Good for you. I don't have an oil pres Autometer but have the volt and boost Atutometer and they have been great for years.
Santa was good to me
So my wife is awesome... and bought me boost and oil pressure Defi Gauges (red back lit). I have to say... these things are freaking awesome, and well worth the money. Wiring them in is cake and I had no issues. I have to say that over my autometer gauges, these things are miles ahead. The autometers were cheap piles of crap to be honest, but for 45$ each they got the job done. The fluid pressure (you can attach the sender to fuel oil or whatever you want), is extremely responsive, and actually shows COMPLETELY different readings vs the autometer. Boost/vacuum is also a much smoother needle sweep, and very responsive. Heres some comparison for you:
Autometer oil PSI readings:
overnight start up (30 degrees) ambient temps: 85ish
Engine warmed up idle: somewhere between the 25 and 12.5 hash mark
3k steady under load: about 1 needle spacing above the 50psi mark
5k rpm: near the 62.5 hash mark
Defi oil PSI readings:
Same ice cold morning start: 104 PSI Touching the throttle at all shoots it to like 120 or so
Warm idle: exactly 16-18psi.
3k Steady under load: 54-56psi
5k rpm: 76psi
Some times the needle in the autometer would stick as well, then jump to a higher number as you rev the engine. The sweep was anything but smooth. And what concerned me the most, was sometimes the autometer at highway cruise 3krpm would show a needle space past 50, sometimes it would sit dead center on 50psi and I got paranoid thinking my oil pump was taking a dump. Granted I would prefer my cruising pressure to be closer to 62-65psi at 3k, and the idle to be a couple pounds more, but FSM says anything over [email protected] idle is good, and [email protected] 3k is good. So no worries for me yet. Also these gauges look sexy like they were supposed to be there. Vs the autometers that look cheap and crummy. Pics to come when i'm less lazy...
Autometer oil PSI readings:
overnight start up (30 degrees) ambient temps: 85ish
Engine warmed up idle: somewhere between the 25 and 12.5 hash mark
3k steady under load: about 1 needle spacing above the 50psi mark
5k rpm: near the 62.5 hash mark
Defi oil PSI readings:
Same ice cold morning start: 104 PSI Touching the throttle at all shoots it to like 120 or so
Warm idle: exactly 16-18psi.
3k Steady under load: 54-56psi
5k rpm: 76psi
Some times the needle in the autometer would stick as well, then jump to a higher number as you rev the engine. The sweep was anything but smooth. And what concerned me the most, was sometimes the autometer at highway cruise 3krpm would show a needle space past 50, sometimes it would sit dead center on 50psi and I got paranoid thinking my oil pump was taking a dump. Granted I would prefer my cruising pressure to be closer to 62-65psi at 3k, and the idle to be a couple pounds more, but FSM says anything over [email protected] idle is good, and [email protected] 3k is good. So no worries for me yet. Also these gauges look sexy like they were supposed to be there. Vs the autometers that look cheap and crummy. Pics to come when i'm less lazy...
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The boost I originally had read 1PSI lower than actual metered PSI, it also showed that it was pulling more vacuum than actual. This was verified with equipment used to calibrate aircraft metering systems, so i trust the machine over the autometer gauge =]
Dave you have a different series dont you? I was using the Ultra lite-II pro comp series. I had heard from a guy i know locally that he had problems with the same gauges being piles of crap.
Dave you have a different series dont you? I was using the Ultra lite-II pro comp series. I had heard from a guy i know locally that he had problems with the same gauges being piles of crap.
My Boost is the Sport-Comp model.
Sorry to be a hater, but autometer is crap. If you are lookinf for a guage just to see if you have "some" boost or "some" oil then they are fine, adn they are great for the price....but If you are acutlly using them for tuning...I will never buy a non electric gauge again. I have bought Autometer gauges and have them showing 1 pound of boost before install! To proove my point awhile back to my dsm friends I hooked up 2 boost gauges (both Autometer from each friends car), and without even hitting boost the vacume was off 4 psi between them!
But you do get what you pay for, but in my opinion mechincal gauges is a thing of the past, with an electric gauge if I would have had one (like the autometer that showed 1 pound of boost factory) that was not calibrated correctly, I just hit the calibrate button, or turn it on and it will do it for me. So with a gauge that is off a pound not installed, think about how far off it may be at 10 lbs! even if it shows 0 off, I would not trust autometer....well as far as boost/oil pressure/fuel pressure goes...
Maybe gauges such as egt or oil temp might be alright...I can only knock anything pressure they make.
But you do get what you pay for, but in my opinion mechincal gauges is a thing of the past, with an electric gauge if I would have had one (like the autometer that showed 1 pound of boost factory) that was not calibrated correctly, I just hit the calibrate button, or turn it on and it will do it for me. So with a gauge that is off a pound not installed, think about how far off it may be at 10 lbs! even if it shows 0 off, I would not trust autometer....well as far as boost/oil pressure/fuel pressure goes...
Maybe gauges such as egt or oil temp might be alright...I can only knock anything pressure they make.
Where did you attackh the oil pressure sender? I have yet to hook up my MeganRacing oil pressure guage.. Thanks
and ya autometer guages do suck, PO had them and i just threw them away.. But good for you, thats a NICE wife!!
and ya autometer guages do suck, PO had them and i just threw them away.. But good for you, thats a NICE wife!!
I put a T in the oem sender location, so (i know this is ridiculous) the oem gauge would still work.
And just what is wrong with wanting the oem gauge to work? 
Nothing, but it seems redundant since it doesnt even work properly. Its pretty much good to say "yeah there's pressure, how much, we dont know).Cuis-z said:And just what is wrong with wanting the oem gauge to work?
I like the appearance of the Defi gauges but my 5-year old Autometers are dead-on accurate so far at least vac/boost...haven't checked others...it's tough to knock them as I haven't had issues.
BTW...Autometer is a consistent Z car event sponsor for a variety of z events (zcon '08, zcon '10, Midwest Heritage '08/'10...). Defi wouldn't return phone calls or email.
BTW...Autometer is a consistent Z car event sponsor for a variety of z events (zcon '08, zcon '10, Midwest Heritage '08/'10...). Defi wouldn't return phone calls or email.
Little did we know that was true. ;DLuminar said:And what concerned me the most, was sometimes the autometer at highway cruise 3krpm would show a needle space past 50, sometimes it would sit dead center on 50psi and I got paranoid thinking my oil pump was taking a dump.
As of now I am searching arround to see what gauges to get for my car w/out breaking the bank. This thread was very helpful!
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