Gauges vs Driving habits + tuner??????

[slayerf250]

was wondering why guages are really "required" if running a tuner such as the DP......

I drive my truck so easy that most people would consider it a waste ...

ease into stops
easy starts
use cruise control as often as possible
around 75 MPH on the interstate
no racing
never had it anywhere near the red line

only tow a boat every now and then or my small trailer with my ATV on it

so why would I need a set of guages if I drive easy if I was using a DP tuner set on a 80hp economy tune....

or am I missing something??? seems that a lot of people tune their trucks and then go out and see if they can smoke all 4 tires in 4 wd low.....for me, I would tune to get as many turns of the tire on the least amout of fuel...

I bought a diesel because of the dependability of the engines, I even went back in years to get a 7.3 because of its history and success record.....

so what am I missing about guages and tuners????

[REDPOWERSMOKER]

YES BECAUSE IF SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN TO GO WRONG YOUR GAUGES WILL TELL YA
LIKE PYRO-INJECTOR PROBLEMS
TRANS TEMP- TELLS IF YOUR TRANNY IS OVERHEATING LIKE CLOGGED LINE ORE A CLOGGED COOLER AND SUCH

GAUGES ARE A DARN GOOD THING TO HAVE EVEN IF YOU DONT HAVE A TUNER

[Strokethis9]

to be honest i think that if you aren't doing anything crazy and not towing 10,000 pounds in the mountains and you drive the way you do then dont worry about it with the 80 dp tune i can't get my exhaust temps up past 1200 even with about a 4000 pound trailer i cant get them past 1300 and thats to the floor i wouldn't worry about it

[zippy557]

the main thing you're watching is your temps, exhaust and trans make sure they dont get to hot for to long. The only way you're gonna get them that hot is if you're pulling big weight or add a lot of hp with the tuner, you should be fine with no gauges but it's just a safety factor.

[jamstoyz]

you need them cause they look cool
no its just for piece of mind and to watch all your vitals if something should fail. even tho you drive easy, something could hapeen like overboost, tranny getting too hot, etc....

[zippy557]

they do look cool

[alabamafrog]

Okay, gauges = about $300, tranny = about $3,000, engine = about $10,000, I’d say gauges are worth every penny!
Before I added the extra tranny cooler I’ve seen my truck get up to over 200* on the tranny just cruising around town in summer. Even running cruise I’ve seen my egt climb over 1300 lugging up a hill. But if you’re very gentle and pay close attention on hills or heavy stop and go traffic and you have a relatively weak tune then you “shouldn’t” have nothing to worry about. Unless something goes wrong, then you wont know until its too late and we start talking about big $G’s. In my opinion every truck, even a stock one needs gauges. I got 3 on the pillar and 4 in the overhead pod.

[NCHornet]

The only way you're gonna get them that hot is if you're pulling big weight or add a lot of hp with the tuner, you should be fine with no gauges but it's just a safety factor.

100%%% TOTALLY FALSE!!!!
You can easily get a chipped truck above 1250 degrees without towing a thing, especially the generic crap!!!

As already been stated, gauges aren't just for tuned trucks, every diesel truck should have them!! They were my first mod. Why do you have a volt meter in your car? Is it just for a modified car? NO they have been in cars for decades!! A volt meter tels you the condition of your charging system, every turbo charged vehicle should have a boost gauge, Ford finally caught onto this and now includes one. The Boost gauge allows you to monitor your turbo just as the volt meter allows to monitor the alt. Every vehicle used for towing should have a trans temp gauge. The biggest failure of auto trannies is heat!! So you better be able to monitor this critical variable. Ford finally caught on to this as well, to bad they used a crappy system that isn't even close to accurate!! These leaves the pyrometer, sustained temps over 1250 degrees can cause pistons to deform, I have seen it with my own eyes. A stock truck, under the right conditions can get this hot. When you burn more fuel these temps increase, that is why air flow is critical to controlling them. EGT's are controlled by good air flow and better tuning. You need to have a way to monitor these temps.
If you don't want gauges don't buy them. But why have a oil pressure gauge or a voltmeter? Why not toss those out as well? You see we have gauges to monitor the critical components and systems on our powertrains. By watching your gauges you can become aware of a problem long before a failure occures, they are also vital in diagnosing some engine problems. As already stated the piece of mind achieved by having the gauges far out weighs the meager $300 they cost. I hope you can understand the importance of having gauges, not just for tuned trucks but for all trucks. But in the end it's your truck, if you don't want them don't get'em, pay a little now or a lot latter.
Merry Christmas

NCH

[dieselcrawler]

I'll second the comments by 'bama frog and NCHornet.... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? And havein' the gauges can actuly help you drive your truck to get even better fuel mileage, if that's your concern, even with a stock truck... add a tuner to the mix and YOU WILL SEE HIGHER NUMBERS.... even drivin' with some sence, like I can't! You'd think I'd limp, as heavy a right foot as I have! I feel that gauges are a requirement before a tuner.

Hope every one had a great Christmas...