[dataway]

I've always been a Mechanical gauge guy, never really trusting electrics because of the added layer of potential problems.

But gauges have probably come a long way in the last 40 years. I was thinking of using electric gauges for oil pressure and water temp .. AFTER a few shakedown cruises on the new engine show that I don't have any unexpected problems.

Just a lot easier to plumb the electrics in a less obvious fashion, and more flexible as to location etc.

So ... any of you guys really trust electric gauges?

[JSchmitz]

I'm in the same camp as you. Have always used mechanical. But I see the allure of electrical. Also like the large sweep of mechanical vs. electrical.

[JLMounce]

There's three basic types of gauges.

Mechanical
Air Core
Digital Stepper

Just because a gauge is mechanical does not necessarily make it accurate. For reference, a mechanical water temp gauge heats up a probe in the water that then heats a gas in the tube. As the gas pressure changes, the gauge creates a reading. An improper fill on the tube, kink in the line, or inaccurate calibration on the dial face could give you inaccurate readings.

Air core gauges are what would have been typically installed in these cars from the factory. A sending unit sends an electrical signal to a gauge for readout. The problem with these gauges is they rely on a ground path across the sending unit. Anything that effects the ground path can cause inaccuracy or other weird readouts in the gauge.

Modern gauges rely on digital stepper motors. They don't use a ground path across a sending unit, but instead rely on power directly from the gauge itself to receive a digital readout (0-255) from a sensor. This is what you will find in basically all modern OEM vehicles, and the gauge packs from places like Dakota Digital and New Vintage.

The digital stepper motor gauges are typically the most expensive and more likely than not, with exception of very high end mechanical gauges, also going to be the most reliable and the most accurate. This is the direction I would personally go if the budget is there for it. If your gauge budget is not that big, stick with known good quality mechanical gauges. I don't think I'd mess with the air core stuff.

[Scott65]

I have learned to trust them in a fashion. I have been using an ecu for efi for the last numerous years. They read all the engine functions from sensors. For the critical ones I have had the benefit of monitoring my mechanical gauges alongside the sensor readings, and have found them to be pretty darn accurate. Most of them function at least similarly to electric sending units, so I guess I've grown to be pretty comfortable with it. But I leave the mechanicals there so....

[ZeGermanHam]

Personally, I'm in the electric gauge camp. I have the same electric gauge pack which Freiburger has in this video outlining the pros & cons of mechanical vs. electric: https://youtu.be/BZk-8ReaMic

[Mr Anonymous]

I *was* strictly a mechanical gauge guy until I built the dash in my 1964 F-85 years ago and went all electric.

Why?

1. Compared each one to a mechanical equivalent and they read the same, so the accuracy is comparable. Even response is comparable.
2. Need to remove the dash to access the wiring block behind it would be more complicated with mechanical gauges, esp water temp.
3. Cost - also comparable.

Now when I need to make wiring changes or do any troubleshooting, I remove 5 mounting screws, unplug a connector, and the entire dash comes out.

I do make sure that I have good connections, and good grounding.

ZERO regrets doing it this way. I'd do the next car (another one? what??) the same way again.

[Tom Vaught]

I ran Stewart Warner mechanical gauges for 55 years on my 64 GTO.
No issues except for a oil leak one time at a fitting attaching the copper line to the gage.
Resolved that issue with a simple "on-off" valve, by the gage on a bracket.
I installed a Stewart Warner electric sensor that triggers a gage light at 15 psi oil pressure. The sensor is teed into the rear of the block with the Oil Pressure gage line.

Instead of constantly looking down at the SW gages when I should be driving (like I did for a few years), I let the indicator light next to the Tach mounted on the steering column tell me if I had an issue. Then I could verify that with the mechanical gage once I turned it on. Has worked for many years.

Tom V.

[HoovDaddy]

I've installed a lot of guages over the years and I prefer electric from an installation standpoint. Autometer and Classic Instruments have been my choices. New harnesses from the the 2 big suppliers are already set up for aftermarket gauges. I just bought a full aray of electric Autometer electric gauges that I'm building into the the stock dash and console of the Firebird including an electric speedo. We had a few Corvettes over the years and I always hated the oil line coming inside the car.

[dataway]

I'm thinking about an aux gauge panel that can be tucked away for a stock look when needed ... obviously this is more difficult with mechanical gauges and their hard lines ... only so much flexing over and over they will take.

Always like mechanical, as mentioned for the sweep, for the fact they read with no electrical power and the simplicity ... I've also had the oil line leak like many people. And yes it really sucks if it leaks inside the car.

Like the idea of stepper motor gauges ... just recently started playing around with programming Arduino for stepper motors. Cost shouldn't be a huge issue with two little 2" gauges.

I'd love to see blue tooth gauges sets ... no wiring to the sensors at all.

Hmmm ... going to have to do some research and see what's out there.

[chuckies76ta]

I too used electric oil pressure on my car and been fine for years.

[dataway]

How is the response time on digital gauges? Meaning electric gauges, but digital readout.

Looked at some of the Autometer stepper motor type .. very high tech stuff there.

[64speed]

I wanted Green Line gauges so I had to use analog. I have never used electrical ones before but was going to this time around.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by 64speed

I wanted Green Line gauges so I had to use analog. I have never used electrical ones before but was going to this time around.

Stewart Warner sells the Green Line gauges in both mechanical and electric.

https://www.stewartwarner.com/products/green-line/

[76TA462]

I have been using AutoMeter mechanical water temp and oil pressure gauges for years with no problems. Installed a Sniper EFI three years ago and the electrical read on the hand held is close to the AutoMeter water temp gauge. My mechanical oil pressure gauge is fine, but if it packs it in I will go to the electric gauge. Both styles are good and the only reason I would swap would be to avoid the chance of a leak on the interior of my car, which is highly unlikely buy sh-t happens. I have had troubles in the past with the copper ferrule at the filter housing but that was only because I didn't have a new replacement at the time.

[HWYSTR455]

With the increased quality and accuracy of new electrical gauges, there's no reason to use mechanical anymore. And many are now full sweep.


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[HWYSTR455]

Digital readout gauges require the user to focus on the actual readout, the number, and pointer/sweep gauges you can determine if you are within a safe range using peripheral vision. You can even from the corner of your eye view all readouts at once.


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[bhill86]

Geeze, I wish I would’ve realized all of this before I picked up my mechanical oil pressure gauge.

[67Fbird]

I go with the OLD wisdom.....TRUST ...but verify ANY gauge....lol I do use electric BUT each is verified per comparison to mechanical (oil pressure) or by physical (water temp... a pot of boiling water)

[67Fbird]

Digital readout gauges require the user to focus on the actual readout, the number, and pointer/sweep gauges you can determine if you are within a safe range using peripheral vision. You can even from the corner of your eye view all readouts at once.

Thus the advantage or "clock" orientation of the gauge! As I just pointed out to my NEW driving son.....NOTE: ALL the critical gauges point UPWARD between 1 O'clock and 3 o"clock on the right of the steering wheel....and the guys on the left SHOULD point between 9 O'clock and 11 O'clock....if so ..ALL IS GOOD