Gauges are cool!

[spardigus]

So i have searched numerous pages in this forum and havent really found a good explenation as to the true purpose of guages and what to look for when you have them installed. Anybody can put them in but if you cant read them what is the point. I dont know the answer so could somebody help out a newbie and possibly many more newbies to come?

[alfajay]

The main 3 are boost, tranny, EGT. You don't want your tranny overheating with the extra power added, so as long as its under 220ish you should be ok, 1350 for sustained EGT is ok, 1500 is max for short term-not longer than 5-8sec. Not sure the real point of booost tho. For 6.0 I know a few ppl that installed coolant temp gauges, I don't knwo if they get hot easier/faster.

[jamstoyz]

i have the 6.0 and my boost will hit about 28 psi then drop to around 25 or 26. thats with dj's street tune, intake and exhaust. i also run engine temp gauge cause i dont trust the stock one. my temp is around 200 degrees on hot dats but with the egr block off.

[spardigus]

That helps! Thanks! Any more information would be great too!

[Strõkër~X]

they look cool!!!

[Rob]

basically the aftermarket gauges will give you your temps, and boost in real numbers. you can look at the tranny temp gauge on the dash cluster and see that it warm or hot, but how warm or how hot? the EGT will tell you how hot your exhaust gasses are so you have a chance to back out of any hard acceleration to prevent burning up valves or your turbo. the boost is nice to have so you know how much boost you are pushing, if you over boost i believe you stand a chance of blowing your hoses loose, or maybe even popping a hole in the intercooler, or blowing your heads off. hope this helps.

[Blue01F250]

The guages give you a more ACCURATE reading of what is actually going on. The stock guages are known for being arbitrary/not very accurate.

[LvTitan]

boost is important for several reasons. it can help you diagnose a problems. plus you get used to seeing a certain boost, and if all of a sudden things start running different you can use your gauges to pinpoint the problem.
i actually see higher boost numbers with lower power files, the hotter the file, the less the boost believe it or not.
when you have a loss of power for some reason, check your gauges...
if the boost is low and the egt's are high, you know the power loss is boost related. could be a bad turbo, cracked i/c tank, boot popped off etc...
if you have a loss of power and the egt's are low, you know the power loss is fuel related, clogged filter or bad injector or something like that..