Project-T Parts: Part 3 - Monitoring Equipment

Alright! You've got your kit and compensating equipment to balance your car to its new performance system model. What next?

Well, it's always a great idea to monitor your setup, especially for forced induction. One method in monitoring your monster is to setup a few gauges!

There are a plethora of gauges out there to choose from! You have:

• Boost/Vacuum Gauges: To monitor boost/vacuum levels of the intake. You can determine whether your turbo is properly spooling and building boost by checking the boost levels but you can also check if you have any vacuum leaks if your vacuum level isn't strong enough.
• Fluid Pressure Gauges: Monitor your coolant, fuel or even oil pressure using a pressure gauge to ensure that your fluid pumps are operating correctly and at the correct pressure. A low oil pressure could end up grinding your motor if insufficient oil is being pumped around, zero oil pressure may mean one of your oil lines has ruptured.. Oh noes! Very low fuel pressure, especially at high boost, could indicate some explosive conditions too!
• Temperature Gauges: You can monitor the temperature of your coolant (water), oil and even exhaust gas. Monitoring temperatures can help identify any overheating before you get a Check Engine Light (CEL). Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) gauges can help indentify if your air/fuel cocktails are getting too lean or too rich, the higher the temps, the leaner the mix and vice versa. But there's a better way to monitor air/fuel ratios...
• Air/fuel Ratio Gauges: There are two basic types; a narrow-band and a wide-band. This is dependent on what type of sensor (or computer combo) the gauge is hooked up to. A narrowband sensor is the most basic albiet somewhat useless for tuning. It basically flips back and forth between rich and lean as the engine idles. When its flipping back and forth naturally, it basically means the engine is at stoich (more or less), but if it starts to stick to one side, the air/fuel ratios are either lean or rich.. But you can't tell exactly how lean or rich. That's where wide-bands come in. These guys are sophisticated oxygen sensors, usually paired with a controller (if not built into the gauge). They measure and calculate air/fuel ratios, accurately map them and display precise increments. For tuners, wide-bands are a must.

The above are the primary types of gauges you would use to monitor your monster.. But the list doesn't stop there. There are also volt meters, tachometers, speedometers to even combo gauges that can display a crap load of things on a pretty screen. It's up to you to mix and match what gauges you would like to choose for your setup.

Since I will be tuning my little monster myself, I'll definitely have a wide-band air/fuel ratio gauge paired with a Innovate Motorsports LC-1 as it includes a brand new Bosche Wide-band O2 sensor.

via Innovate Motorsports

I would also like to confirm that the turbo is pressurising the intake so I'll add a boost gauge too. The turbo kit requires routing new oil and coolant lines, if an oil line breaks, I won't know if I'll be loosing oil, so I'll be investing in an oil pressure gauge. I really don't want to clutter my dash with more than three pod style gauges so I'll be investing in a combo gauge.

Specifically I'll be getting a ScanGaugeII. This gauge connects to your cars Onboard Diagnostics 2 (OBDII) port and can relay information your factory ECU is currently reading. So air temp, coolant temp, MAF sensor readings, fuel consumption and fuel trims are covered! Yeah! One cool feature that the ScanGauge has is that if you do get a Check Engine Light (CEL) (and you'll probably will at one point in time), you can scan the codes and display meaningful information on the CEL (Freeze Frame Data)!

via ScanGauge by LinearLogic

I think that should do it for now! Three additional gauges and a multi-display gauge should be good for my setup!