Gauges

[class7s]

I am building a 5/1600 type buggy and want to know what gauges are typically found in them. Such as Tach, oil pressure etc.

Thank in advance

Dave

[desertracer]

We run tach, oil press, water temp (N/A for an air cooled), oil temp, Volts, and then an idiot light for the alternator, oil pressure, and fuel pump. Some guys run cylinder head temp on the vw's, not sure how important that is in the big picture.

[ntsqd]

I see gauges one of two ways. Either you are using them to diagnose trouble when stopped, or you run the bare minimum b/c you can't really watch them while racing. If you have a dedicated co-dog then you can put gauges in front of he/she.

Personally I'd put gauges (oil temp, oil pres., fuel pres., voltmeter) back where they can be read by someone standing at the engine. In front of the driver I'd put a tach and maybe a volt meter . More importantly I'd put warning lights in front of the driver. Oil temp, oil press, and Charge would be the lights I'd opt for first.

A friend of mine came up with an interesting twist on warning lights. Wire them so that they are ON unless there is a problem, in which case they turn off. That gets around a burnt out bulb not telling you that there is a problem.

Install all gauges so that the normal reading has the needle pointing straight up. That makes it easier to tell at a glance if something is wrong. Another trick is to use red electrical tape to block off the part of the face where you don't ever want the needle to get to. If you can't see the tip of the needle, something is really wrong.

[powerbox_builder]

In a 5/1600 all you really need are alt. and oil idiot lights. They are important on an air cooled car and many people even mount large trailer lights in the dash for this. A tach really only helps with figuring out gearing(especially with a GPS giving you speed), you shouldn't be able to over rev that 1600 or you need another motor builder. Oil temp is helpful but what are you going to do when it gets hot? Most guys don't slow down, but when the race is over you can tell every one how hot it got. Oil pressure is the same thing if the light isn't on your going to keep racing. Voltmeter is helpful for figuring out problems but you can overlay that on the GPS if you use one.

[ChuckH]

You can do the old trick of having all the Gauges twisted and pointing straight up when things are good, one glance will tell you if everything is ok.

[class7s]

thanks much, I guess I will save a bit of $$ buying lights instead of gauges

[desertracer]

Found a pic if you are curious about layout and stuff.

[roach]

dont forget the "FUN" meter, or a "TALENT" guage!!

[TumbleBug]

The Talent gauge is your boxers... :eek: No skid marks Much Talent, minor skid marks some talent, Big steaming lumps... :rolleyes: NO Talent!

[baja_driver]

thanks much, I guess I will save a bit of $$ buying lights instead of gauges


do not over spend on light either...no need for the BIG HID's on the 5-16's(my opinion) ..oil pressure/ volt meter....idiot light..oil pressure and alt. put lights for driver and guages for co-driver..GPS big plus for baja

[JrSyko]

Desert Racer,

Just wondering, but why do you run the battery switch on the driver's side? I kinda always thought you wanted the co-dawg to be able to get to it if need be so that the driver doesn't have to worry about it....

[ntsqd]

Desert Racer,

Just wondering, but why do you run the battery switch on the driver's side? I kinda always thought you wanted the co-dawg to be able to get to it if need be so that the driver doesn't have to worry about it....

I think ideally it should be btwn the driver & co-dog. That way either can get to it in the event the other is incapcitated.

[desertracer]

No particular reason why we ran in over there. I do see the reasoning after the fact about having it in the middle, but we have not had a problem with it yet. When we were building the car we took many pictures of cars down at Jimco and they all seemed to have them over there. It was also easier to route the battery cables down the left side and keep the switch as close to the main lines going to the back. Since then we have added a color gps that hangs just below the dash towards the co-drivers side.

[racer951]

Here's another setup, similar to what people have been suggesting. 2 idiot lights (alt & oil pressure) and a couple switches.

[racer_dude]

that is a nice radio mount you have there racer951.

in our 5/1600 we have 2 idiot lights and a oil temp and switches

[racer951]

I assume you are referring to the zip ties. The zip ties are just holding the first aid kit on there, the radio is securely in place and i think you can see the mount if you look closely. That was kind of a "throw the car together to make the race" picture.

[curt]

I would at least have and alt and oil pressure gauges in addition to the idiot lights. When the lights come on, you would have an extra check avail from the seat. If the cash is the problem, get some cheap ones...You can never have too much diagnostic equipment available during a race...Curt