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  View original topic: PLX Devices CHT gauge - email campaign
GoMopar440 Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:00 pm

Hey guys and gals,

I would like to ask you to take a minute of your time and help me out with something that will be useful to quite a few people in the VW and Porsche community. I just sent an email to PLX Devices, the company I got my Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor Module and DM-6 Display Module from. I'm trying to convince them to consider adding a CHT Sensor Module kit to their product lineup. They already have a number of useful sensor modules that all work with their DM-6 all-in-one gauge. Currently this includes the following modules:
- Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor Module (Gen 4 Sensor Module with Bosch LSU4.9 wideband sensor)
- Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor Module
- Vacuum/Boost Sensor Module
- Fluid Temp Sensor Module (works with any fluid)
- Air Intake Temp Sensor Module
- Fluid Pressure Sensor Module (not for fuel - for use with oil only)

If they added a CHT to their lineup, that would make their DM-6 a TRUE all-in-one gauge for those of us with an air cooled engine. I've already posted this info on the Shop Talk Forums in my build thread over in the Off Road section to get the word out over there. If you know of any other VW or Porsche forums, or any other forum that could use a CHT gauge for that matter, that might help with this email campaign please feel free to post a link to this thread, if that's allowed on those forums.

Below is a copy of the email I sent off to PLX Devices earlier today. Feel free to copy and past the pertinent parts of it if you want, but a quick note asking them to consider adding a CHT Sensor Module to their product lineup would be just as good. Even if you don't plan on purchasing one of these CHT modules in the near future, it would be a big help to all our fellow enthusiasts in the air cooled VW and Porsche community that are looking to add that functionality to their vehicles.

To:
Richard Ewing
Customer Experience Mgr.
PLX Devices

I will be using the DM-6 in an air cooled VW powered sand rail and my current dashboard is a very small aluminum box. I have just enough room for a speedometer, tachometer and one DM-6, as well as a key switch and a few LED lights. I would think with all the air cooled VW and Porsche powered vehicles still on the roads today, that a Cylinder Head Temp Sensor Module would have an immediate market if you chose to produce one. Cylinder head temperatures are one of the most important things to keep tabs on with air cooled engines. CHT, EGT and Boost are the top three need to know pieces of info to monitor when adding a turbo, which a lot of VW and Porsche enthusiasts have been doing for a very long time, and are still doing quite often to this day. Check on a few of the top VW enthusiast forums and you will find entire sections of the forums dedicated to the topic of turbo charging. The Samba is most likely the largest VW forum today with over 345,000+ members worldwide, and Shop Talk Forums with almost 27,000 very active members are among the top two VW web forums that first come to mind. If you would like to get direct market feedback on whether or not a CHT Sensor Module kit would be a viable product, these two sources would make for a very large (and free) focus group. Porsche forums would be another option for feedback as well, but I don't own a Porsche so I don't frequent any of those forums.

I've said all this to hopefully convince you that there is a huge market for this potential addition to your product lineup. From what I've seen with the products you currently offer, you clearly already have the capabilities, knowledge and production facilities to easily create a new Sensor Module to read a CHT sensor. In my humble opinion it would be a sorely needed addition to your already impressive product lineup and should be able to hold it's own right out of the gate.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Here is a link to the PLX email contact web form on their website.
http://www.plxdevices.com/Contact-PLX-s/144.htm

I'm hoping that with enough encouragement PLX Devices will get the definate impression that it would be worth their time and effort to produce A CHT Sensor Module kit. Please pass the word. Thanks everyone! :wink:

GoMopar440 Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:49 pm

I got another reply back from Richard at PLX today. He quite flatly stated that they have no interest in making a CHT sensor module now or in the future. Without any help with this email campaign idea I doubt they'll change their minds. :(

In that case I'm going to step back and reconsider my original idea of using the DM-6 to monitor everything on the engine. I know there are other companies out there that do make all in one gauges that will monitor and display all the info I want to keep tabs on. More than a few avionics equipment vendors readily come to mind.

ps2375 Tue Mar 29, 2016 8:05 pm

Check with this site, I've used his OG WB kit for years with no issues. And he has a multi-sensor dash unit.

http://www.14point7.com/

Stripped66 Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:17 am

Use the EGT module with K-type thermocouples under the spark plugs or in the head under the chamber.

PLX already makes what you need. Read the product description.

esde Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:05 am

While I do appreciate the all in one gauges for some things, some info I want plainly displayed, on its own gauge. When driving I glance at the gauges, and get accustomed to what the safe ranges are for the needles, and when one is out of place I quickly spot it. No way could I scroll through menu's or a whole screen of info to look at data. I won't look at my phone while driving either, I get too distracted.

Stripped66 seems to have hit the answer, I wonder if you could hack the gauge to change egt to cht? I have the same plx and love it as the gauge face is so small and flat. I glued a magnet to the back and stick it to the dash when I need it, otherwise it gets stashed in the glove box.

GoMopar440 Wed Mar 30, 2016 11:59 am

Stripped66 wrote: Use the EGT module with K-type thermocouples under the spark plugs or in the head under the chamber.

PLX already makes what you need. Read the product description.

I saw that and thought the same thing. In my first email to PLX I asked them to verify that I could use their EGT Sensor Module with a CHT thermocouple. This was their reply.

"I think the problem is that your Cylinder Head Temp(CHT) may not work with our devices. Buying our devices is like buying Apple products. Our devices don't work well with other manufacturer's products. You can try it, it's just that it might not work.

Respectfully,

Richard Ewing
Customer Experience Mgr.
PLX Devices"

That led me to asking them in a follow up email if they would make a CHT Sensor Module. I posted the majority of that email in my first post in this thread. This was their reply to that query.

"No we don't make a CHT sensor and we're not in the market to do so in the future. I'm sorry that we couldn't accommodate your situation. Thanks for considering PLX Devices.

Respectfully,

Richard Ewing
Customer Experience Mgr.
PLX Devices"

Since I already have the Air/Fuel Sensor and Gauge combo kit Combo I may as well do like Stripped66 suggested and see if I can get a CHT K type thermocouple to work with a PLX EGT Sensor Module. The only down side to that is if it doesn't work, I will have invested deeper into the PLX system and be that much further behind if I wanted to try a different type of all in one gauge system in it's place.

The 14point7 website has some nice stuff on there that might just work. I'd have to buy a tablet (don't own one currently) to be able to display everything on one display though. They offer single purpose 52mm displays for Air/Fuel Ratio and EGT, but not for any of the other sensor outputs that I could find.

I usually do the same as far as scanning my gauges while driving. In this case on my rail I'm looking at the DM-6 display as being more of a tuning tool. I can swap the all in one display from sensor to sensor to keep an eye on different things, but for this vehicle I plan on sticking with factory style idiot light system. The current plan is to use a Speedhut 3&3/8" GPS speedometer with turn signal and high beam indicators built in, with either a 2&5/8" or 2&1/16" Tach and the one 52mm (2&1/16") DM-6 gauge. In between the gauges I'll leave space for the Oil and Alt idiot lights and a standard key switch as well. I'm just trying to use the small dash space I have as efficiently as possible.

miniman82 Wed Mar 30, 2016 2:19 pm

Buying a WB that has all those features natively is a helluva lot easier than convincing a company to build something only a few people might buy. I use these:

http://wbo2.com/2y/default.htm

"The green 8-pin connector at the end of the case gives you three 0-5 Volt analog inputs and three thermocouple analog inputs. The 3 thermocouple inputs may (collectively) be reverted to normal 0-5 Volt inputs, giving up to six 0-5 Volt inputs."

In other words you buy this and what you really paid for is a wideband, logger with 6 inputs (three of which can be TPS/MAP/IAT/whatever and 3 EGT, and yes they are accurate temp compensated EGT), and a nice choice of displays to boot. I have two, one in my car and one I loan out to dipsh!t Honda people who think they know how to tune. Makes me fifty bucks every time. lol

Stripped66 Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:56 am

GoMopar440 wrote:
Since I already have the Air/Fuel Sensor and Gauge combo kit Combo I may as well do like Stripped66 suggested and see if I can get a CHT K type thermocouple to work with a PLX EGT Sensor Module. The only down side to that is if it doesn't work, I will have invested deeper into the PLX system and be that much further behind if I wanted to try a different type of all in one gauge system in it's place.


A K-type thermocouple is a K-type thermocouple. Richard Ewing certainly doesn't understand this, even when PLX's own product description reads:
PLX wrote: Any K-Type thermo couple is compatible.
PLX's own fault for having somebody with no technical understanding of the product answer technical questions. :roll:

dnielsen Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:13 am

GoMopar440 wrote:
...I may as well do like Stripped66 suggested and see if I can get a CHT K type thermocouple to work with a PLX EGT Sensor Module. The only down side to that is if it doesn't work, I will have invested deeper into the PLX system and be that much further behind if I wanted to try a different type of all in one gauge system in it's place.

There is no downside! Basically every CHT gauge uses K type thermocouple wire, so you will need it eventually. Also, it's probably $30 total. Most likely it will work fine and just say "EGT" instead of "CHT" on the display.

GoMopar440 Fri Apr 01, 2016 4:34 pm

dnielsen wrote: GoMopar440 wrote:
...I may as well do like Stripped66 suggested and see if I can get a CHT K type thermocouple to work with a PLX EGT Sensor Module. The only down side to that is if it doesn't work, I will have invested deeper into the PLX system and be that much further behind if I wanted to try a different type of all in one gauge system in it's place.

There is no downside! Basically every CHT gauge uses K type thermocouple wire, so you will need it eventually. Also, it's probably $30 total. Most likely it will work fine and just say "EGT" instead of "CHT" on the display.

I'm going to give it a try when I can afford to pick up the EGT Sensor Module and an extra K Type thermocouple for the CHT. The fact that PLX's EGT Sensor Modules don't "officially" support a CHT thermocouple leads me to believe that the display will most likely just read "EGT" regardless of what I'm actually using the thermocouples for. As long as I remember which one is which, I should be fine.

Each PLX Sensor Module supports daisy chaining up to 16 input sensors to the display. I'll be able to use one EGT Sensor Module for picking up data from both left and right side EGTs and CHTs (w/4 thermocouples), and then feeding that info to the DM-6 display. I'll have to wait till I have it set up to see how easily the display's user interface will let me cycle through the different data. For now with just the one Air Fuel Sensor Module, all I can currently display is the A/F ratio, voltage, O2 sensor life (%) and O2 sensor reaction time.

porkchop-rob Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:14 pm

I know this is an old thread....but the EGT does work with the Dakota Digital Thermocouple.

***FYI...You need to have the AFR gauge or some 8v converter to use the EGT box directly with the DM-6



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