Gauge Lover Replies Re: <VV> Oil Pressure Gauge

[FrankCB at aol.com]

Smitty,
    I appreciate that you didn't mention me by  name.<GGGG>
Actually we are perhaps much more in agreement than you think.  I love  
having gauges on STREET cars.  On a number of instances, having  aftermarket gauges 
have enabled me to spot problems as they BEGAN to develop and  thereby give 
me a chance to safely get off the highway and fix the problem  BEFORE it shut 
me down.  One time the voltmeter showed my charging rate was  dropping and I 
got off the interstate and into a safe parking spot where I found  that the 
fanbelt was STARTING to slip.  Since this was at  night, loss of headlights would 
have been very dangerous.  Other  times, in Corvairs, having a Stewart Warner 
CHT gauge enabled us to drive home  on only 3 cylinders without wrecking the 
engine.  Another time, using  that same CHT gauge, we got the Corvair home 
after the rubber in the  harmonic balancer decided to malfunction thereby 
eliminating the fan for  cooling.  It took 5 cooling stops for a 7 mile drive, but we 
did make it  home without damaging the engine.  Of course the monster battery, 
synthetic  oil and Viton O-rings helped too.(:-)
    But for RACING cars, the situation is  completely different.  I agree 
with you that having LARGE colored warning  lights makes a lot more sense when 
your attention is completely focused on  getting around a course FAST and you 
can't afford to study gauge readings.
    Regards and hope to see you at Buffalo,
    Frank "still learning from his elders"  Burkhard
      
In a message dated 6/7/2006 3:17:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
vairologist at verizon.net writes:

Smitty  Says;  I am the exact opposite of one of our members who thinks the 
sun  rises and sets on gauges.  I won't use his name but his sons name is  
Burkhard.  Gauges are great for troubleshooting and tune up.  They  can even be an 
asset to determine where the trouble lies when it occurs.   I have none in my 
race car except the fuel gauge, boost and tach.  Got 4  BIG bright red lights 
though.  Fan belt light, a must.  Gen light,  nice to have.  Over temp light, 
a must.  Oil press light that comes  on when pressure comes down (not when it 
is gone), a must.  If a feller  is racing hard enough and concentrating on 
what he and others are doing, he  doesn't have time to be lookin at any gauges.  
So there  Frank.