gauges, liquid filled worth it? brand?

[Stephen]

Title pretty much says it all. Application would be a class 3 racer. I've used the auto meter sport comps for recreational banging around but I wonder about constant higher levels of vibration of racing.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

I don't know how big of a deal the vibration is, but liquid-filled guages won't cloud with dust like my non-liquid-filled Autometer Pro guages have.

[johnnyweb]

we have used non liquid filled vdo gauges for many years and have had no gauge failure or dust inside of them. i think it depends on your budget. if you can afford them wy not. but building a race truck is a expensive venture and the money might be spent on other more important items.

[Stephen]

Hadn't considered dust in the gauge, I wonder if they could be easily sealed better with a bit of clear silicone? I'll have to look at my sport comps to see.
It would probably be safe to assume the liquid gauges would hold up a bit better to a pressure washer also. Not that you would ever blast them directly but they're going to get wet sometimes, even in the race. Protecting them in the dash would probably help on both water and dust.
I'd like to save the money if we can, but also don't want to kick myself in a year when we lose a vital gauge during a race.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

I the non liquid-filled guages I'm talking about were electric (not available liquid filled) and they got contaminated with dust really badly in the open dash of my CJ7 and that thing wasn't even ever in the desert. I don't know, maybe others have had better luck with them? That dash is still hanging around my garage. I could take some pictures to show you how bad it is.

[PBR]

spend a couple extra bucks and get the liquid filled and you will never have to buy another set of guages as long as you own the truck.

[J.JOHNSON]

I have ran both styles and each style has its own unique problems. Liquid filled start to leak the fluid out and are only availliable in mechanical gauges. My non liquid elec. gauges are 5 years old in a 4 seat prerunner and do not have any dust in them. Although my friend has dust in his mechanical oil gauge. If you go with the liquid you will still have a couple of non liquid in your car.(volt, fuel, tach, speedo.)

[Stephen]

Anybody have problems reading the gauges with no liquid? Damping the needle is supposed to a big deal with the liquid gauges but I can't remember it being a problem personally. I've only been in a couple of race vehicles though.

[johnnyweb]

we have had no problems with our nonliquid vdo gauges fludering or bouncing around. as they do not have dust in them either. in my prerunner the auto meter speedo has dust in it. but the rest don't.

[ntsqd]

Stumbled onto a product that is pertinent to this thread. Rubber Gauge Mounts (http://www.sealsit.com/gaugeisolators.asp)

[la2baja]

I have been the gauge watcher guy while testing in some real nasty stuff and non liquid gauges did not flutter at all. I had my eyes glued to the dash for 20 minutes of Barstows nastiest stuff and there was no need for liquid filled. As far as dust in the gauge, sealing them up with silicone when you install them prevents that. I like to add silicone to help absorb shock on parts that might vibrate together in the dash anyhow. I know that silicone added to reduce vibration is contested by many but thats what I do. My apologies to the silicone gods.
Oh, liquid filled also work well so I guess it's a users choice kinda thing.

[Project1500]

My past experiances with the liquid gaues is they leak...Im sticking with the non liquid on my current truck. Save some money and most dont have any problems with them.

[John F2000]

I spoke with a design engineer at Autometer when selecting gauges for my truck. He told me the liquid filled gauges were actually designed for drag race applications in which the high frequency motor vibrations were very intense. He indicated that the difference between the mfg of the gauges was very little for an off-road application. The engineer indicated that both gauges will bounce on impact, that the liquid doesnt stop that. The liquid reduces motor vibrations trasmitted to the needle. He recomended the non-liquid filled gauge due to leak potential. But I know people who say you have to have liquid filled in the dirt. I havent heard of anyone doing a side by side test to see if the liquid filled helps while bouncing in the dirt. My big block has very little high frequency motor vibrations, transmitted to the cab, since it doesnt rev very high, maybey in a 10 car you would notice.