13 replies to this topic

[minivanman8]

I've just bought a mini van with supercharger, and I am on a quest to sort wiring out and de-clutter the engine bay/wiring/dash.....which leads me to the question;

Do you need a boost gauge? What are the pros/cons (if any) of having one? What should the gauge read?

Many thanks

Andy

[Nick Warwick]

You running a suck through set up?

[minivanman8]

Not sure. I've not done a great deal of reading up on the supercharger so far having never really had much to do with them in the past. How can I tell?

[Nick Warwick]

you got a photo of your engine bay?

If you carb is before the SC its suck through, if its after the SC its blow through.

[Carlos W]

It's a personal choice!

Once it's set up and working properly you could remove the guage

[minivanman8]

The carb is mounted down the front by the grill, so I guess suck through. It has been running as a unit before I owned it, it just has some electrical gremlins at the mo

[mk3 Cooper S]

Mmm, maybe a little reading up on superchargers before buying it would have been wise ?

[Nick Warwick]

I don't have a boost gauge, as far as i know you can't just "turn up the boost" on a supercharger because it's the pulley that would need changing to increase PSI. So no real need to look what it's running other than to see if it is running at factory PSI.

[Ethel]

As above, the boost is proportional to engine rpm as the blower is driven by it via the belt. A gauge would still be useful, especially if it incorporated a vacuum gauge.

http://www.secondcha.../public/186.cfm

[minivanman8]

Thanks for the replies. Mk3cooper...I used to own the van and wanted it back regardless of the engine. I might leave the gauge in there temporarily, but more gauges mean more things to worry about!!

[Andi-p]

I have said it before and will say it again. If you have to ask these questions don't do it. If you don't understand any of it your in for a disaster. There is books available that will explain all the underpinning knowledge of forced induction. In my opinion its a waste of money if it goes bang.

[Wil_h]

I have said it before and will say it again. If you have to ask these questions don't do it. If you don't understand any of it your in for a disaster. There is books available that will explain all the underpinning knowledge of forced induction. In my opinion its a waste of money if it goes bang.

To be fair, he did say he wanted the van regardless of the engine. He hasn't asked a stupid question really.

For an SC, a boost gauge is really not much use. In a turbo car it has more benefits as you can adjust the boot levels and you need to know what it is.

[HUBBA.HUBBA]

I like a boost gauge, but to be honest i like having lots of gauges flickering around, going up and down, but can be information overload when you are negotiating a corner at speed! To answer your question you don't 'need' it.

[cradley-heathen]

i must admit im not into having gauges and other such faff for no good reason. however, as the suoercharger is an aftermarket modification, and one that works purely on air pressure, i would like to know exactly what it was doing at any given time.

if you have any running problems later on, the gauge may be able to give you some valuable information. if you start to suspect its not running right, or its not as quick, or maybe you start thinking you can hear an air leak, the gauge could help you decide if this is the case.

i remember many years ago, my first mini had a vacumm gauge (fitted for ecconomy purposes in my student days) not only did it allow me to get better fuel consumption when the funds got tight at the end of the month, but it also used to read differently when the head gasket went between cylinders 2&3, which seemed to happen on a fairly regular basis, until i eventually got it skimmed and it never happened again.

in my opinion, fit the gauge, just dont crash because your watching that not the road lol!