gonzala

Hi Blower Experts,

I am getting close to ordering my A & A Blower, tune, install and my shop recommended some Cobalt fuel and boost gauges and plain black pillars from A & A. Does anyone have any thoughts/comments on these or other gauges and pillars. I know there is a ton of A & A Blower and other blower installs on this Forum section.

Please be specific since that would help a lot. For example, do we use 52mm or 60 mm or 50mm gauges? I plan to speak with my shop on Monday since I just received his total work order/quote this Wednesday, 7/3/13.

I really like the Carbon Fiber pillars from Hinson's website I saw from another thread.

I am new at the boosting power mod game and I have been on this forum for months trying to learn about this next phase with my 2008 C6 A6. I really like my new shop ( installed kook headers, tuned, and new wheel/tires for me in May) and want to make sure I understand the most important issues when boosting.

So I appreciate all input... I even want to know why are all the gauges needed (fuel and boost?). Should there be three gauges since I have seen three pod pillars?

Thanks for everyone's comments which are so valuable in making sure we all do things right the first time.

Polar Jet

After months of gauge researching and shopping I came across a post here on the forum about something called the Dashtronix Gauge Projector. It allows you to tie in two gauge readings into your DIC and HUD where you can constantly see it without taking your eyes off the road. I've been running it for a couple of months now and have my boost and air/fuel readings displayed on it. I love the stealthiness of it. Nobody but you knows it's there.

Just another option for you.

Here's the link to the company's website...

http://www.dashtronix.com/Gauge_Projector_LIU8.php

D&C vette

Glow shift 7 color or Elite 10 have proven to be good performers for some. 52mm. They both have options for color changes on the fly. The Elite has an option to set trip points for indication. I have the 7 color, price is reasonable and reliability is good. I know some will chime on with options. I say "do your research an choose what you like".

gonzala

Its neat to consider all options that work for others. I have done research from some other posts as well online at various sites as well.

Keep the good info coming.

Cspahn

That's badass never heard of this one!

Also there is another gauge that controls everything. So instead of having three gauges you only have one. Makes it look a lot cleaner IMHO. Detoxx knows the name of it.

gonzala

Yes, that is very cool. I would probably prefer this if my shop could install it for me. I really want the pros to do this work. If they can't or won't the Glowshift Color 7 or Elite are awesome choices... like that they change color and seem well priced.

Cspahn

Aero Force Gauges are what I was thinking of and will get when I put a procharger in my car. Nice and clean.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...et-guages.html

gonzala

Cspahn, Thanks for this link as well... the Aero Force single unit is sick.

The CF link to that thread has the pics of the exact setup/install that my shop has recommended in their quote using 2 Auto Meter Cobalt gauges with double pod mount. Not bad at all.

This is getting tough to decide now!!!

Be careful what you ask for you might get it.. correct.

1MEANGS

I just got my car supercharged too, I went with the Autometer dual pod, The autometer phantom 2 gauges... They match so well with the factory lighting and look killer... Got the electric fuel pressure and mechanical boost! Also have a raptor mini shift light mounted to the pod which is super bright and makes it impossible to miss a shift

gonzala

Thanks for the pic... I am checking everyone's suggestions to see what seems best and what the shop will/can install.

That set looks great too. What SC/Mods did you get installed and what are your driving impressions now that you have the new found power. Any things you would add or do over?

neveret

Having had both, I prefer the gauge projector. Keeps the interior clean. monitor boost and A/F ratio or fuel pressure and A/F (probably better). You could also not run any gauges and be fine. The a and a kit is well thought out and gives reliable piece of mind. I have one of their kits and drove it for a long time without any gauges.

1MEANGS

I have the ECS supercharger kit and B&B Bullets exhaust... As for my driving impressions, I absolutely love the kit... The car drives like stock if not better than stock w/ the supercharger! Doug @ ECS tuned the car & we made 573 RWHP / 553 RWTQ w/ jus the blower kit and an exhaust I wouldn't do anything over but as for adding mods I definitely plan on adding long tube headers, meth injection, & the ECS stage 1 fuel system!

gonzala

"You could also not run any gauges and be fine. The a and a kit is well thought out and gives reliable piece of mind. I have one of their kits and drove it for a long time without any gauges."

Great info, so if I can ask a novice question, what are the pros and cons of having the gauges? Is it just for monitoring purposes? I am guessing its for data collection when tracking and racing the vette as well as seeing any dangers when running the car hard.

That extra gauge, pod and install is like $750 with tax so I would prefer to know how I should be using them before I spend that kind of mula.

Thanks for your input!

1MEANGS

^ like he said there not necessary but there nice to have!

gonzala

Nice!!! Those are really good numbers w/out the headers. I hope to get at least 580 RWHP (NOW AT 410) using a A & A V3 since I have the NPP and Kooks catted 1 7/8 LTHs.

gonzala

Well they sure look cool... like your in a race car for sure... but beyond looks.. how are they used?

My shop advised just two gauges: boost/vac and fuel temp.

I wonder what percentage of SC car owners have the gauges and how many don't.

My shop has a lot of racers etc. I plan to ask their opinions as well.

1SwtRide

I advocate for the gauges for the practical reason that you can quickly trouble shoot issues, i.e., vacuum and boost - are they at the right level; fuel - is it showing sufficient pressure. These have helped me spot-identify potential problems. There is the cool looking factor, of course.

neveret

The easiest answer is to say that the gauges can validate that the critical items being monitored are working correctly. A fuel pressure gauge can show that the fuel pump can maintain rail pressure throughout the range of rpm. If your fuel pump was failing, or the boost a pump wasn't working properly, the fuel pressure gauge would help indicate the problem. The boost gauge is probably the least important in a supercharged application because the blower has for the most part a fixed max boost level (given your mods and pulley size). If there were a boost leak or if you had belt slip the boost gauge would help to validate the condition, but I would say it's not critical because a loss of boost is unlikely to hurt the engine. Likewise, a loss of boost is often indicated in more obvious ways (loss of power, rough running, noise from the belt, loss/lack of belt tension).

All that to say, there are a lot of corvettes with these kits out there and the kit components do not regularly fail. The kits are built with the ability to be installed and run with no other modification to the car. So, if you like the look of gauges or want to monitor data while driving, get some gauges. Otherwise just have the kit installed and enjoy driving the car. It'll be fine.

gonzala

I really appreciate the info! I believed that the monitoring and potential trouble shooting were the main reasons for the gauges...plus they look sick too and a fine conversation piece!

gonzala

Thanks, I have decided to install gauges to make sure we have some diagnostics if we ever develop issues.

Now, I'm back making the actual model chioce etc.