...anyone know how accurate they are? Just curious if they are like the gauges on the LS1 cars where even if the engine is running hotter than normal it still reads normal, kind of a dummy gauge until it gets way out ot specs. Anyone know?

-Sly

 

i don't know about the temp gauge, but the oil pressure gauge is just a coplicated oil pressure light. the needle stays in the middle constantly until the pressure drops below some preset extremely low value. i wouldn't be suprised if the temp gauge was similar. i found a fix for the oil pressure gauge, i just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

 

It's not accurate, it's buffered.

 

As stated the factory gauges are buffered. There could be a 20-30 degree variance, but the gauge will not move past normal unless overheating. For most applications this is fine. If you start to overheat, then some cooling component failed altogether.

 

Does any guage that Ford makes work properly?

 

i think the gas gauge works well enough.

and some cooling component doesn't always have to fail for the engine to overheat. it is not really a problem for us, and not in "normal" applications, but i know 03-04 cobras have a tendancy to heat up on road courses.

 

Reason I ask is I installed 2 electric fans the other day. Rated at 1250cfm each, one runs all the time, the other is thermostatically controlled. I wanted to make sure I wasn't running hotter than before if we have dummy gauges. So far it seems to be doing fine, no detonation (from excess heat) and pop the hood everytime I shut it off to listen for coolant bubbling and nothing yet. I was curious because I know some aftermarket fan assy's are rated at 3500cfm's or 1000 more than the setup I created. Guess I'll go to the auto store and use one of the infra-red(sp) sensors to check the temp.

-Sly

 

Sorry I should have been more specific. Normal use and daily driving is not a problem unless a component fails. The old days of sitting in traffic and the a/c on could cause problems, but I don't think modern cars have any problems. Roadracing is a bit extreme and hard on a cooling system, so upgrades are not uncommon. Towing can cause issues also.

Every manufacture is skimping to cust costs. Imagine what a decent aftermarket gauge costs and total that by millions of cars produced. Of course this is not accurate for cost but proves my point.

My last truck had a gauge for oil pressure, voltage, etc. from the factory. Now all I get is the basics.

The WRX doesn't even come with a boost gauge and is an option.

 

my temp guage droped down when i put the 170 thermo in from the 180 so i guess its pretty close
oil is a joke tho

 

badazz99l,

just use the test mode on the odometer. with the key off, hold down the trip meter button while you turn on the key. it should say "test" on the odometer screen, keep holding down the button while you start the engine. then release the buttton, and press it repeatedly to cycle through until you get to "degC" that is coolant temp in degrees Celcius. that is an acurate, real-time reading, and should help with your testing.

 

lol that's a good point, I knew about that but totally forgot. Just for the record, what is the average reading in celsius it runs with the stock components anyone know?

-Sly

 

i'll check for you today when i get off work, but it think it should run between 80-85*C

i would shut it down if it ever hit 95-100*C

 

Cool thanks man! So they are setup to shut down if they get too warm?? That's pretty sweet I didn't know that.

-Sly

 

i don't know if they automatically shut down. I would shut it down myself, aka turn the key off if it gets to hot.

 

lol my bad I mis-read what you said. Also I drove home watching the gauge. Normal driving it sits at about 84-85 celsius, under a lot of load with ac on and in stop and go traffic it gets up to 88 degrees with an occasional spike to 90 but then comes right back down to 85 or so after driving it down the street. How does this compare to factory?

-Sly