i have herd the stories go both way that mechanical gauges are better then electronic ones and vis versa anyone have any real facts and answers as to which will perform better? thanks


evoisdream

 

MECHANICAL! They're more instantaneous as well as accurate because it's getting the information from the source and not depending on various factors that could cause inaccuracies in ECU that Electrical Gauges depends on.

 

thats exactly what i was thining but i have been told otherwise so i was confused....

 

so does everyone agree then mechanical are better? what about the boost gauge when u ran a vac line would it take away from ur boost or be inaccurate becuase of the length of hose?

 

It depends on the gauge. I would run mechanical for everything except for the ones that run fluid into your car through the line. Oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp, etc etc are all electrical for me. Just in case a line bursts, cracks, or comes off the back of the gauge....

 

I had a mechanical boost gauge and found out it was not accurate. I now have a new electronic gauge that is pretty much on the $$$. So as far as the boost gauge goes I think that the electronic one is better. This is just because of the accuracy issue I had with a couple of other mechanical gauges.


Derek

 

hrmmmm yeah so it pretty much sounds like electrical are the way to go...

 

Stick w/ a reputable brand gauge and you should be okay with either. I prefer electrical gauges since you don't have to route any lines into the cabin. Electrical gauges also have more options available, like playback, peak & hold, warning light, etc..

 

well i was really wanting to go with the defi d series or the blitz ones i forgot the series the blue backed ones the d series is mechanical correct?

 

yeh, depends on the mechanics of your mechanical boost gauge.

How can you be sure if your electronic one was accurate?

 

hrmmmm i dont know which way to go now! lol

 

Got the defi d series boost gauge, hits 19 psi when it should. Seems to be very accurate as well, and I really like the part where I didn't have to spend over $200 for a boost gauge (BF series, electronic gauges) as well as the control unit. Like said before, a reputable brand should get the job just fine. Don't go buying the crap out of the street racing magizines, where it has like 300 different products listed and everything is $30. You get what you pay for.

 

yeah i never had any intention to do that i just didnt know if i should go with the defi or the blitz or greddy electronic ones i really like the look and have wanted the defi but i knew they were mechanical so i was hesitant...

 

the mechanical ones are much more accurate, the defi d-series would be your best bet. And don't get the autometer one's some are good some aren't

 

Just because a gauge is electrical does not mean it can be innaccurate. Just because a gauge is mechanical does not mean it will be accurate. Accuracy lies in the calibration of the gauge by the manufacturer. In most cases, you get what you pay for. The more expensive gauges are better built and will most likely be more accurate. A good way to check the accuracy of a boost gauge is to measure it against another gauge that's accurate.

I installed my greddy boost gauge when my car was stock. I know our cars run around 1.3 bar up to 5k rpm stock. My gauge read pretty close to that so I know it's accurate.