Safety Gauges -- Original Post Deleted @ Conversion

[MrMigs]

My original post was pretty much something like this:

The more you know about your car's condition, the better off you are. So what gauges would be useful for a lightly-tuned N/A KA24DE w/ 80k miles and is used for racing?

Someone replied with... oil pressure, oil temp, coolant temp, and fuel pressure.

I replied to his message with a few more questions, and I was wondering if he (or anyone else here) could answer them:
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Okay, I tell me if I'm right/wrong about my assumptions.
1. Oil Pressure Gauge - to let you know if your oil pump is still circulating oil and also to let you know if you have leaks,

2. oil temp and coolant temp - to let you know if you're overheating

3. Fuel Pressure Gauge - to tell you if your injectors are about to die? so you know if your car is about to start running extra lean? I'm a little unclear on this one.

Thanks in advance. :D

[HippoSleek]

Those would be the same I'd suggest, with the exception of fuel pressure. That seems more like something for the FI crowd.

Oil pressure will also tell you if you have oil starvation issues from sloshing, etc.

If we are actually talking about a race car, many have a "money light" for oil pressure - if the pressure falls below a certain point, the light comes on. It mean shut down - period.

note: my experience is w/ road racing, so if you are talking about dragging... :confused:

[kandyflip445]

I think the fuel pressure would be inbetween your fuel pump and the fuel pressure regulator. So you could tell if you have enough pressure to not starve your engine and run lean.

[bbp]

If the motor is relatively stock I wouldn't worry about fuel pressure.

Oil Temp: Critical on the KA, they tend to run hot. My IT car would hit 300 if I didn't back off. Lunched one motor that way. If your going to do track events, get an oil cooler, NOW.

Oil Pressure: Is also critical, the dummy lights are nice, BUT, if that light comes on, chances are it is already too late. The damage has been done.

Water temp: I'm sure I don't need to explain this one.

Here is one to add to your list. Water pressure gauge. I like these even better than water temp. It let you know if you have a hole in the system somewhere. If the pressure begins to drop shut the motor down BEFORE it overheats. Rather than letting the gauge tell you your head is now warped from the overheat.

I also like EGT gauges. Check out Aviation supply companies for good EGT gauges. All single engine aircraft have an EGT probe for each cylinder. This is the ultimate tuning tool. by reading EGT on a NA KA you can then adjust mixure by changing the input to the ecu from the water temp gauge.

[HippoSleek]

nb. money light is different than dummy light. The car has a dummy light now - a money light is set higher and it MUCH brighter (more like a shift light). (money means that if you don't shut it down ASAP, you will be paying a lot of money).

Good lord re: oil temp! I knew the KA got hot and wondered how it would do in actual race traffic, but I didn't really think it would lunch a motor! Yikes. Good heads up!

[MrMigs]

I had a feeling it would be helpful to have some gauges on my car. :D
And yea, i was implying road racing, not drag.

Now, this question is just as important as the first:
So now that I know which gauges would be helpful, what do you think would be the danger zones for the temperatures/pressures. Basically, how high is too high for the temperature of the oil/water, and what would be considered too low for the pressure of the oil/water. :eek: