[Guest]

I am going to put a boost gauge on my car and cannot decide which to choose. It comes down to the Defi as fitted by Colin and an SPA Design digital readout gauge. The SPA appeals because you can get 2 functions on 1 gauge - Boost plus air/water/oil temp.

Has anybody any experience of the SPA Design kit?

 

[Guest]

Go 4 an analogue guage ( like the Defi ) , it's more difficult 2 flash read a digital guage and for boost pressure thats important. With an analogue gauge u don't so much read the numbers as the position of the pointer so u become familiar with the reading 4 normal boost pressure. Also , the SPA digital has small digits so is hard 2 read anyway.
BTW , doesn't the Defi have recall 4 peak etc ? , useful feature.

 

[Guest]

Defi also has a reply function (40 sec.), peak boost indication and you can also set a warning light when going above a specific boost value.
I've fitted one on mine and it's of top quality, also good to read.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Guest]

the Defi just don't match the 7 at all i think. i have been looking for a while to find a boost gauge for the 7. the best so far are the Greddy boost gauge it is black background, white needle and writing aslo there is an HKS on that is similar. they both will show the peak and so on as they are digital.
i prefer the HKS one as it is the only one that reads in KPa IE BAR the rest ( defi included read in kg/cm) i know the difference is small but there is still a difference.

sam

 

[Guest]

I checked today, HKS has stopped production of the Black faced, red scale and needle gauge !

Closest HKS is now dark blue, white scale, white needle. 8-(

Justin

 

[Guest]

Sam

The Defi also is also available with a black background and white markings, perhaps you have only seen the white faced ones?

 

[Guest]

Simon,

I have the Defi boost gauge (for my previous E6TME) and I think it is
very nice. There are some dissadvantages though:

Quite big to fit in the steering wheel column and comes with a Greenish
light (when switching on the lights). I bought mine directly from Takakaira (japan)
and fitted it my self (not a problem in my E6).

BTW the Defi comes with a number of functions (as others already mentioned) which are
quite helpful (although still haven't managed to replay a recorder stream of boost data because
of the manual that came with the gauge was in japanese).

The Defi guage is not difficult to fit it yourself (I would expect the same fo any electronic boost gauge)
and if you want I can give you a hand during a weekend if you want to do so. Whatever your choice,
buying directly from japan may prove less expensive too.


Regards,


Alex.

 

[Guest]

yes but don't they have green backlighting? that makes them a very good match for the scoob but not an EVO.

if i can't get the gauge that i want then i will get some digital display for the time being until they start making some stuff for the 7. it is only a matter of time. i think the SPA digital ones are good demon tweeks are selling them for 133£ and this will show boost and oil temp in one gauge. very handy if you ask me.

another option i have thought about is HUD, it will also look OK still better than green backlight me thinks

sam

 

[Guest]

What does Ralliart fit to the Extreme and/or EVO VII Stage One?

 

[Guest]

They don't, which is why I want to fit one!!!

 

[Guest]

Simon

I thought about it - but why? £100|PLS| wasted, unless you are going for serious bhp. I thought about one hence the reason I asked Rich for the pictures of his DEFI gauge.

 

[Guest]

WOW, I want this! Anyone have experience intalling an oil temp gauge?

 

[Guest]

I've mounted mine at the A-pillar so with you don't even have to look down during driving.
Follow the link and then you know how to use the replay function:
http://www.defi-shop.com/defilink/otdflink/howopera/opemenu/opefrm.html

Sam

It's only two percent difference between to the values.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Guest]

hi mike
funny that really, the web site link you have provided have got these new defi gauges on display

should be interesting, they look like they match the 7 as close as they can get!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Sam

Might suit the car more but it is mechanical. This means it could be a lot less accurate and doesn't have the usual Defi features. Shame, but function is just as important as for to me.

 

[Guest]

very true SIMON
but how important is play back? it is only a gimmik, to be able to replay 40secs means nothing really. if you are tuning the car you will be watching the gauge most of the time and on track the last 40 secs is not really enough. once the car is tuned it should not really oberboost unless it is cold for example. however if things go wrong you will be grossly over boosting that it should be quite obvious.

if you want some useful function get some data logging. and you can data log 10 laps on track and then measure boost,temps,knock etc... that what i had before. the boost gauge is just an indication of what boost you want to run.

i am not saying that the functions of the defi are not good, surely they are a great piece of kit to show off in front of your firends.


just my IMHO

sam

 

[Guest]

Sam

Just noted that it is a US guage with PSI. I have only just learnt to think in bar or kg/cm and am so simple that the conversion would overload my brain

 

[Guest]

SIMON
1 p.s.i. |EQU|0.07 Bar. I chose to fit a PRO-COMP gauge in my TME in p.s.i. because i thought that a p.s.i. reading would be more accurate in terms of being able to read small increases in boost pressure after tuning. Just my opinion of course. Regards SIMON.

 

[Guest]

totally agree re, the PSI provides smaller boost increments. i mean this may sound a bit stupid but i don't mind PSI and i don't mind bar i have been using them for few years now and i can make the conversion in mind between the two almost instantly.

to be honest i think i am just not used to kg/cm. i am a perfectionist i suppose and i will be worried about those 0.2%of boost that i am loosing

sam

 

[Guest]

Just to add my two pence worth
I guess all you MLR members know what I have fitted to my E6
I did look at the SPA design instruments but I decided against them as they were digital readouts which are not ideal to read quickly (as Evoboy said). It is difficult for the human brain to comprehend a digital readout whereas an analogue needle is easy to get a rough idea even without knowing the exact value. I decided against HKS and the like due to the price, I don't want to pay an extra £60-£70 just for a brand name. I also looked at Racetech dual gauges which are analogue but the fact they were cheap mechanical gauges put me off, also they didn't do a dual gauge featuring boost readout.
The Defi appealed to me because it was good quality, comes with virtually everything to fit it included, is easy to fit, very easy and cheap to add extra gauges to it with the same functionality and above all was great value for money.

If you want a decent gauge then you can't go far wrong with the Defi-Link system, if you want a decent gauge and to match the illumination then look elsewhere but expect to pay more for it (A'pexi do a blue illumination gauge suitable for the E6).

As for kgfcm2 then as has been said it is only 2% difference to bar or in other words there is a 0.02bar difference for every 1kgfcm2 read! If anyone can spot the difference over 2 kgfcm2 then they will have to have bloody good eyesite!
For those who are really worried then Defi-Link Boost gauges are also available in PSI if you get the American version.

True the playback function is not that important with just a boost gauge. Add other gauges to the system though and it becomes more useful as you can playback the whole lot at once. It will never be as useful as datalogging though but then again it never was intended to be. I looked at the playback functions as an 'extra' to the more useful Peak mode and Overboost Warning light which was the minimum I wanted.

I got my gauge from Newage Motorsport. MLR members have a look in Wastgate Chatter for the special offer that is available. For everyone else it's £139 inc VAT |PLS| P and amp;P

Sam,
Defi HUD displays are illegal on UK cars, just a warning come MOT time if you get one