Anyone run mechanical gauges?

[Klint Hoelscher]

I want to run mechanical oil pressure/temperature and water temperature gauges in order to have the most reliable readings. I will be using S.S. braided lines to run these fluids from the engine to the dash panel.
My question is: do these need to be shielded from the driver as well, i.e. RULE 4.5.1?
I've never had a line fail and neither has a friend in his Alcohol Funny Car.

[Klint Hoelscher]

I want to run mechanical oil pressure/temperature and water temperature gauges in order to have the most reliable readings. I will be using S.S. braided lines to run these fluids from the engine to the dash panel.
My question is: do these need to be shielded from the driver as well, i.e. RULE 4.5.1?
I've never had a line fail and neither has a friend in his Alcohol Funny Car.

[VFR750R]

Go ahead and justify mechanical gauges to yourself. Electric gauges might not have been very good 20 years ago, but they're just as good today.
All cup cars used electric gauges now for instance.

[Mike Macie]

Well, send in a clarification to the rules committee about shielding. Our interpretation of the rules doesn't hold up at comp.

Electric gauges are just as reliable and you can't really argue about cost. A quality electric oil pressure gauge can be a little pricey but so is running a s.s. braided line setup. I bet the human error from reading a gauge almost the same as the gauge error

[Peter7307]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've never had a line fail </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have and it is not a pleasant experience.

To be more correct the internals of the gauge disintegrated and the damn thing filled with oil and then exploded showering glass and oil at 60 psi and about 90 degrees C everywhere inside the cockpit.
Fortunately a full face helmet and decent quality racing suit took the brunt.

Buy and fit a quality electrical version. They are just as accurate as any mechanical type now.

IF you are still not convinced tell your driver what type you are planning on fitting and see what the reaction is.
My guess is it won't be positive.

Personally I won't get in a car with a mechanical oil gauge now.

Pete.

[Peter7307]

Almost forgot to ask...on the funny car where are the gauges mounted? Inside or outside the cockpit?

Welcome to the place too by the way. Enjoy your stay.

Cheers , Pete.

[Klint Hoelscher]

I know that electrical gauges are accurate and reliable, I have run both types in my street vehicle. My reasoning is an electrical oil pressure gauge does not respond very quickly to pressure fluctuations and a mechanical does this instantaneously, with a high rpm engine I like to see these changes quickly.

I understand about quality gauges, I use nothing but AutoMeter on all of my engines.

I have had 200+ degree F oil spray me before also, when a plastic supply line blew in my car, it wasn't pleasant.

I have just had reoccurring problems with the electrical sending units for oil pressure and want to avoid them.

Oh, and in the Funny Car, it's mounted in the cockpit, directly in front by the steering handles.

I'm not trying to start an argument just wanted some feedback.

Thanks, Klint

[BrendonD]

Some of my teammates can attest to me being reckless at times, but I will also not get in a car with a mechanical oil pressure gauge. I'm not doubting your ability to perform a quality installation, but I just don't see a reason for it.

Unless you are constantly looking at your gauge while driving (which I hope you aren't) the lag in an electric gauge won't matter.

[jd74914]

I have no experience with mechanical oil pressure gauges, but can a snubber be used to protect against gauge blowout? All high pressure steam gauges have snubbers for this very reason.

James

[Scrappy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My reasoning is an electrical oil pressure gauge does not respond very quickly to pressure fluctuations and a mechanical does this instantaneously, with a high rpm engine I like to see these changes quickly. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Im not really sure what you are basing this comment off of, but I would have to disagree. While watching your oil pressure in real time through the ECU when you have a sensor on the engine, there is no noticeable "lag" in the response of the sensor of any sort that you would be able to distinguish or compare to a mechanical gauge reading. I haven't ever used an electrical gauge kit, Im just speaking from experience using a sensor connected to the ECU. Our cars have always used oil pressure sensors, but I have used a mechanical gauge running off of the main oil galley to verify pressures while dialing in pressure with the dry sump systems on dyno. If anything, Ive felt that the reaction and accuracy of the sensors have been a better indicator of pressure fluctuations than a needle type mechanical gauge. Ive seen the mechanical gauges damp out steady state fluctuations that the sensors are picking up.

Also, the biggest downside to me about running a mech. gauge is that unless you have a sensor T-ed off of your line, you wont be able to log oil pressure during testing. That is unless you trust your driver to sample oil pressure in the skidpad at 10 Hz or so..... http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[VFR750R]

true story.
Seems a lot of drag racers are running data acq. these days. Even those still running carbs and distributors. The drag racers I know who run them watch the oil pressure once in high gear, but there is too much other stuff going on to keep track of it every pass. They just compare runs against each other to see if not only the peak oil pressure has changed but also the curve, which they couldn't do by eye.

[exFSAE]

I'd love to see a team running Spek gauges...

All kidding aside would probably help on some overheats to have a nice red blinking idiot light..

[Conor]

Don't make things over complicated for yourself for such a minor gain. This definetely seems to violate the KISS rule.