What Gauges will I need for a supercharger setup?

[Deuce Bigs]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by BATMAN:
BTW... LCD displays in driver's view is illegal.<hr></blockquote>

not if you've got some sort of navigation system going through it.

:D ;)

[strobhen]

exactly...

I bet that the law doesn't say lcd screens, I bet it says something along the lines of entertainment stuff.

I'm going to go ask the ucf lawyers about that soon.

Still think lcd is a better idea, just have it able to fold away. :-P

[camaro_zach]

that would be too sweet, to have an autotap hooked up to a 4" lcd screen, oh god. hahaha, only prob is where would you hide the keyboard, and mouse if you chose to have one...make little outlets for them by the lighter, and i guess hide them in the glove box?

[strobhen]

bah, 4 inch?

you are thinking too small my friend...

15 inch computer lcd :D

best mouse would definitely be a touchpad in this case.

keyboard would stay tucked away for use only when the car is stopped or when there is a passenger. Probably have an infared keyboard.

LCD would be mounted on a hinge & I would be able to fold away.

[1BADDAM]

Knock gauge

http://www.casperselectronics.com

;)

[Steve Presley]

Should I get a "cruise" gauge, a WOT gauge, or both?

http://www.gadgetseller.com/gauges/

[Steve Presley]

Anyone?

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steve Presley:
Should I get a "cruise" gauge, a WOT gauge, or both?

http://www.gadgetseller.com/gauges/<hr></blockquote>

I looked at their site when I saw this post. Interesting stuff...

Depends on if you want the gauge for looks, or for tuning.

For tuning, the cruise gauge won't do much for you, in my opinion. The o2 sensors and the pcm will be working together to manage your a/f ratio at cruise.

The wot gauge could help for tuning. If you are running lean, this will tell you. The pcm ignores the o2 sensors at wot and depends on the maf sensor, rpms, etc to manage the engine at that point. So if you modify the engine (s/c, injectors, etc.) the pcm will no longer be calibrated to hold the correct a/f ratio.

I like autotap better than a gauge, for tuning. You can see the "gauge" displayed in autotap, and can also log all of the readings from a run, for later playback and analysis. (instead of having to watch the gauge constantly...)

[Steve Presley]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by John_D.:


I looked at their site when I saw this post. Interesting stuff...

Depends on if you want the gauge for looks, or for tuning.

For tuning, the cruise gauge won't do much for you, in my opinion. The o2 sensors and the pcm will be working together to manage your a/f ratio at cruise.

The wot gauge could help for tuning. If you are running lean, this will tell you. The pcm ignores the o2 sensors at wot and depends on the maf sensor, rpms, etc to manage the engine at that point. So if you modify the engine (s/c, injectors, etc.) the pcm will no longer be calibrated to hold the correct a/f ratio.

I like autotap better than a gauge, for tuning. You can see the "gauge" displayed in autotap, and can also log all of the readings from a run, for later playback and analysis. (instead of having to watch the gauge constantly...)<hr></blockquote>

Let me pose the question a different way..

Do I really need to be concerned about A/F at cruise (which is what autotap will give me)?

How can I get autotap to return both the cruise amperage as well as the WOT amperage? Is that possible? I just got Autotap last week, so don't know all of the tricks yet.

I am leaning towards getting a beater laptop to put in the car so I can run autotap all of the time.. not keen on leaving my good box in the car all the time.

thanks.

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steve Presley:
Do I really need to be concerned about A/F at cruise (which is what autotap will give me)?

How can I get autotap to return both...<hr></blockquote>

I would say not to worry about the A/F at cruise. The pcm will be constantly toggling it back and forth (on purpose) within a range, and unless something is badly wrong, there is no reason to monitor this.

Autotap will also tell you the wot numbers. Log the tps setting as one of your parameters. Then, only look at rows with the tps at 90% or more. (typically my car seems to go into wot mode around 90%) That stuff you may have read on the v8 sites about logging the fuel cell, and only checking rows with a certain cell value, doesn't apply to our cars. TPS is a pretty good indicator. I usually log rpms too, so I can see shift points and watch for changes right before or after a shift.

You can also turn the log file on right before you hit wot, and turn it back off right after you let off. (using the space bar). This will cut down on the extra rows that need to be weeded out. If you use this approach, and do multiple wot runs, you will need to use multiple files, because it doesn't append to the first file.

I know what you mean about leaving the equipment in the car. I definitely take the laptop out, and lately have been taking the cable out too. A lot of times I have just left the cable laying in the passenger floorboard too though. It's not nearly as noticeable as that laptop laying there. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Lately I like to use the graph mode, logging rpms and one o2 sensor only. This gives me a great picture view of the o2 readings when I go wot. The o2's go up and down constantly, pretty much coloring in the whole graph, until I go wot, then the o2 jumps up and stays around the top of the graph until I let off of it. (it's kind of annoying when it goes to zero and stops graphing when the tps is at zero, but it comes back when you give it just a little gas...)

[Steve Presley]

Cool.. I figured there was a way to trick autotap into giving you the right figures.. just didn't know the thresholds to watch for..

I already know about the space bar trick.. learned that one the other day ;)

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it ;)

[BillyCobin]

I have put some thought into a system for LCD+autotap+GPS. Of course the stuff that would work best is pretty expensive.

For the keyboard, there is a perfect one at B&B electronics, but it is 400 bucks. Backlit, small, and has an integrated mouse. A keyboard from a WebTV, if the infared port could be adapted to work, would work well. Only down side on it is it isn't backlit.

For the LCD, EarthLCD has a HUGE variaty. The problem for an in car LCD is that it has to be bright enough to be seen over the day light, and easilly dimmed at night. So that, of course, makes them expensive.

Powering one isn't really a problem, they don't suck any more power than the average amp. A 30-50 dollar power inverter will work. One thing that people have against just putting a regular computer into the trunk, is that the hard drive may become damaged much faster due to the heat and vibrations. Most people who do it, say their drives are working just fine.

Also, if I where to do this, I would put a wireless ethernet card in it. Put the car in the driveway, start it up, then go in the house and transfer all thoes stolen MP3s/divx movies right onto the car computer.

This guy has a nice LCD setup. MP3Cav
There are tons of cars that have done this at www.mp3car.com

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steve Presley:
Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it ;)<hr></blockquote>

You're welcome. I've learned a bunch from this site, and like to put a little something back into it from time to time...

[bu-bye]

has anyone thought about a touch screen. I have been looking around ebay for a small touch screen to use with my laptop. Just a thought

[Steve Presley]

The cheapest ones I have found are at EarthLCD (thanks for the link BTW Billy).. That would be the way I would lean... you can get a "software" keyboard that you can pop up or hide when you don't need it... you won't need a mouse since it is a touch screen... sure, the converter is a little more expensive, but it saves so many logistical problems..