so got into an argument with a fellow evo owner. usually im non confrontational but this guy decided to be how everyone with a honda thinks of us... a douchebag.

i know everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if its your car, you build it how you want and thats all that matters. he posted his opinion and i offered mine, and now i want yours.

is a boost gauge and wideband essential to you or is it irrelevant and something a built car doesnt need?

my opinion doesnt matter but is as follows. they are not something that is necessarily needed for the car to perform but they are cheap insurance and in turn needed to monitor vital functions. without a simple boost gauge you would not be able to monitor boost levels. if an overboost issue occured it may be too late even if you are logging boost in evoscan via ecu controlled boost and you run the risk of engine damage.

without a wideband, again the same situation could cause a lean condition and damage the motor. or you could potentially diagnose a boost leak or even a failing fuel pump and save your engine. whereas if your counting on doing a pull and looking at the log afterwards you may be looking at a hole in your block before looking at the log to see what happened, and if you had either of those gauges you could have saved your engine.

now this guys opinion was as follows:

if the motor is built right you dont need gauges because their will never be any problems if its built right.

is this guy as dumb as i think he is?

 

Gauges to me are important to keep you informed on whats going on with your engine(investment). Plus cheap insurance.

 

I forget, race teams put gauges in race cars because of the bling factor, right?

 

he claims david buschur's white rs 9 second street driven daily doesnt have gauges so why should his but i dont know if that claim is true or not. maybe he can chime in and explain why he doesnt if its true or give his opinion since its where this came about.

 

I gotta go with dumb. Engines are such finicky creatures, wrong gas, parts fail, etc.. I would much rather spend a little to save alot. And if cars didn't need gauges, regular cars would only have a speedo and a gas gauge. So again, going with dumb.

 

Thread title/question is vague.

 

glad you mentioned it because i just remembered another dumb comment he said.

he said if they were important all cars would have them and if they were essential all cars would have blown up by now. i was like they arent really essential on a stock car that a soccer mom takes her kids to soccer practice in but when its "modified" its a different story.

 

how is it vague? im simply wanting your imput on if gauges are stupid and not needed like this guy said or if they are worth having.

if he is right im selling my gauges and using the money for other things since they arent needed lmao. to me saying a wideband and boost gauge isnt needed in a modified car is like saying a fuel gauge isnt needed on anything that requires gas to operate.

 

Depends on what you want to know and when...could turn a $2.00 prob into a $2000 problem and a nice walk home. I use gauges.

 

The less stock you are, the more you need gauges. IMHO.

 

Is a gauge going to save you from a sudden catastrophic part failure? Of course not.
Is it going to let you know when something is starting to go wrong so you can shut down? Yes.

That's the value.

 

I'd go with a bewst gauge and AFR gauge for my own reassurance, beyond that I think is overkill, for a mildly modded vehicle anyway. It's convenient to be able to actively watch these two readings while driving, whether coasting or hammering down. My biggest beef right now is installing said gauges without it looking ricerific, not easily done with this cars interior.

 

Stock cars have gauges what, the check engine there for oil light and others. Gauges are uses full for someone who knows what there looking for not for some idiot that payed some to but there car together cause they have no idea what it is there for or what it should read. It like newer vehicles come with tire pressure light and ppl still dont know what that light is are why its important.

 

^^ my thoughts exactly. Gauges are only important if you know what to look for. My oil temp gauge is invaluable to me because it helps me know my car is up to full operating temperature.

Quick sidenote: my mom called me a week ago cuz some random light came o on her dash and she didnt know what it was. It was the tire pressure light lol

 

i would also consider what the car is being used for. for instance a drag evo, meant just for the track. i wouldnt see it needing gauges since you're going to be pulling/viewing logs after each run. now a daily driver with spirited driving, yes i would use gauges as a failsafe.