_rider_383 Posted June 26, 2001 Share Posted June 26, 2001 Pete.... Yeah Nascar aint what it use to be for me. Now without dale it just bores me too, but i use to be real big on nascar. Nascar is what got me into rods, racing, engines etc. but myself i look at like what you said the technology. Any car/engine that can be pushed 500 miles at 190 mph and up to 9,500 rpm then you know they have to use the best parts in the engine along with gauges and other parts. From my understanding yes all the gauges they run are man. I think they even use a tach drive and not just a wire to the coil. But never or less the gauges they run are man. auto meter so in my mind that tells me right there they are the best on the market Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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