new gauges

neomagus00

weelll, summer is approaching, and i'm overflowing with ideas, one of which is to replace my stock gauges.

i'm thinking of going with AutoMeter, specifically the cobalt line. has anyone ever used or heard of this company? reputation? other people i should look at?

i'm going to glass a panel for the gauges i want, to go in the stock location. all i want are a couple extra numbers in front of me, but i still want the cluster to look uniform, so i go with aftermarket.

spwuinmk67

I was actually thinking about doing the same thing soon. All mine are green, and my amps, hu, etc, are blue. I'm not familiar with them myself, so be sure to post anything you find.

audiobliss

AutoMeter is a very reputable gauge company, from what I know. Not that I've done any customizing or anything of that sort myself, but I've done a lot of reading and drooling about it, and just about every install in 'Popular HotRodding' has AutoMeter gauges.

I had never thought about fiberglassing the panel to mount your gauges to. Interesting idea. Good luck!

audiobliss

After visiting their site I must say that I personally wouldn't choose the Cobalt series, but they do look pretty cool. What kind of car are they going in?

neomagus00

for what reason would you not choose cobalt? which would you pick over them? i chose them because they looked clean and blue, but i thought they might be a bit flashy, this is intended to be a stealth install (and the whole car is working towards a stealth look, down to black paint and wheels, eventually ).

this car is mine, and so if i have anything to say about it, they're going in there.

audiobliss

The only reason I wouldn't choose the Cobalt line is aesthetics. I personally like the UltraLites, but they're expensive and not too inconspicuous. If you're going for stealth, I kind of like the way the Z-Series looks. However, it's your car; whatever you like!

audiobliss

Well....he obviously didn't like my recommendations!

spwuinmk67

Do any of us ever?

audiobliss

*walks out and slams the door*

audiobliss

*slowly opens door and peeks in*

neomagus00

*shakes head in confused condescension*

no, i've been looking around a bit, and it occurred to me that the cobalt line has WAY more useful gauges than most of the other lines. plus it matches the blue/black theme i'm starting to put together.

so, these six are what i think i want, even though i have NO idea how expensive and complicated it's gonna be to hook them all up:

1,2) tach and speedo, obviously
3,4) water temp and fuel level, basic diagnostics
5) vacuum/boost gauge, turbo

all of the above is stock, but this is why i wanted a gauge, to tell me how my precious electrical system is doing:
6) voltmeter, duh
pyrometer, cause this engine gets freakin hot, and i don't wanna mod it till it explodes (i want to stop just before then )

now, a single small gauge seems like a pretty crappy excuse to go spend lots of money and time, and my enthusiasm is beginning to wane. plus, the stock gauges have this neato feature that will blank out all but the most important bits of info at night, to reduce cabin illumination.

hmm... i'm thinkin real hard about whether or not to continue considering this...

audiobliss

Originally posted by neomagus00
the stock gauges have this neato feature that will blank out all but the most important bits of info at night, to reduce cabin illumination.

That's pretty awesome.

neomagus00

it is very useful, i just wish my HU could do the same, then it would be utterly black inside the car at night... very cool.

so, upon many reflections, second thoughts, and sleepless classes, i have decided to abandon the gauge project. thank you all for tuning in.

PolkThug

Oil pressure gauge is a good one.

audiobliss

Originally posted by neomagus00
and sleepless classes

Haha! Good one!

AustinKP

Originally posted by neomagus00
it is very useful, i just wish my HU could do the same, then it would be utterly black inside the car at night... very cool.

My Alpine will do that. I thought you had one? Can't remember...

exalted512

my escort 8500 radar detector has a voltmeter
-Cody

neomagus00

that's just weird

and austin, i have a pioneer

AustinKP

Originally posted by exalted512
my escort 8500 radar detector has a voltmeter
-Cody

uh, why? That's the problem with all the radar detectors these days... they keep adding "features", when what we really need is "radar detection"... if I ever get a radar detector, I'm going with Valentine One. Although I hear that the new top-of-the-line escort is performing much better than before.

neomagus00

i run a valentine one on roadtrips, it's performed admirably (especially in avoiding lasers - it'll catch the reflections from the traffic ahead of you and give you about 10mph of time)

[Deleted User]

I use these guys for gauges:
Dakota Digital
We also use Autometer. The radar detector I use is made by K40. It's very expensive, but they do pay for your tickets if you own one of their systems:
Undetectable Dual System
Laser Diffuser Plus

audiobliss

Wow. That's some pretty amazing radar/laser detection stuff. They seem to stand behind their equipment, too.

What do you have yours installed in?

exalted512

Originally posted by AustinKP
uh, why? That's the problem with all the radar detectors these days... they keep adding "features", when what we really need is "radar detection"... if I ever get a radar detector, I'm going with Valentine One. Although I hear that the new top-of-the-line escort is performing much better than before.

Its a nice feature to have, I use it quite often. I had a Valentine 1 and it worked great until it just died on me after a year of use. I bought it brand new too. So I bought my 8500 and its noticeably better than the V1. I liked the V1 because it had arrows but 25% of the time the arrows were wrong. The 8500 seems to have better detection on all the bands and MUCH LESS false alarms. That is what I like most about it. It also looks a helluva lot better. The Escort 8500X50 is supposed to be even better than the 8500...
I've heard many good things about K40s radar jamming, but I've heard that the radar detector itself is inferior to both the V1 and the 8500. Someday I might get the jammer but its very expensive and the warranty only works if you get it installed by a dealer
-Cody