other Which Vdo Gauges?

[jrhone]

I know alot of people have gotten VDO gauges and I THINK the consensus is the VDO Vision series matches the stock gauges very well.  I plan on doing Oil temp, oil pressure and voltage...is there any reason I should get something else other than those?  Also what range for the oil temp and oil pressure?  Seems like they come in a few different ranges and I was wondering what range would work best for the 02.  

[John_in_VA]

I'd go with water temp vs. voltage, with 40-year old potentially-flaky cluster temp gauge.

[Guest_anonymous]

You can grab a cluster out of a vw cabrio for those three (I think they are the Cockpit series gauges) The pressure is a 5bar gauge, an 8bar would be better to show the higher pressure range. If you do scavenge them from a cabrio be sure to take the senders as well. The oil pressure sender will mount into an earlier distributor housing that is tapped for an m10 thread pitch. If not, you may need to acquire the adapter that Bavauto lists for the m10 to m12 thread.

Edited July 27, 2014 by daron_in_

[Simeon]

Put gauges on things that you can do something about. Oil temperature, on a non race car, is probably pointless. What is 'high' oil temperature and how would you get that without a corresponding high water temperature?

 

If you got 'high' oil temperature but not high water temperatures then what would you do? Stop?

 

Voltage, oil pressure and coolant temperature are all relevant to the street driven water cooled classic car. If you had a dynamo based charging system then an ammeter could be of value but noting that they are tricky to install, often with a wire carrying the full current of the system to the dash for the meter and then back to the fuseboard / battery. 

 

If you want the gauges to dress up the interior (which is cool) then why not try other gauges like a vacuum gauge - tells a lot about engine condition and tune or these days a AFR meter. I wonder what would be involved in adding 4 x EGT gauges to monitor each cylinder?

[Chamonix72]

This is where I chime in again and say that a volt meter can save you from a ruined day. I had the ground wire to my alternator break, and I wouldn't have noticed if not for seeing the volt meter start to drop. I was able to limp to safety and get the issue resolved without totally ruining my day. I will also say that for a naturally aspirated street 2002, an oil temp gauge is near useless. I used to have one and the needle hardly moved. I went with coolant temp, oil pressure and volts. The coolant temp is a little redundant but I am running Megasquirt so I like having a bit more precision in my water temp for tuning.

[BLUNT]

Ill guess Ill go against the group here and say an oil temp gauge on any car is valuable.  My coolant comes up to temp WAY before my oil is at a temp where I feel comfortable thrashing the motor.

[TobyB]

VDO Cockpit (solid needle) and Vision (translucent needle) look right.

 

For me, in order: Oil pressure, Temp, Volts, Oil Temp, Beers Remaining in Trunk, Clock.

 

 

how would you get {high oil temp} without a corresponding high water temperature?

 

A long blast at high speed.  Oil temp's useful for a track car for this, and as Blunt says,

it's also the 'get-on-it-o-meter'- when your oil's cold, it's better to keep revs to 4500 or so, max.

 

 

If you got 'high' oil temperature but not high water temperatures then what would you do? Stop?

Or just slow down a bit.  If it happened a lot, fit an oil cooler.  Mostly

on track cars, but a long run on 90 towards Spokane (at high speeds)

when air temp was high, I'd see 240f at 'cruise' at 4500 rpm...

 

As to ranges, 100 psi is good, 250 water, 250 oil (yes, I usually use

a water temp gauge on the oil, and only panic if I see it pegged).

 

Volts are very useful with the Alt light- if the alt light comes on AND the voltage

drops, you pull over to make sure you still have your water pump drive belt...

And sometimes, the alt fails in such a way that the light doesn't come on,

but you don't get enough charge... 

 

All good,

 

t

[Koblenz]

Beers Remaining in Trunk (BRT gauge), now will that one also display the beer cooler temp as well?

I am looking to get three VDO visions- Oil pressure, Water Temp and Volts.  That being said what are the numeric ranges I should look for?

Additionally, these will mount on the Clardy air con console.  Anyone have input or have done this mount?

Thanks

[bob02]

I'm with Blunt. If i relied on the stock water temp gauges on my car(s), i would be getting on them when the oil is still like syrup. Having both water and oil gauges in two cars, i find the water warms up approx. 4 times faster than the oil.

[AceAndrew]

i chose oil temp., pressure, and a clock.  Have the silver dollar cluster so the series-one gauges seemed the best fit (saw some pictures esty took some time ago).  I've got the range details and part numbers if you pm me a reminder.

 

Write up here...

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/topic/148392-north-hollywood-speedo-comes-through/

 

In regards to the 2002...

(For a period correct look to match the later all-black-faced gauges use VDO "viewline" or "vision" guages. For a correct look on an early car using the "silver dollar" gauges, consider using VDO series-one gauges). 

Edited July 27, 2014 by AceAndrew

[Kidasters]

Agree with the Voltmeter comments.  All cars should have a voltmeter.  Ammeters are scary.  My old mini had an ammeter.  If you stop and think about it - all of the current in your car running through the dash is terrifying.  Twice as terrifying when you realize the harness in your car was done by Lucas - Lord of Darkness.  When I re-did all the gauges in the mini dash a few years ago - I yanked that entire circuit out and simplified with a voltmeter.  Does the same thing - electrical health indication - but way safer.  

 

Besides what Toby and Blunt say about oil temp - the other thing to consider is what you are really measuring.  The oil temp port most of us use is where the oil pressure warning light is on the back of the head.  Honestly, that's a terrible oil temp measuring spot - it's not really in the oil flow path - it's really measuring head temperature.  So - my top three are 1) Voltage, 2) Oil Pressure and 3) Head Temperature.

 

Oh, and I'm using VDO Vision gauges in a dash pod similar to the one sold by Bavarian Autosport.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Kidasters

[TobyB]

I personally measure oil temp in the pan.

 

 

I've also put a long- nose sensor in the

tii injection pump oil feed location- that

seemed to work, too. 

 

t

[roadhog0]

I have a set of modified series one gauges with a cockpit gauge face. Hollywood Speedo set mine up for me. They're very nice! Their customer service is great and they beat the eguages prices

 

[Gordon]

Speaking of mounts and gauges, check out Parker Performance

 

http://www.parkerperformance.com/

 

I have a Parker radio mount kit in my tii which they no longer make, it's now radio kit plus gauges.

 

G-Man

[Kidasters]

G-man - thanks for the reminder.

I bought my gauges (and maybe the gauge pod) from Parker.  One nice thing about that - the pre-made, pre-labeled harness that came with them.  Which really helped a lot with installation.

 

Ken