any interest in oill pressure gauges

[sgt brad]

as a new box s owner i've been researching oil pressure gauge options. they appear to be pretty slim.
1. buy a 996 gauge cluster and connect it. seems to cost a bundle
2. buy an autometer replacement steering column cover and install a round 2 1/4 gauge. i haven't been able to find a picture of a single install.

so unless there are other options that i'm unaware of it leaves me searching for my own options. here's what i've come up with to solve the problem. a company that i've dealt with in the past on my race car has a micro rectangle gauge whose dimensions are; 2.12" L 1.37" H and .6" D. it is black so it matches the steering column. it will digitally read oil pressure in red dot matrix. the cost for this option is less than 175.00 with sending unit. a manual pressure T will have to be run off of the stock sending unit location remotely to the sending unit as the sending unit will send weird readings if located directly on the hot motor. this is a tiny gauge that is very cost effective and simple to install. the only drawback i see is the red display. too bad it's not offered with an orange display.

now for the good/better news. for those who may be interested the same company also has a slightly larger gauge that will display oil pressure as well as volts, etc. it even has an orange display that matches very well to the odo/obc of the stock gauge cluster. it will require a similar sending unit treatment. the bad news is that i mocked up a cardboard one in it's dimensions, 3.25" L 2.3" H and .8" D. it won't fit on the steering column without blocking the odo, etc. this gauge and sending unit will run around 300.00.

i may be able to get the price down slightly if there is enough interest. as for me i intend to mount it on top of the steering column just in front of the tach. the smaller one is small enough not to interfere. i just wish it was orange. i still can't believe that porsche didn't put an oil press gauge in our cars. but, hey they don't even let the 987 owners check there own oil so go figure.

oh, fwiw i also have pics of the two gauges. i can email them to anyone interested so that they can be posted here. better yet, i'll post a link to the pages with descriptions of the gauges. lmk what ya'll think.

Dual DynoTune Digital Gauges, 2 Gauges in one compact package. EGT, Boost, Wideband, Air Intake temp, oil temp, etc. - Dual DynoTune Digital Gauges

DynoTune Product, 030-WideBand Square Display for innovate Controllers - DynoTune, Nitrous systems, Purge kits, Nitrous Bottle heaters and more!

[DenverSteve]

Auxiliary oil gauges are widely available and affordable. The one you show in the photos might work well but (to me) would look pretty cheap in a $60-$80,000 car. I would opt for a more comprehensive gauge cluster installed in place of the stock cluster. You can find photos herein from those who have done so.

[sgt brad]

would love to have you point me to these supposed gauge options. what i found is inconspicuous (at least for the smaller gauge), inexpensive and very simple to install. i for one prefer the white gauge faces of my boxster gauges and don't much feel like hacking up either my wiring harness or dash. i guess if you think they look cheap then you're probably not interested. anyone else?

[DenverSteve]

I did a google search with boxster gauge and several came up. You can do a 996 to 986 swap (that people herein have done) as well.

[sgt brad]

i google searched, "boxster gauges," "boxster oil gauges," and "boxster oil pressure gauges." i got the same results that i have repeatedly gotten. there is a slick set-up a guy with a 987 did mimicking the sport chrono with an autometer gauge, there's the typical jcwhitney crap and lastly there's the info on the 996 conversion which i think is fairly common knowledge. however, what was lacking was ANY OPTION FOR 986!!! please direct me to what i am missing. i am not interested in installing a 996 gauge cluster. i am not interested in hacking my dash to install an out of place looking autometer or vdo gauge.

i admit to being minimally computer savvy so if i am somehow missing that magic perfect gauge option to display oil pressure then by all means please direct me to the link like i did in my initial post in this thread.

for now i still think that somehow there are no simple, relatively inexpensive options to allow an accurate display of oil pressure in our cars. all i did was offer an option. it is the option i am going to pursue unless there is something else out there that i am missing. this may not be the most elegant solution. however, it's easy to hide if that's what you want. it doesn't require anything permanent to be installed. lastly, it's inexpensive. 175.00 or slightly less with sending unit for a small unobtrusive gauge that accurately measures oil pressure vs. over 1k for a 996 cluster or 2.5k for a racepak that requires butchering your dash? what is the debate here?

[ppbon]

The way it should have come from the factory...

These gauges are available in white, silver or black face and with chrome, aluminum or black bezel.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

[sgt brad]

pedro,
thanks for the link. i did review it. i think i will lose my "cupholders" if i do it this way. hmmmm...are all of the gauges 2 1/4"? any smaller ones available? i would be interested in what the price will be on the package.

thanks also for the time you've spent on the phone talking with me about ppi, warped rotors, etc. i really appreciate it and look forward to getting some of the techno goodies soon.

shoot me an email regarding the gauges or post here in this thread if you wish. thanks again.

brad
2out2sea@msn(dot)com

[The Radium King]

check out plx - lcd faces that you can program to look however you want. plugs into the obd port and can read any engine parameter (supposedly, although i've heard that it can't read oil temp for some reason ...). also able to take other signals; presume that it can read the pressure sender output. as far as pods, the only one i've seen is for the steering column (single or double) although there is a thread on 6speed about a guy who used the 'wart' from a 987 sport chrono.

[coolbreeze551]

I would also like to know about the price and availability of the gauges. It looks like a fantastic mod. Although I would lose my shelf as I have a double din Pioneer installed so it would have to go under but would look great! Keep us posted :dance:

[sgt brad]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

check out plx - lcd faces that you can program to look however you want. plugs into the obd port and can read any engine parameter (supposedly, although i've heard that it can't read oil temp for some reason ...). also able to take other signals; presume that it can read the pressure sender output. as far as pods, the only one i've seen is for the steering column (single or double) although there is a thread on 6speed about a guy who used the 'wart' from a 987 sport chrono.

rad---i think the only parameter that obdII doesn't read is oil pressure. go figure. i am certainly not the expert, but that was why i didn't just go with a scan gauge at the very beginning. lmk if you find out something more conclusive since that would be the easiest way to go.

[2003S]

Here is a write up on putting a gauge in the chrono pod- looks pretty nice.

Bold Mod- Custom Sport Chrono Pod with Multi Gauge - 6speedonline.com Forums

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by ppbon

The way it should have come from the factory...

These gauges are available in white, silver or black face and with chrome, aluminum or black bezel.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Thanks Pedro!

As an option HKS DB meters look very close to Boxster gauge faces. Not sure about illumination and availability. How did you fasten the face plate? I assume you are getting oil temperature from in the accusump plumbing??? How is it working for you?

By the way my open face Simpson is great on the track!

[The Radium King]

the plx has the ability to take both obd AND external sensor data (albeit proprietary plx sensor data). i think the porsche pressure sender could be made to work with the plx, but uncertain. pm chris zang on this board; he has one and can speak to pros/cons.

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by ppbon

The way it should have come from the factory...

These gauges are available in white, silver or black face and with chrome, aluminum or black bezel.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the plx has the ability to take both obd AND external sensor data (albeit proprietary plx sensor data). i think the porsche pressure sender could be made to work with the plx, but uncertain. pm chris zang on this board; he has one and can speak to pros/cons.

Chris has one but he gets oil pressure via 996 cluster and transducer. I am unsure whether the 996 sender would work with the plx signal box or if the plx transducer will work or fit

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by jaykay

Thanks Pedro!

As an option HKS DB meters look very close to Boxster gauge faces. Not sure about illumination and availability. How did you fasten the face plate? I assume you are getting oil temperature from in the accusump plumbing??? How is it working for you?

By the way my open face Simpson is great on the track!

North Hollywood speedometer can make guage faces to match the Boxster oem font & color just like they did for us when I worked at Saleen Performance Mustang.

[sgt brad]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the plx has the ability to take both obd AND external sensor data (albeit proprietary plx sensor data). i think the porsche pressure sender could be made to work with the plx, but uncertain. pm chris zang on this board; he has one and can speak to pros/cons.

rad,

thanks again. i'll check it out when i get a chance. maybe that'll work plus give option to tab through other data. based on what others have said, i just hope that the unit will read the 996 sensor signal.
brad

edit: just found this while rummaging around the plx site. it seems to have the options of full obdII integration as well as an external sensor input to read oil pressure, boost, etc. lastly it can be configured for the same orange style as our 986 gauges. hmmmm...better than what i'd originally found. i'll be calling these guys next week. also note that there is a 996 center console mount available. i think we may have a winner.

http://www.speedtechexhausts.com/page20.html

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by sgt brad

rad,

thanks again. i'll check it out when i get a chance. maybe that'll work plus give option to tab through other data. based on what others have said, i just hope that the unit will read the 996 sensor signal.
brad

edit: just found this while rummaging around the plx site. it seems to have the options of full obdII integration as well as an external sensor input to read oil pressure, boost, etc. lastly it can be configured for the same orange style as our 986 gauges. hmmmm...better than what i'd originally found. i'll be calling these guys next week. also note that there is a 996 center console mount available. i think we may have a winner.

DGauge Multi- Gauge

Good find.....! This could be it unless I go analog....996din!!!

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

North Hollywood speedometer can make guage faces to match the Boxster oem font & color just like they did for us when I worked at Saleen Performance Mustang.

Awesome thanks! Must be good to live in SoCal!