I am not 100% sure what caused my previous engine to overheat (which warped the head), but I do know that the stock coolant temp gauge never caught my attention.  With that expensive lesson learned, I’ve decided to install a few more gauges.  I’d also like some warning lights too.  Enter Autometer’s Competition Gauges.

The Competition line of Autometer gauges are LED backlit with full-face warnings & status.  The gauge faces can be programmed to illuminate in different colors at different stages.  For example, the default settings of the water temp gauge are:

Green - Below operating temp

White - Operating temp range

Red - Above operating temp range.

In addition to the bright LED lighting and full-face

I purchased oil temp and water temp gauges.  I’ve had an Autometer oil pressure gauge in the car for some time, but it is from the Ultra-Lite II series, which means it does not have all of the extra features of the competition series.  i’m considering swapping that gauge out for a competition series version.

The gauges are expensive (~$200 each) but I figured avoiding the cost and complexity of separate gauges, warning lights, and sensors for each was worth it.  The icing on the cake is that these gauges output a 0-5v signal for data loggers.  I have connected both to my Race Technology DL-1 data logger.  The more I think about it, the more I lean toward getting a Competition oil pressure gauge.  It would be nice to datalog oil pressure and determine how the Maruha Oil Pan Baffle is working!

Before I dug into installation, I tried to clean up the wiring harnesses a bit.  Between power, ground, illumination, sensor wires, Pro-Control wires, and data logging outputs, there are quite a lot of wires for each gauge.  I figured some wire loom/sleeving would tidy things up nicely, and started my search at McMaster-Carr.

McMaster-Carr.  I love this place. The selection of connectors, hardware, fasteners, and miscellaneous building materials is staggering.  Prices are great, and the turn-around time is great.  As long as I place an order by 4PM (that is the latest I’ve tried), my order arrives next day via ground shipping.  Awesome!

The flame retardant expandable sleeving I used did a great job of cleaning up the wires.  I’ve been inspired clean up all of the wires in my engine bay.

PICTURES: Autometer Gauges, wiring harnesses, sleeving, and info.