My pro-comp boost gauge finally came in. 2 5/8",
I already hate the damn thing.
First off, it seems very temperature dependant.
In the store it was sitting at alsmot 3 psi! In my warm car it was closer to 0, then when I turned the air on it went back up to 3 psi!
It is ventable to reset it an any altitude- that's nice but that doesn't compensate for quick temp changs.

ALso- it's liquid filled, and it's not even filled all the way!! the top 1/2" is dry!! And it looks like complete **** having the oil line across the top of the gauge, it makes it really hard to easily see betwen 5-9 lbs of boost with this oil on half of it- you see double.
I want to drain the peice of ****. Actually, I am going to. Just a tiny drill in the bottom of the clear gauge cover.... I just hope it doesn't fog inside..

 

Why did you decide on the pro-comp series? Did you see Autometers other lines..... Phantom, or Sport-comp?

 

That’s one of the reasons I don’t like Autometer. The non-liquid-filled ones are too jittery (I had a boost gauge on my last car), and the liquid filled ones aren’t quite filled like you say, and I think that looks cheap and nasty. I can’t understand why they can’t sort that out. My VDO boost gauge is perfectly damped without fluid. No jitters, quick response.

 

My autometer boost guage sits at -2. Autometer <> quality

 

Ive got a phantom, sitting on the desk. Reads 0. Anyone wanna buy it?

 

If you don't like it, then just return it - simple as that. There are lots of high-quality gages on the market to choose from. I don't see much point in keeping something that you don't like.

The bubble is a design enhancement, not a flaw. It has two purposes:
1) It allows the liquid to expand and contract with temperature changes.
2) It lets you know that the liquid is still in the gauge. Were the bubble not there, you would not know if all the liquid drained out.

The fluid is there to soften vibrations which extends the gauge life and reduces the needle jitters (as NZ Convertible says) to make it easier and quicker for you to read it.

FYI for the others who asked, the Sport Comp and Phantom gauges are of lower quality than the Pro Comp gauges. If the Pro Comp isn't stacking up to your standards, then you will need to look beyond Auto Meter for more expensive quality gauges.

 

I had figured the reason for the oil would be as an expansion pocket...

Does the Sport comp series have the vent screw??
I like this feature, you can at least releive it to your altitude and approx CURRENT temperature- So it can be zero'd. I'll try that right now........ Yep, worked well, it's now at 0.

The reason I went with this gauge and didn't stick with sport comp is that I've heard it's of much lower quality.
Also- as for the Phantom and so on, IMO they would look ghetto as the only white face gauge in my car... this one will blend in nicely. I am just painting the bezel black to really make it look like it might actually belong.
I'll take some pics soon, It's going to be nicely flush mounted inside where the drivers side door vent is.
No pillar pods=sleeper!

The needle moves smoothly, the light is nice, and the print on the face is of great quality.

Well, I don't want to drain the oil, I would prefer to fill it a bit more. for the volume of oil in there the pocket doesn't need to be this large.

Anyone know exactly what kind of oil they use?? Seem clear, and high viscocity. I don't want to throw some in and have it stratify or precepitate!!

Well, now that it's zeroed nicely, , All I need to do is fix the oil level and I'll be happy.

I would have liked to get a VDO gauge, but none of the local stores carried anything but Autometer, and the mad $$$ ones like Apexi and Greddy.

 

OK, I see how it is - bitchin' about your stuff before you read the instructions or even try it out.

Probably liquid glycerin, but you may want to contact Auto Meter to verify. However, I'm not sure it's such a good idea to mess with the oil level.

 

I hear the VDO guages are high quality (OEM in Porsches) and are pretty cheap, anyone use them?(besides the boost gauge)

 

Evil Aviator- Dead on- I'm very impressed.
I drained it all out with a syringe from the vent hole... I couldn't place the chemical it at first, It seemed to be almost water soluble, but very viscous...and didn't have any odour.

If I hadn't previously worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing I never would have figured out what it was!

I'lll let it sit for a day or so, to let as much oil as possible drain out.. its leaving a few little bubbles inside, if those don't clear up, I will just put the fluid back in, with a little extra. I'll still leave a small air pocket, but the amount it came with was ridiculous!!

BTW- The oil really does dampen the movement... well.. seems to SLOW more than dampen. We'll see.

 

I have an SPI gauge, and got it from Peter Farrell supercars. No jittery needle here and the color matches the stock gauges. I took it to PMEL (Precision Measuring Equipment Laboratory) on base and they told me the gauge was within 1lb accuracy. That was enough for me.

 

i just bought phantoms

 

pic

 

That's pretty much what "dampen" means, to slow...