I'm glad I've got the gauge but I ran the same Westy for six years
without gauges and got 140K on an engine without any monitoring. Still
had 90/90/95/75 cylinder pressure.
I installed the gauges in July 2001 after I rebuilt the engine, I'd say
the oil pressure gauge saved my engine as I dropped the oil bypass plug a
couple of times before I got it up into the port and I installed the plug
upside down with the hollow part up. I was running 5 bar plus oil
pressure and this alerted me to seek an answer. I just back tracked and
found the problem very quickly.
All the gauges just seem to settle once the engine gets warm and change
very little on a 300 mile highway trip.
The gauges have been helpful in selecting an oil cooler and I like having
them. I'm sure that there are digital gauges that may possibly give more
accurate readings but I don't think I would bear the expense unless the
advantages were demonstrated first.
Having been a pilot for many years I know that aircraft gauges are more
accurate but ten times the cost of generic VDO gauges.
Just as a personal note. I had confidence in my old engine and I was
comfortable with it. With the gauges I keep glancing at them and driving
is now slightly stressful. I don't know why I feel that way but I guess
its just that I now have an additional job besides driving .......
watching gauges.

Stan Wilder

On Fri, 22 Mar 2002 10:41:24 +0800 Kim Howe <khowe@OMNINET.NET.AU>
writes:
> On Friday, March 22, 2002, at 09:36 AM, Stan Wilder wrote:
>
> > I don't see any correlation between oil temp and cylinder head
> temp.
> > Running hard I see 350-370 CHT and 200-220 Oil temp.
> > The problem is that it takes only about one minute to get CHT
> readings
> > and as long as 15 minutes to get any change in Oil Temp at the
> gauge.
> > I just don't see any relationship between the two.
> >
> >
> I was hoping you'd be able to see a drop in average temps on both,
> say a
> 10 degree drop in average oil temp = a 5 degree drop in average
> cylinder
> head temp.
>
> I'm starting to think I might install some sort of computer into my
> vanagon instead of gauges. That way I could log a variety of things
> and
> their relationships.
>
> Kim Howe
> khowe@omninet.net.au
> 82 Air Cooled
>

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