Today I'll be ordering my Sport Comp II water temp gauge and am torn between the clean install of electric versus the always working and possibly more accurate mechanical gauge. What do you prefer and why?
electric versus mechanical gauges
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I have always ran mechanical gauges because they have always been reliable and there are no senders to fail and electrical gauges were not always the most reliable but I think things have changed over the years and there are plenty of quality electrical gauges that have really stepped up there game in reliability with things like stepper motors and added features like recalls, hi/low settings, improved lighting, changeable lighting color, digital readouts,etc
I have replaced a few of my mechanical ones with quality electric ones and I am very satisfied and I think the only mechanical gauges I will keep is oil pressure since with it's small flexible line it is easy to install and the vacuum gauge for the same reasons.
I am really liking some the features of some of the custom gauges out there that you can design to your specs and for me that means I can make them match my current gauges and replace a few at a time instead of buying a whole set (I have 14 gauges so that can get costly)
The electrical ones are usually far easier to install since the case is more shallow and you just wire to a sender.
Some of the harder to install mechanical gauges are the speedo because of the cable you have to screw on the back, water temp. gauge because the sender is attached to the back of the gauge and fuel pressure in car where you have use an isolator an braided an lines.
You can buy one of the new GPS speedos and other electrical gauges to make these installs easier but mechanical gauges will probably always be less expensive.
I have replaced a few of my mechanical ones with quality electric ones and I am very satisfied and I think the only mechanical gauges I will keep is oil pressure since with it's small flexible line it is easy to install and the vacuum gauge for the same reasons.
I am really liking some the features of some of the custom gauges out there that you can design to your specs and for me that means I can make them match my current gauges and replace a few at a time instead of buying a whole set (I have 14 gauges so that can get costly)
The electrical ones are usually far easier to install since the case is more shallow and you just wire to a sender.
Some of the harder to install mechanical gauges are the speedo because of the cable you have to screw on the back, water temp. gauge because the sender is attached to the back of the gauge and fuel pressure in car where you have use an isolator an braided an lines.
You can buy one of the new GPS speedos and other electrical gauges to make these installs easier but mechanical gauges will probably always be less expensive.
I like mechanical over electrical. The only downfall is the senders like the oil pressure gauge line and water temp probe. If you kink or damage that in any way you're f#%ked. That being said I would still take that risk over a bad wire or sender on an electric gauge. JMO
I like the Electrical because they are neat and clean to install. I have also had a mechanical oil gauge fail and start pumping the warm life blood of my engine all over my legs(not a fun experience). Mechanicals are good in that they are inexpensive and accurate, but you have lines, cables to run to each and they can cause some routing issues and some headaches to put in and out. Electrical has many nice options and electrical can have some issues with the senders being large and having some fitment issue on the engine.
Every modern car, airplanes, Formula1, American LeMans, etc use electric gauges....just saying.
I still use mechanical vacuum/boost gauges, they are significantly less expensive than a comparable electrical gauge and a failure of the mechanical portion of the gauge is unlikely to damage the interior or underhood area of my car or my person. Same goes for water temp, they are well priced and theres no way for coolant to escape or enter the interior of vehicle.
Other than those two gauges I cant justify using a mechanical gauge for other things like oil pressure, oil temp, fuel pressure, etc.
Theres no real cost saving amongst any of the other gauges, in fact virtually all of the high pressure gauges cost more in mechanical form due to the need for an isolator and braided hose.
I dont see the logic behind believing the mechanical gauges are more accurate these days, and the argument that electrical gauges are harder to install seems like a reach too.
Go with what you like and feel comfortable with. If youre building a TA/NASCAR/period look and going for that 70's/80s vibe, go all mechanical, itll fit the look, if youre running an LS or any other fuel injected engine go electrical, youve obviously already embraced electrons and lines of data code to some extent, and wires are a lot easier to hide safely than hoses, pipe, and capillary tube.
my $.02
I still use mechanical vacuum/boost gauges, they are significantly less expensive than a comparable electrical gauge and a failure of the mechanical portion of the gauge is unlikely to damage the interior or underhood area of my car or my person. Same goes for water temp, they are well priced and theres no way for coolant to escape or enter the interior of vehicle.
Other than those two gauges I cant justify using a mechanical gauge for other things like oil pressure, oil temp, fuel pressure, etc.
Theres no real cost saving amongst any of the other gauges, in fact virtually all of the high pressure gauges cost more in mechanical form due to the need for an isolator and braided hose.
I dont see the logic behind believing the mechanical gauges are more accurate these days, and the argument that electrical gauges are harder to install seems like a reach too.
Go with what you like and feel comfortable with. If youre building a TA/NASCAR/period look and going for that 70's/80s vibe, go all mechanical, itll fit the look, if youre running an LS or any other fuel injected engine go electrical, youve obviously already embraced electrons and lines of data code to some extent, and wires are a lot easier to hide safely than hoses, pipe, and capillary tube.
my $.02
I prefer all electric. Expecially on Oil. Those oil gauges come with a plastic line and compression fitting which if not properly installed can hit a header and melt, kink, rub against something, compression fitting come loose, etc and cause your engine oil to spray under your hood. I dont want to be thinking about that while driving, But thats just me.
I use the braided ss line with an fittings for my oil pressure gauge. The line is fairly short as I access the pressure from the port on the block at the back of the intake
Thanks for the opinions. Right now what has me undecide is the display of the gauges. If I remember correct mechanicals measure in 2 degree/psi increments while electric displays in like 10-15 degree/psi increments. I'm leaning toward elect. water and mech. oil. because of the displays. IMO oil pressure is the most important thing when it comes to engine life.
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