TSiWRX Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Ask him about EGT and alarm on boost gauge. I'd love an EGT and oil-pressure set..... Looks like (from their website) they do not have an EGT, though...... <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacysteve68 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 im diggin them bars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 why does oil pressure have dual alarms (low and high) and boost none? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Hope I didn't overstep my bounds, but I emailed him this morning too. Let's hope we can make this happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamie700 Posted November 9, 2005 Author Share Posted November 9, 2005 Not at all, the more support we show the better. I have just been looking for a decent boost gauge for a while that matches our interior. There are quite a few cheap ones on ebay but I question the quality of those. One even had only 3 lines between like 0-5, 5-10 ect.; like you count 5,6,7,8,10; real quality there. The only ones I really like are the Defi but I don't have that kind of cash. Hopefully he gets back to us and we can all get nice gauges for a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegacyGT 05 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 I'm looking pretty interested in this as well, and I'd like to find out about the alarms. Also, we should get a definite of what would be required for the install (besides a guage pod or similar) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdisco Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Can we get a group buy for one of these..... ? Kahootzen valve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 I spoke with Neil at the company today. The boost gauge used to have alarm but they got rid of it. The way the boost gauge works is that the numbers are what you are actually reading while the bar graph stays at whatever your peak boost was until it reads a vacuum. EGT is due out in January as is Wideband O2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSiWRX Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 ^ Thanks, bro! <-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges '16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbarto74 Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 I like the digital readout, goes well with the gear selector display on my EAT. I'm in for a group buy if one gets set up.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al-gorithm Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Now where is everyone going to put them... hahahaha Too bad they didn't come in white to match our gauges... Did they say what the sample/reaction time was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 The way the boost gauge works is that the numbers are what you are actually reading while the bar graph stays at whatever your peak boost was until it reads a vacuum. That sounds ozzy... The bar graph holds peak? so if the boost decreases but not all the way to vacuum, the numbers reflect that, but the bar graph stays peaked? that sounds too weird to read at a glance. I would think that would take too much concentration to read than just a millisecond eyes-on, eyes-up glance. Plus the whole thing about the boost starting from 9 o'clock and going clockwise, and the vacuum overlapping counterclockwise from 3 o'clock seems confusing at a glance, too. I still like my idea of having the bar graph '0' at the top, and the graph goes clockwise to 5 o'clock for real-time boost, and counter-clockwise to 7 o'clock for vacuum... with the numerics in the center. A nice touch with Subie's and others gauge sweep startup, is to have the boost gauge simutaneously sweep both directions and '-88' on the numeric on startup POST. ('Power-On Self Test' for the n00bs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 No return on my emails yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Looks like a good deal on a decent gauge. I'd be interested... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vei Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Howdy, This is Neil from VEI, and I'm here as promised. I will try to clarify and answer your questions/concerns as objectively as possible, without becoming a sales pitch, and I'm going to avoid any competitive bashing. I expect this will get long, so I'll be back in a bit... Cheers, -Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vei Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Hi again, First, let me state something about comparisons. Make sure you compare features/quality, and not just price. Don't use price as a proxy for quality -- just because it's more expensive does not mean it's better. Just because it's more advertised, does not mean it's better. Determine if it's what *you* need. One size does *not* fit all. Read the instructions to see how you can actually set the ambient level on ours, vs. starting with an offset level, which would affect the measured value. Then think -- how do other vac-boost gauges handle this, if at all they do? Also, when comparing price, make sure you add the cost of the sensor/sender. Also, note what type of sender is being used -- we use a high-accuracy piezo/semiconductor sensor, not an oil-pressure rubber-diaphram-type sender. Those work great for oil, but not for boost for various reasons -- accuracy and response time come to mind right now. Also, for a more independent review, I'd be willing to let one of you buy a gauge temporarily for evaluation, and later credit the difference on the group-buy price or take the gauge back if you wish. ----------------------------- Let me get a bit of history out of the way, which should help with understanding why we do what we do... I started doing this a few years ago due to many frustrations with other gauges -- fuel-pressure senders were actually oil-pressure senders which got eaten up by fuel over a couple months, inability to quickly read what is happening, and general inaccuracy. Also, dash warning indicators are many times better than a gauge as you are interrupted when a problem occurs, rather than happening to notice it later. This all resulted in some of the key features on our gauges: - The alarms on most gauges serve as a rapid alert like dash warning indicators would. - The bargraph greatly improves readibility, somewhat simulating the ease of reading an analog gauge. (And I actually decided that if I could not squeeze a bargraph into a 2-1/16" gauge), then it would be pointless to proceed with thie endeavour. - Customizability to meet the needs of more vehicles (again, one size does not fit all). But yes, these add cost over basic gauges. You'll also notice that we do not have some gauge functions, either at all or yet, and this is really because if we can differentiate ourselves from the other products, then why bother? ----------------------------- Now, a quick clarification on how the vac-boost gauge works... As the engine starts up, the bargraph will display vacuum from the right stretching to the left (reversed). The further it stretches to the left, the more vacuum. Vacuum is also represented with a negative numeric reading. As you accelerate, the bars shorten (towards the right), then when the right-most LED goes off, the left one starts coming on (indicating boost), at which point it stretches to the right, indicating more boost. As boost starts descending, the LED indicating the highest boost level reached is left on momentarily (the peak function), until it goes back into vacuum condition. This effectively stretches the time of the peak boost level so it can be seen easier. The boost bargraph scale is adjustable, representing 0-10psi, 0-20psi, 0-30psi, etc. It is actually very easy to visualize what's happening, especially because of the split vacuum and boost displays. During development, we went thru various display formats for this, and at one point we tried the split at the top. The format we are using now is just as intuitive as with the top split, but this way it effectively doubles the resolution (being able to see 24 steps across the whole vac-boost span). But I'm sure our survey set was not as large as the probable readers of this thread, so I'd love to get your feedback on this -- do you think a split bargraph (split at the top) would be better, even with the reduced resolution? Our products are constantly evolving, and we really appreciate your feedback on this. Other design reasoning: I spoke with Jim a bit about this today -- that the sensor is built into the vac-boost gauge and no alarms. Our early prototypes had an external sensor and an alarm/buzzer, but we noticed that the alarm on a fast moving gauge is somewhat pointless. It would trigger at the indicated boost level, but shut off as soon as the reading comes back to normal level. This would result in a faint chirp only, and was meaningless. And the alarms are really more useful for functions that are less monitored -- such as high water temp during an autocross race. With the removal of the buzzer unit, we could now fit (squeeze, really) the sensor into the gauge housing, which is nicer since it eliminates some of the noise that usually needs to be filtered when using remote sensors and reduces cost noticeably. ---------------------------- Other answers to things mentioned in this thread: Can't remember offhand, but IIRC, the display updates something like 10-20 times per second. It varies (purposely) from gauge to gauge, with fuel level been the slowest update (many seconds between updates). If the sensor goes kaput, we can replace it internally. Someone mentioned "white". The reason for the aluminium housing (which is more expensive to produce than stamped steel bezels with molded plastic bodies) is that in the future (far future at this point), we intend to make these available in different anodized colors. If you did a large group buy, I can arrange for anodizing, though I do not know the costs/lead-time/min qty. on these at this time. Also had some emails with someone else (I believe that's you yamie700) re: installation accessories. I would be willing to put together some installation kits for these if ya'll (yeah, I'm in Texas!) wish. Cheers, -Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vei Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I'm sure there's more that I need to answer/say, but I'm running back and forth with the upload of the new website changes. I'll get back to this later tonight, but feel free to ask/comment in the meanwhile. Cheers, -Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 OK, please answer this: what is needed besides a gauge? Can I simply unplug my Autometer and plug the vacuum line to your gauge and power and ground wires as well? I don't want to have to buy boxes like with the Defi link thing. I just want a boost gauge like yours for an easy install and no extra stuff to put in. I'm in for a group buy, but frankly just want the gauge, regardless of savings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vei Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 OK, please answer this: what is needed besides a gauge? Can I simply unplug my Autometer and plug the vacuum line to your gauge and power and ground wires as well? I don't want to have to buy boxes like with the Defi link thing. I just want a boost gauge like yours for an easy install and no extra stuff to put in. I'm in for a group buy, but frankly just want the gauge, regardless of savings. Correctamundo -- use your existing vac line & 3 wires -- +12V, Ground, and (optional) lights-on signal which will dim the gauge when the lights come on at night. Cheers, -Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vei Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Some info on the lights signal... Summarized, these gauges have 2 brightness settings. You can adjust each from 1-9 (brightness level). With the green (lights signal) wire un-connected or grounded, the gauge will use the first (regular) setting. With the green wire connected to +12V, it will use the second (park-lights setting). You can even set it so it's brighter at night than during the day, etc. Now for a "race-mode", Rather than using a light signal, you can connect the green wires (from multiple gauges) together and to a switch on the dash. Other terminal on switch to +12V. Now, the brightnesses can be adjusted so that, as an example, the tach, boost and oil pressure will be full bright in the park-lights setting, and the rest will go dim. When you hit the 1/4-mile track on Friday night, flip the switch and those 3 main gauges will be bright and other will dim to the background. Cheers, -Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamie700 Posted November 10, 2005 Author Share Posted November 10, 2005 Thanks for showing up and answering questions Neil. You wont get this kind of service from some of the el-cheapo vendors on ebay. So who is in on a group buy? What kind of prices do we get with x number of buyers Neil? I don't know how to keep a list of everyone in one place but if someone else does please keep track. I am in for: Boost/Vac gauge + installation kit either an Oil Pressure or Fuel Pressure gauge + installation stuff Which do you guys think is more important to monitor, FP or OP? I just plan to go to stage 2 eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbarto74 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I'll take a boost guage and an Oil pressure guage and the required install stuff. Who needs a fuel pressure guage when I have the "whoop whoop" sound when I start the car?? heh heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enthusiast Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 In the words of JediMaster. "Report back on some excellent pricing" What kind of prices are we looking at? My mod list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 OK, once again I know that someone else may be interested in taking on this role- but I've been working out details on a gb. We're looking at around 60 bucks. I won't try and set anything else up until I hear form the thread starter- don't wanna step on his toes as this was his (excellent) find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wukindada Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Put me down for the Boost & Oil guages + the install goodies;) Toyota 6EATS .........SUCK!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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