Having just passed the six month mark of ownership with my ‘87 Monte Carlo LS, it’s safe to say that there is one thing that is driving me bonkers about the car, and it’s the lack of gauges in the instrument cluster. Other than a speedometer which always reads five to seven miles-per-hour too slow and a gas gauge that, unless the tank is filled to the brim, visibly moves when I accelerate or brake hard, there’s nothing readily visible to clue me in as to my engine’s vital signs.
Sure, there’s idiot lights for the water temp and oil pressure, which is lousy but on par with most modern vehicles, but the lack of a tach is maddening, if only because there’s now a three inch dead spot in the cluster that GM covered with a lame-o blockoff plate; couldn’t they have at least added a clock?
This got me thinking: Between the two extremes, one end being a stripped down model like my Monte and the other being full on gauge overload (If your car has temperature gauges for every possible automotive fluid and/or the number of gauges exceeds the number of fingers and toes, consider your car at this end of the spectrum), there has to be a happy medium with the core set of gauges needed for you to know how your vehicle is operating. For most, it’s probably the following: Speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure, water temp, volts, and fuel level.
But, let’s say that you had to pick one essential gauge for your car. What would it be? I’d actually have a hard time deciding between a water temp, oil pressure, and tachometer, if only because there is a lot of information that you can glean from each. That said, if you’re worth your salt as a gearhead you should be able to determine your engine speed by ear, while I haven’t yet been able to figure out how to “hear” oil pressure or water temperature.
Knowing full-well that I should probably go with either the oil pressure or water temp to keep an eye on engine health, I’m going to choose the tach anyway as it’s probably the most visually interesting in day to day usage (Hey, I never said I was smart).
Alright, it’s your turn: What is the one automotive gauge that you couldn’t live without?
How ’bout this one?
http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s401/ranunculous/gauge_zpsbbc2b810.jpg
One gauge? Seriously?
‘Too many systems that really should be monitored.
Do idiot lights count as gauges?
Street car: speedo or annotated tach. Racecar: oil pressure.
I think I read years ago that Garlits or some other famous dragster driver used only an oil pressure gauge.
I think Dave’s asking kind of a goofy question…
Dave, is this stretching your premise? It is just one housing plus a shift light.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-800104K/
I agree the wording on that was a bit lame.
Edited it to read one “essential” gauge that you couldn’t live without.
If one spends time in Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, D.C., or Jacksonville, the correct answer would be, “12 gauge”.
Sorry, Dave, I couldn’t resist!
C1Badd66 the pic of your girl friend in your link may not be SFW.
“The Worlds Fastest Funney Car Only Has One Gauge” . was the tagline for Stewert Warner. Don Prudhomme only had an oil pressure gauge.
Say now, that’s actually pretty cool. Where on earth did you find it?
in the Mustang I’m constantly watching the water temp as I’m comfortable with the seal on the oiling system and the stability of the oil I use. For a daily driver, as long as I check the oil level regularly I’d go with water temp since we see temps above 100 and into the teens in the summer.
This made me think about the common cheapo sets from Kragen and how they pretty much nail the basics, water temp, oil pressure, voltage… mount it with a couple of rusty sheet metal screws into the bottom of the pristine dash and call it done.
if youre racing all you need is a wideband
Oil pressure. An engine can survive a little overheating and rpm’s can be figured out by ear if you know the engine.
C1BAD66, 12 Guage, I like it. Don’t forget L.A.!
I suppose it depends on the car, what weakness is going to bite me. Overall?
Uh, how about water temp. I hate overheating.
Fuel. Any other guages are useless if the car does not run!
all you need is (3) gauges
water temp
oil press
tachometer
Gauges, gauges, I don’t need no stinking gauges.
Seriously, I’m with J, the fuel gauge.
I can hear the engine start to knock if something is wrong in the oil department. I can see steam if it’s over heating. When my radio shuts down I know something is wrong with the battery and/or alternator. I can hear the engine rev up. When I see the blue light behind me I know I’m going to fast. But I can’t hear fuel sloshing around in the tank.
Gotta be water temp. Oil light will flicker a little before pump heads south. Water could make your ride home miserable due to a stuck thermostat.
Dave, get a Monte SS cluster.
Problem solved!
And you get a 115 MPH speedo, not that you plan on going that fast right?
The SS still had the federally mandated 85mph speedo. The 115 speedo you see once in a while in a Monte SS are aftermarket recalibrated originals with a new sticker applied to the front.
Oil Pressure gauge
I would go with temp as well, that’s probably the one I look at most anyway. I can live without a fuel gauge, mine didn’t work for about 2 years until I fixed it, you just have to remember to get gas on Monday, or keep track in your mind.
fuel gauge!
you speed read wrong because the iroc rims you have the car I had the same issue when I had a 4 banger mustang and put gt wheels on it
just need one
B O O S T
My sender went bad three months ago, so I’ve been making do with a trip odometer as a fuel gauge. I suppose I’d go with an ammeter. This winter has been hard on batteries and certain surprises are no fun at all.
All I’ve got is a fuel gauge, oil pressure and coolant temp gauge, no speedo or tach I do it by ear as it’s easy to figure out.
Oil Pressure. I used to drive my ’65 GTO years ago by the oil pressure 2 5/8 SW gauge I could tell how fast I was driving and never got a ticket.. I could also tell by my Tach how fast I was driving.
Gas gauge. From someone who drives his old junk a little farther than the local malt shop on Saturdays. Second, would be the tach, AKA my speedo.
Stack MFD
Spedo with a trip meter, keeps johnny law away and tells me when to fill up
COOLANT TEMP IS ALL I NEED RPM I CAN FIGURE BY THE SOUND SPEEDO NEVER CHECK HOW FAST I AM GOING ANYWAY AND WHEN I DO ITS TO LATE BY THAT TIME THE BLUE LIGHTS ARE ON ALREADY AND OIL P WELL DEPENDING WHAT I AM DRIVING I CAN HEAR THE TONE OF THE ENGINE AND KNOW I HAVE A PROBLEM.
I have the exact speed problem with my Cutlass. Always reading about 5-7 mph slower than actually going. Your speedo reads low because your rear tires on the car are larger than the original tires. My nearly identical cutlass needs to have 215/60/15 tires on it for my speedo to be correct but I had 2 new 215/65/15 tires. Instead of buying new tires, I just have to be careful to “drive under the speedo”. Use the GPS on your phone to determine your actual speed compared to the gage reading.