Boost Gauge?

[ersatzS2]

Does anyone know is there a boost gauge on the dash? I did a search, didn't see this addressed...

[asv]

negative

[C_Topher]

Keep your eyes on the road!




(JK - I had a boost gauge on an old Saab and it was fun to watch)

[ehnaych]

No boost gauge from the factory. Do a search over on e90post and you'll find several options that people who have 335i's have used to install one.


~Noel

[mateo]

I just sold one.

Unless it was OEM I would have to pass.

[Dave]

and you get a volt meter, afr and....a clock gauge and put them all on your a pillar and in your ac ducts and your glove compartment....

i went thru that phase on the last car and unless you are pushing serious engine mods not necesaary...maybe a knock light for safety but do be careful with a classy interior...gauges are very much a jdm scene

[MastaMind]

It would be nice after a reflash to make sure you're hitting the target boost levels. I wouldn't want anything that resembles a jet fighter cockpit, but a fairly inconspicuous boost guage wouldn't be too bad.

[Garrett]

Originally Posted by ersatzS2

Does anyone know is there a boost gauge on the dash? I did a search, didn't see this addressed...

Not needed... it's just a novelty!

[chemhalo]

Originally Posted by Garrett

Not needed... it's just a novelty!

A boost gauge not needed? I couldnt disagree more. More than being fun to watch, which it is, it is a great diagnostic tool especially when you start modding more. If all of the sudden one day you car idles at 10mmHg vac instead of 20, you KNOW you have a problem. That sort of thing might not even cause a CEL.

I saw that thread on e90 and alot of those gauges and mounting solutions were horrid. It needs to be mounted where it can easily be seen (not by the gear shift) and the lighting needs to match.

example...


I would also like to add a oil temp and oil pressure gauge to my current ride so I can have an even better heads up on the health of my car.

[Dave]

on a stock car it is a novelty.

ona modded car the boost and pil pressure and afr are needed esp if you are always upgrading so you can track all the improvments and any issues that arise...

but its kist not fitting

if you do go with gauges go with defi

[321]

Originally Posted by izzodesh

if you do go with gauges go with defi

Why defi?

Depending on the EMS i would just want an oil temp gauge. Are BMW's designed to shut off if the oil pressure is too low?

[Brandon26pdx]

Only really needed if you're tuning/dialing boost levels. On a stock car it's just kind of boy-racer gear.

[Evolved]

Originally Posted by chemhalo

A boost gauge not needed? I couldnt disagree more. More than being fun to watch, which it is, it is a great diagnostic tool especially when you start modding more. If all of the sudden one day you car idles at 10mmHg vac instead of 20, you KNOW you have a problem. That sort of thing might not even cause a CEL.

I saw that thread on e90 and alot of those gauges and mounting solutions were horrid. It needs to be mounted where it can easily be seen (not by the gear shift) and the lighting needs to match.

I agree 100%. Every turbo car should have a boost gauge.

Originally Posted by izzodesh

on a stock car it is a novelty.

ona modded car the boost and pil pressure and afr are needed esp if you are always upgrading so you can track all the improvments and any issues that arise...

but its kist not fitting

if you do go with gauges go with defi

If you're going to mod you definitely want more than just a boost gauge.
I have Defi boost, oil pressure and EGT on my Evo with a Turbo XS wideband A/F meter.

[eunosracr]

That's why I'm going with Procede. Realtime data logging capabilities to watch boost levels ftw!

[Garrett]

Originally Posted by chemhalo

A boost gauge not needed? I couldnt disagree more. More than being fun to watch, which it is, it is a great diagnostic tool especially when you start modding more. If all of the sudden one day you car idles at 10mmHg vac instead of 20, you KNOW you have a problem. That sort of thing might not even cause a CEL.

I saw that thread on e90 and alot of those gauges and mounting solutions were horrid. It needs to be mounted where it can easily be seen (not by the gear shift) and the lighting needs to match.

example...


I would also like to add a oil temp and oil pressure gauge to my current ride so I can have an even better heads up on the health of my car.

BMW's engine are SOPHISTICATED...

If your having a problem, it WILL throw a code..! As you said, the boost guage is a nice novelty thats kewl to look at. If your racing professionally, then we already know the answere, don't we?

[eMINI]

Originally Posted by Garrett

BMW's engine are SOPHISTICATED...

If your having a problem, it WILL throw a code..! As you said, the boost guage is a nice novelty thats kewl to look at. If your racing professionally, then we already know the answere, don't we?

:thumbup: Thus speaketh Garrett, authority on all things BMW. Don't even think of discussing this any further. You don't need a boost gauge. You don't need to monitor the health or behavior of your engine. BMW gave you everything you need, and you will trust them implicitly. Just like Garrett does.:wink:

[asv]

I don't think i would ever throw one on my car, but if I did I would go with this setup:

Keeps it out site when you don't need it. Additional gauges look tacky.

[ersatzS2]

Ever since I helped my dad install a panel of gauges on our brand new '69 Ford LTD I guess I've assumed that more gauges were better. As a quattro enthusiast with a history of radical builds, I guess all I'd add to the discussion is that a turbo adds a whole new mechanical system to the engine equation, and it is nice to be able to keep tabs on what it is doing. The best in fact is a gauge that measures both pressure and vacuum so you can keep an eye out for hose leaks. Probably this is academic as some have pointed out with the stock 135 making only 8lbs of pressure. (my last quattro made almost 2 Bar) But I was just curious.

[Garrett]

Originally Posted by eMINI

:thumbup: Thus speaketh Garrett, authority on all things BMW. Don't even think of discussing this any further. You don't need a boost gauge. You don't need to monitor the health or behavior of your engine. BMW gave you everything you need, and you will trust them implicitly. Just like Garrett does.:wink:

Thats correct... you(personally) don't need to monitor the health or behvior of the engine.

Because the engine's managment system already does this about 20x a SECOND! You can occasionally look at your boost guage, perhaps 2 or 3x a minute... but your car has just done that 10,000 times in the same time span.

So yes, it's a novelty... people are forgetting the fact that todays engines are not like engines just 10 years ago and certainly not like car from the 80s.

Sorry, a guage isn't going to do nothing for you because you cannot react quickly enough to stop anything a guage has just shown you. Thus it's strickly there for...? So it is just a a NOVELTY... siimply because it does nothing for you other than looking kewl. If your having problems with your engine... it will let you know and throw a code.

I mean, lets get real. Why would the average "Joe Shmoe" need to know what boost their engine is at at any given time..? They cannot control it, they cannot do anything about it...!

imo

[Dave]

Originally Posted by zba857

Why defi?

Depending on the EMS i would just want an oil temp gauge. Are BMW's designed to shut off if the oil pressure is too low?

defi has the sweep, matches stock radio color and gauges pretty closely, great control unit, semi easy to install, and have great warranty.
plus the mounting is very clean (well can be ...some ppl just drill them into dash ..)


nice you tube vid....def. a sneaky place for the boost gauge

[turbomg]

Originally Posted by Garrett

So yes, it's a novelty... people are forgetting the fact that todays engines are not like engines just 10 years ago and certainly not like car from the 80s.

Sorry, a guage isn't going to do nothing for you because you cannot react quickly enough to stop anything a guage has just shown you.

(Dude, you're a smart guy, why you can't write better is beyond me).

I'm going to try to clarify Garrett's comments here.

What I believe Garrett to be saying here is that the instantaneous boost pressure reading of a gauge gives you nothing that you can actually use.

On top of that, most of these after-market boost gauge installs are in a location where you can't see them clearly but out of the corner of your eye. Even if you can see it clearly, it is not what you are looking at (I hope!) while you are driving under heavy boost.

Under normal situations, the ECU will keep an eye on everything and protect you from breaking anything. This situation changes when you start tuning with piggyback devices, but Garrett's point still stands.

The goal of the piggyback (e.g. PROcede et. al.) is to trick, or otherwise entice, the ECU to hold boost pressure longer and massage the timing accordingly. In this case, boost levels clearly exceed BMW's range (this is the whole point of tuning) and so the safeguards of the ECU are lowered. This is where you start thinking a boost gauge is a great idea. However this is also where you need to re-read two paragraphs up.

I will use Vishnu's PROcede as an example as that is what I am most familiar with. When running the PROcede, you have an extensive diagnostic capability. You can plug in your laptop to read the data, go for a spin and interpret the results. The results from these data logs are far far more informative (yes, they include boos pressure) and valuable than what the corner of your eye can read from a boost gauge while driving 120mph.

[Yearofthe1]

Originally Posted by turbomg

(What I believe Garrett to be saying here is that the instantaneous boost pressure reading of a gauge gives you nothing that you can actually use.

On top of that, most of these after-market boost gauge installs are in a location where you can't see them clearly but out of the corner of your eye. Even if you can see it clearly, it is not what you are looking at (I hope!) while you are driving under heavy boost.

Under normal situations, the ECU will keep an eye on everything and protect you from breaking anything. This situation changes when you start tuning with piggyback devices, but Garrett's point still stands...


I will use Vishnu's PROcede as an example as that is what I am most familiar with. When running the PROcede, you have an extensive diagnostic capability. You can plug in your laptop to read the data, go for a spin and interpret the results. The results from these data logs are far far more informative (yes, they include boos pressure) and valuable than what the corner of your eye can read from a boost gauge while driving 120mph.

I'd have to say these guys have won the arguement. A boost gauge would look tacky, you should be watching the road, and if you can get extremely detailed data from your tuning components the gauge is unnecessary. Besides, the first thing I think when I see a boost gauge in someone's car is "Oh look, how cute...he wants everyone to know he has a turbo." Everyone already knows the 135i has turbos, and if they don't, they wouldn't know what they were looking at to begin with.