Best gauges to help 40hp?

[tatzandrodz]

40hp 1200cc stock. All I have is speedo. It got a little over heated (my fault) now concerned. What are the best gauges to use to help longevity if my 40 horse? Oil temp, tach, oil press. Thoughts and pics would be great. How would they hook up.

[KTPhil]

Gauges are not all that useful unless you are pushing, which doesn't make sense for a 40HP anyway.

I put a doghouse cooler/fan/shroud on my 40HP (bored to 1385cc) and it ran very cool and I didn't need any gauges.

Gauges on an overheating 40HP is like counting deck chairs on the Titanic.

[jzjames]

I would think a tachometer would be nice in a 1200 powered bug. You can figure out the best rpms to run it at by the sound of the engine and how it runs best, and check the rpms at that ''sweet spot'', and then you can use the tach. as a reference.

[L378]

Tatznrodz aren't you looking to go to a bigger lump? Why not simply go with a temp sensor dipstick something like this http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1360024

You have temp covered, pressure covered with your idiot light. Tach, you should intuitively know when to shift (or look at an owners manual). No need to blow dough if you are going up in CCs.

[Dustin B]

The sweet spot on my 40 horse I between 3000 and 3500 rpm. [/img]
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[Jon65]

As mentioned above, a tach, CHT, etc. aren't really needed for a stock 1200. The dipstick sensor is a plus over anything because it will give you a better indication of your oil temp.

If you want to add a gauge that is worthwhile, I would suggest getting a oil pressure gauge. With it, you can monitor the spikes in oil psi and you will get a quicker warning of whether your is oil getting hot or not because the oil will lose pressure if it gets too hot. Also, install it in a T with the stock oil pressure light sensor, so the light can serve as a back up in the event that the gauge malfunctions.

[tatzandrodz]

Ok thanks everyone. And yes I want bigger cc just wondering what thoughts were on my 40 while it putt it around

[Eric&Barb]

Oil pressure and oil temp have only saved us from five sudden need to rebuild the engine problems!
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[anthracitedub]

^.... Yep that's all you really need.... I've never used gauges on any of my cars..... But Im really in tune with my engines.
BTW.... Putting around is really where it's at.

[drs1023]

[bluebus86]

Oil pressure and head temp gages are both helpful. If i were to pick one, I'd go with oil pressure.
Oil pressure will give some indication of an over heat (pressure drop below normal) although it is not quick enough to respond to sudden head temp variation, it will at least give some average value of temperature. It will also forwarn you to low oil levels (note if you get a dip in pressure when cornering or making a sudden stop, that would indicate your getting low oil level) of course an electical oil pressure gage is supperior to a mechanical gage. the mechanical ones have too much lag time in reading to be useful in catching sudden, intermittant oil interuptions (ie from low level and cornering) the install of an electric gage is much easier than the mechanical type, and no worries about spilled oil in the cockpit/dash areas.

once an oil pressure gage is installed, then consider a head temp gage.

the oil pressure gage is for me the one most useful VW gage. i dont even have a gas gage in my bug, but I have oil pressure, dont miss the gas gage at all.

[jzjames]

whats an example of an electrical oil pressure guage?

There's a sender for the head temp that is a 14mm metal ring that fits under the spark plug. Its attached to a wire to the guage. The one Im thinking of is expensive though;
http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=...prd347.htm
is there a more economical one that you know of?

[Harris]

[Jon65]

[HRVW]

VDO Oil Temp, Pressure guage, and both senders a worthwhile investment.

Oil pressure high=Low oil Temp reading.

Oil pressure Low=High oil Temp reading.

One Guage verifys the other Guages function.....work hand in hand.

Even if the engine oil level is low the guages will still verify that oil is still being circulated and NOT completly OUT......dipstick still needs to be checked often.

[youngnstudly]

I never used gauges on my stock engines except for the time I had a tach hooked up with a performance engine and needed to install my backup 40hp engine. You can learn to "read" your engine to a certain degree, but you are still pretty much in the dark about temps and oil pressure when it comes down to it. If you were cruising down the freeway and a piece of the firewall insulation worked loose and blocked the fan intake, you'd have no clue unless it made some racket in the process and you were alert enough to pull over. Of course, the gauges you install need to be checked periodically! It's really up to you.

For my performance engines, I run a quad CHT gauge, an air temp gauge, a tachometer, oil pressure, oil temp, and a voltmeter. I happened to get the 2-1/16" VDO matching tach, oil temp, and voltmeter for $25 new in their boxes from the local VW mechanic, so why not run them? The air temp simply gives me a base number to use for ambient temp as my quad gauge isn't temperature compensated.

[Helfen]