Why is EGT gauge so important on Evo's?
 

Hey all I am getting some gauges soon, and I only want two as I don't want to clutter my car up too much (can only really put them on the A pillar, I use the center console and I don't like them on the steering column).

I am getting a boost gauge for sure, and the guy at the performance shop that I go to said that the next best one to get would be oil pressure.
But a lot of people on here say EGT is very important to get this is exhaust temp right? Why is it so important? I would have thought that oil temp would have been more important than oil pressure and EGT?

if you exhaust temp too high, you might melt your engine. High Exhaust Temp = too lean.

I had boost and air/fuel. Selling the air/fuel and now I'm running the boost and EGT gauge.

I have color changing omari guages (kick-@$$). I was told that the EGT guage was probably one of the most important, it just gives you a general idea of whats going on in there. Thats about all I can say until I learn more about the car itself.

http://www.zeitronix.com/ Good alternitive to cluttered guages.

I'm gonna guess that it has to do with the exhaust gases running through the turbo...

Oh yeah so you can see a big difference in the exhaust temps, depending how you are driving I guess?

I would have thought that the oil temp would be similar in function.

The oil pressure will only be useful if you are running low on oil, or something pops?

It's a must for DIY tuners who do more than just add simple bolt-ons.

Its not bad for tuning, but I see it more as a safety precaution. Its very useful while doing high mph pulls when the load on the engine is very high.

It's not just important on Evo's...it's important on all cars. Every race car we have has an EGT to monitor how hot it's getting in the engine. Oil temp will help, but probably won't be as responsive. EGT is one of the best "safety" gauges around in my opinion. A/F should be better to tune by, but there are other factors that can influence the temp in the combustion chamber, which should be directly related to the EGT. Proper temps and mounting placement is very important with EGT gauges...I believe that Evo's can run about 1650F before you have problems...I might be a bit off though. And I'm sure that different tuning will produce different numbers. This is also a temp from a gauge mounted fairly close to the engine (2" or so) on the manifold. That's just from what I've gathered on this board (the temp). When we ran NA cars, we didn't see over 1400 with ceramic topped pistons before problems set in...

yeh, egt and your stock water temp is different.

egt, wideband, oil pressure, oil temp, trans temp, are what I'm getting.

A/F gauges, at least the ones with the led lights are just about worthless. If you are worried about running lean, the best options are a EGT gauge, with the node placed in the proper place or a digital A/F gauge that does nothing other than read the voltage on the O2 sensor. You can get these A/F gauges for very cheap. If you are looking to spend some more money, then a wideband would be even better, but in the DSM camp, keeping an eye on the voltage of the O2 sensor is usually a popular option. If you are looking for a round gauage to jamb into a gauge pod, a EGT is far far better option than a worthless colored A/F gauge.

Cool cheers for all the info guys, I will talk to him about which gauge to get when my A pillar pod comes in :)