Edumacate me on aftermarket gauges

[JGood]

I'd like to use my open radio slot for 3 gauges in my track car. It's not being used and I figured it would be nice to use that space to keep tabs on my car.

So, I've been looking around, but don't have any experience. What brands are good? What's the deal with sending units, are they usually included? The sending units aren't universal right? So where do I get e30 specific stuff?

I was thinking oil pressure, oil temp, and voltage gauges. I don't necessarily trust my dash lights to come on, if there's a blown bulb I won't know it...

[JRKOUPE]

VDO or Autometer......

I bought my vdo stuff from BMP, op and ot......I use my oe light hook up...and I run a warning light for op...issues on lt handers, be careful. I think I once sent you a pic.......in my upper ac slot...

the radio is a bit lo.....and w/o a mini cam recording it..youll never see it while hustling on a track anyways. Ask if you want a pic....i may even have p/n for ya.

[JGood]

the radio is a bit lo.....and w/o a mini cam recording it..youll never see it while hustling on a track anyways.

I never thought about that...

[JRKOUPE]

I never thought about that...

I DO USE A CAM...AND ITS GREAT........ w/o one youll be able to glance at gauges on straight -aways to confirm health of engine..thats a plus..... and worthwhile...but radio slot is a bit lo.....

[jlevie]

Vdo and Spa are good brands and http://www.egauges.com is a good source for Vdo.

Save your money and leave out the voltage and oil temp gauges. An E30 doesn't have oil temp issues unless the engine is overheating, in which case you already know that you have a problem. For a track car the alternator warning light is plenty good enough.

BavAuto has a nice adapter for connecting an oil pressure sensor. I prefer to hard mount the sensor on the back side of the motor mount arm and connect the sensor to the block with copper tubing. That makes it easier to get to the oil filter and doesn't have the sensor cantilevered off the block.

As JoelRKaplan says, the radio location is really lower than you want it. The center vent location is much better.

Next time you are at the track, feel the oil cooler lines right after a session. The odds are that they won't be hot, which means that the oil never got hot enough for the thermostat to open. I'm not sure what the operating point of the thermostat is, but I suspect it to be around 230F. I know that mine didn't open at the end of a 25 minute session in 100F ambients...

As an FYI, moving spring for the oil cooler thermostat to the other side of the thermostat will result in full-time oil cooler operation.

[JGood]

Next time you are at the track, feel the oil cooler lines right after a session. The odds are that they won't be hot, which means that the oil never got hot enough for the thermostat to open. I'm not sure what the operating point of the thermostat is, but I suspect it to be around 230F. I know that mine didn't open at the end of a 25 minute session in 100F ambients...

As an FYI, moving spring for the oil cooler thermostat to the other side of the thermostat will result in full-time oil cooler operation.

Good info. Is it possible your thermostat needed replaced? That's surprising that it would only open after the engine begins overheating... Is moving that spring and allowing full time cooler operation a good thing, or won't the oil be in it's optimal range? My lines are seeping right at the top so I think mine is opening...

[jlevie]

When I first noticed that the cooler wasn't operating I assumed that the thermostat was bad. So I replaced the entire adapter with a new OE part (the thermostat isn't available separately). When it didn't open during a track weekend with 104-105F ambients temps I decided to find a way to have it in operation full time. I did play around with the thermostat and verified that it would open. It appeared to open at about 230F, which says to me that an E30 doesn't need an oil temp gauge...

Since the car is a dedicated track rat, I'm not overly worried about having the oil too cold. Here in the south that would only be a possibility in the winter when it hardly ever goes out on the road. In that case I can switch to 5w30 (I normally run 10w50) and/or cover the oil cooler. The advantage to cooler oil is better lubrication and a bit higher oil pressure. With the cooler operating full time I get about 15ps/1000rpm at the end of a track session. Before the mod I'd be doing good to see 11psi/1000rpm. This has worked out so well that now I'm thinking of a larger oil cooler located where the A/C condenser used to be.

Seepage from the cooler lines or the adapter probably means that you need new o-rings. They are cheap and easy to replace.