Head temperature gauge

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@dlearl476 posted:

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...when you’re pulling a grade in fourth and the temp starts to rise, downshifting will bring them back down. Increased R’s increase fan speed and the lower gear gives better mechanical advantage for the engine, requiring less work...

It's this, and a dozen similar things, that makes driving these cars distinctly different from driving modern cars. You will soon find yourself listening to the engine and watching the oil temp gauge as you drive, and noticing what makes the engine heat up and cool down. You'll start to sense when it's working hard and when it's breathing easy. The clues may be subtle, but you'll learn them. And they will change how you drive the car.

Before long, you'll be able to anticipate what the gauge is reading just by observing ambient temp, grade, gear, rpm's and what driving conditions have been in the past few minutes.

I understand the utility of a CHT gauge, especially when you're setting up and tuning a new engine (or one that is new to you). Your mechanic is right to want the feedback that provides. But you might want to rethink making it one of the primary gauges on your dash. As Bruce (aircooled) has discovered, in time, once an engine installation is dialed in, CHT data is less crucial and the oil temp gauge will probably suffice.

You've got a ton of things on your plate now, and instrumentation is probably pretty far down the priority list. In time, you may want to upgrade all of those instruments and rearrange the whole dash, so maybe putting in a CHT gauge under the dash in a separate housing now is a better way to go. You can move it, eliminate it, or replace it with a unit that coordinates better with the rest of your gauges later.

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@Sacto Mitch ^^^^ That is sage advice right there for noob John.

@Sacto Mitch, +1

Stan is right there is no question that gauges and information is essential to troubleshoot but maybe not necessarily something you want to put right on your speedster dash.  Maybe under the dash or on a panel I the engine compartment etc where you can have it To check or confirm the cars status.
I have an engine guard cyl head temp and tranny temp under the dash set up with a warning buzzer... after running it in all kinds of conditions and outside temperature I kind of know what the engine range of temperature varies.  I also found out how long the tranny takes the to reach operational temp

It was Mitch who said that, Ray, but thanks.

For me, there's no such thing as too much information. Indeed, I've never heard a compelling reason to operate in an information vacuum. I don't trust my senses to tell me the truth - they're no longer as reliable as they once were, and my overly experienced brain can interpret what my senses tell me in any one of a hundred different ways. In short, humans have the ability to talk themselves into or out of almost anything.

Gauges keep me honest.

Thank you Sacto !  You are the sage ! Preceptive too !  I just put you up to the top of  my "GOLDEN WING NUT",  Level A !  This is a very difficult level to get to and only gifted and/or warped people like you, Stan, Gordon, Al and others ever achieve it !......Bruce

Now I’m gonna get a bumper sticker that proclaims:

”I am a Golden Wingnut!”

I added air/fuel ratio and cylinder head temperature gauges.  Since I didn't consider them primary gauges and I didn't want to change the look of the dash, I put them under the dash.

After the initial tuning, I probably don't need the air/fuel gauge but it is interesting to see how it changes.

The spokes in my steering wheel make it a little hard to see the added gauges.

@Michael McKelvey cool i might need to get a hangar for the gauge i get from the guy on here. Where did you get those pedals? Did you mount one just to put your foot on or is that nitrous or eject

@John Bungen the pedals are stock VW pedals with the aluminum pads added.  They are available from most of the VW parts websites.

The dead pedal is a cut-off clutch pedal bolted to the tube frame.  It gets a lot of questions at car shows.

Look like OMP brand pedals. OMP also makes a full sized dead pedal to rest your left foot on.

Is it hard to mount the dead pedal? Do you just go through the carpet from the top or do you have to have it up on a lift and stuff?

@John Bungen, to mount the dead pedal I just drilled and tapped holes in the frame tube from inside the car.  I think I coated the drill bit with beeswax to prevent snagging the carpet. I had to rotate the base of the cutoff clutch pedal to get the angle right.  I aligned the dead pedal with where the other pedals were at the time.  Now I have increased the travel of the clutch and brake pedals so the dead pedal no longer lines up. For my leg length, it also might be better to have the dead pedal more toward the front of the car.  However, that would also move it more toward the center of the car.

I actually don't use the dead pedal very often.

If you do a search you will find many different dead pedal solutions.

John.....If you're looking to buy a "dead Pedal",  I make and sell one that folds up out of the way when you're not using it.  Quite a few people on here have bought them.

Bruce

@aircooled sure send me pics, how it mounts so i know if i have to pay mechanic or if i can do it with my basic skills or ebike building

https://www.mamotorworks.com/v...aign=20210727_Gauges

gauges anyone

posting from my phone

Anyone know the wiring details on these dakota gauges, dim seems not necessary. Where do you put this little copper sensor on the 1642cc motors?

@IaM-Ray posted:

Stan is right there is no question that gauges and information is essential to troubleshoot but maybe not necessarily something you want to put right on your speedster dash.  Maybe under the dash or on a panel I the engine compartment etc where you can have it To check or confirm the cars status.
I have an engine guard cyl head temp and tranny temp under the dash set up with a warning buzzer... after running it in all kinds of conditions and outside temperature I kind of know what the engine range of temperature varies. I also found out how long the tranny takes the to reach operational temp

So-o-o... how long does it take for the transaxle to reach operating temps? What are 'operating temps', how hot does the trans oil get and what conditions cause it to get hotter than 'normal'?

And sorry Ray, I forget- VW or Subaru transaxle?

It looks like you got that brass thing instead of the ring that goes under the #3 spark plug.  I don't know if the particular sensor is calibrated to the sensor wire.

I installed a special connector in the wire so I could disconnect there when I pull the engine instead of having to remove the #3 plug.

@Michael McKelvey i think i received the spark plug wires with ring and another gauge with this sensor for maybe engine temp or something