warwickben

I want to get the racing beat gauge kit to mount my own gauges and I got a few questions.

There site says I'll have to fab my own retaining bracket ??? Any one got Pics of what have to do. Or explain what I'll have to make? I've looked at alot of thread and all the post I've been able to find didn't explain this..

Also when u get just the gauge holder does it come with every thing else there not real clear about this. Like I know I wount get the oil pedestal or water temp t. But dose it come with the foam at least.

Last but not least if i dont go with digtal gauges, figure there the best since u can read them quicker. should I get mechanical or electric oil temp and oil pressure. Some told me it's not good to use mechanical oil gauges in side the car. The reason I ask is cause I'm trying to find a digital oil pressure gauge but they all seem to max at 80 (unless i spend over 100$ per gauge so i have a match set) and racing beat says normal pressure can be up to 80 . Not sure if I explained that right. More or less would I be fine with one that only goes to 80?

warwickben

Side note I figure this will help me not start smoking.

Also the thing about the price of the gauges I can get all 3 for less the 170 $ so I'm saving tons vs the full kit if a 0-80 psi is fine to use . Other wise I'll just go with non digtale so I have 3 that are the same.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Never fear, Jedi is here!

I went a similar route as you're considering by purchasing the pod on it's own and piecing together my own gauges for the look I wanted.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/diy-rb-gauge-pod-nordskog-digital-gauges-133938/


good news / bad news time:
Good news: it can be done with just about any 52mm gauge whether they're electrical or mechanical.

bad news: if you follow my DIY, you'll need to find a different gauge manufacturer as Nordskog is out of business.

The RB pod comes all by itself, there is no mounting hardware with it as you'll reuse some of the screws from the ash tray.
As for having to fab your own retaining brackets: The gauges I bought came with a bracket which is nothing more then a u shaped thin piece of metal that is held with small screws to keep the gauge in place. should be very easy to make or simply ask the gauge manufacturer if it comes with anything.

As for mechanical vs electrical: it comes down to personal preference.
Electrical utilizes sending units to measure the fluids so all you do is run electrical to the gauges
Mechanical utilizes fluids going to the back of the gauge for its readings.

I personally went with electrical because I liked the digital numbers as opposed to the sweeping gauge but many people here use mechanical ones and like them.

Do you have a Series I or Series II RX-8?
My nordskog gauge only goes up to 80 psi and even at WOT, I seldom get near the 80psi mark. If you're running the Mazmart oil pressure mod or have a Series II then you'll need a guage that reads much higher.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

what kind of gauges are you considering?

laythor

just as a side note, do not buy cheap gauges. you'll just end up replacing them

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Laythor, your timing is impeccable.
when he mentioned the price, I thought, "please don't tell me he's getting cyberdyne gauges."

laythor

LOL, that's exactly what i thought when i read it.

warwickben

Lol o man. I was thinking of using them guess I shouldn't now?never heard any thing about them figured they would be fine. I was thinking them or sumit but the dont make a oil temp one.Wanna explain why there bad to me. Just so I can pass the info on etc.
I wouldnt go with cheap cheap gauges like the 3 pack u can buy at autozone for 50$ bucks lol.

I new the difference between mechanical vs electric I wasnt sure if it be smart to run oil in those 1/8 tubes in side the car. Been told by old school hot rod guys it's bad. I have them in my sa rx7 but I wouldn't care if some thing happen and oil went ever where in the dash and I put the tubes in a hose so if some thing happen I wouldn't get burnt.


Well can you guys recommend gauges then(I don't need any thing crazy keep cost down) want black with red led .
I wasn't sure if the u bracket would work cause the gauges are so close but I can do the same as I did on my rx7 just make one big u bracket all 3 are held by . Thank god I'm a metal worker.

I'm paying for this with the cash Im saving not smoking lol.

warwickben

I know id reuse the screws just wanted to know about the foam or any thing else. I was going to install as close as I could as the full kit. Got the PDF saved to my iPhone lol

I was reading a summit mag when I posted this looking at gauges lol.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

I think Laythor sums it up nicely:

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

nothing wrong with mechanicals and running the fluids into the cabin. I didn't want to go that route and honestly, I didn't feel comfortable doing it so I went with electrical.
If you do use mechanical, I'd just recommend using stainless steel lines

warwickben

Ok well can u recommend digtale gauges that aren't over price?

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

You're in luck (maybe) 'cause I have my car apart in a warm garage right now. No need for U-shaped brackets, just a modest piece of scrap aluminum. Notice in the 1st pic how the face of the RB pod is curved. That means the gauge bodies point toward each other slightly. Locking the back of the gauges together wedges the whole set in place in one step without having to futz any U-brackets. It also keeps them from rotating. You can also see in that pic, how I wrapped the gauge bodies with good black electrical tape (with tape ends at the bottom where they are invisible once installed) to get a slightly tight fit in the holes. The RB pod looks fine once installed, but is pretty crude really - the holes aren't very round and it's best to fill them out as much as possible.

The second pic brings up another advantage of using this bar at the back. I ground each of the black wires from the gauges on this bar, then run a single wire into the cigar lighter ground wire. Additioanlly, and very importantly if you want accurate readings, I've run a separate ground each of the senders and tied that to that same bar. This avoids ground loops which the gauges don't like at all.

After trying e-bay specials and Summit Racing-label gauges, I'm quite pleased with the reasonably-priced GlowShift digital gauges. One nice feature is that, seen in pic 1, they have a plug-in wiring harness, so if you have to pull the gauge our from the front, you don't have to disconnect the associated wires from the car. A slight disadvantage is that I think they are still too bright at night on their dim setting. To get around that, plus sometimes it's nice not to have all the gauge numbers dancing around (distractions to females), I put the power to the gauge set on a switch so it can be completely turned off.

Another couple install notes. Be sure to change out the cigar lighter circuit megafuse to something reasonable - 3A works find for me. You don't want a short to light up your wires like a, well cigar-lighter, before blowing in case of a short. Also "warped" on my RB pod are the lower tabs which are screwed into the console. With it pushed into place, the passenger-side tab is 3 washer thickness away from touching the console. If you just screw it into place, it puts force on the fiberglass which will cause that tab to break off after a while. Spacers underneath keep that from happening and aren't noticable when all is back into place.

Hope this helps!