# stewart warner gauge reviews? good or bad?



## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

-ive been hearing the boost gauge is jumpy and not accurate
-im not worried about the lighting
just making me nervous hearing bad things about these gauges after ive already purchased them?
any reviews guys? good or bad?
thanks


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## sxracer001 (Jun 27, 2005)

i had a 15psi boost gauge and the only reason i didnt like it was bc of the way it lit up at night, wasnt bright enough for me.....other than that i loved it bc it matched perfectly


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

*Re: (sxracer001)*


_Quote, originally posted by *sxracer001* »_i had a 15psi boost gauge and the only reason i didnt like it was bc of the way it lit up at night, wasnt bright enough for me.....other than that i loved it bc it matched perfectly


did you notice it to be jumpy or in-acurate?


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## CDJetta (May 11, 2004)

*Re: (brew city)*

I have a full stewart warner gauge setup and it's been decent so far. The volt meter that I use is a tab bit jumpy. I will be installing my boost gauge tonight when I start my turbo vr for the first time.


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

let me knoew what you think about the boost gauge ...right now i have 

oil psi, oil temp, boost
i havent installed them yet


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## nubVR (Apr 25, 2004)

*Re: (brew city)*

my boost, is a little jumpy but only one the vac side when i am letting off the throttle....no problems at full boost though, nice and solid


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## sxracer001 (Jun 27, 2005)

no i didnt notice any jumpyness, but im mroe a fan of autometer


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

yeha i was real stoked to get these gauges..then started hearing bad things about them


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## CDJetta (May 11, 2004)

*Re: (brew city)*

I haven't heard anything bad about them yet. This is the first thing i've seen.


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

bump


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## bergenvr6 (Jan 22, 2002)

*Re: (brew city)*

I have Oil Pressure and Boost, both seem to be holding up fine.
The Oil press is a bit slow to react, but it's not something that i need on the fly monitoring.
I haven't noticed the boost gauge being jumpy, but then again, I don't usually stare at it when I'm driving. I leave that job to the wife


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## CDJetta (May 11, 2004)

*Re: (bergenvr6)*

I have the boost, oil press, oil temp, fuel press, and volt right now. I don't have the boost connected up because I didn't get the vacuum one and I am just getting my turbo setup started and tuned in but.... the other gauges have been pretty good. The oil press is a little bit jumpy like the previous guy said but the oil temp is smooth and dead on and the others seems to be fine too.


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

i heard the autometeres are flawless...

gheyyyy


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## Yareka (Mar 5, 2002)

*Re: (brew city)*

I just switched from a vdo to a sw boost guage and the needle is a bit jumpy at wot even with the restrictor in. If I didnt need more than 25psi, I would have kept my vdo.


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

*Re: (Yareka)*

fffffffaahhhhkkk


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## booooost (Oct 7, 2006)

to the op .. aqny problums you might encounter with the stewart warner gauge will be warrantied by them or your retailer .. and to the person that prefers autometer id like to make mention that the guy that designs the gauges for stewart warner started off working for autometer and then left to start stewart warner so basicly all autometers problums .. were left with autometer they are assembaly issues im a sw fan to the death .., by far a much more supirior gauge for the price


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

*Re: (booooost)*


_Quote, originally posted by *booooost* »_to the op .. aqny problums you might encounter with the stewart warner gauge will be warrantied by them or your retailer .. and to the person that prefers autometer id like to make mention that the guy that designs the gauges for stewart warner started off working for autometer and then left to start stewart warner so basicly all autometers problums .. were left with autometer they are assembaly issues im a sw fan to the death .., by far a much more supirior gauge for the price 


see thats what i was thinking but now i was hearing this crap

thanks http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

...


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## 2kjettaguy (Dec 24, 2000)

*Re: (brew city)*

I have been selling these gauges for 3 years now. There are no problems to speak of that would characterize the entire gauge line. Like any gauge line, there have been some acute failures. We've been selling VDO for 5 years and the SW gauges have been just as reliable. 
To make some comparisons between VDO and SW:
SW gauges are generally brighter at night, but the needles are not individually lit
The movement of VDO gauges can be called smoother than SW. Both mechanical and electrical. 
Both brands include nice hardware. I like SW's bulb socket better than VDOs. I also like that the gauges are shorter. 
To touch on the needle movement comments - I've spent alot of time taking apart and reverse engineering both brands of gauges. There's a distinct difference between the internal function of a mechanical gauge (boost) and an electrical gauge. 
In a mechanical gauge, pressure is fed into flat, curved brass tube called a bourbon tube. This tube connects to a lever which moves a sprung gear, which in turn moves the needle. This is how all mechanical boost gauges work. Visibly, there isn't much difference between VDO and SW. The spring is wound with more coils in the SW gauges, but that's about it. 
From the driver's point of view, the VDO gauge will act smoother. However, consider a few things before you judge this statement. Are you looking for accuracy, or a general indication of boost? In reality, your boost does not rise and fall "smoothly", especially if you have a small turbo. It's all about the comparison between the CFM flow of your compressor vs. the volumetric efficiency of your engine. Add in your boost controller, your wastegate, the flow of your manifolds, and all the leaks. This isn't a video game... boost doesn't jump to 25 and hold there until you let off. If your boost is rising in an incremental fashion, wouldn't you want to know that?
There are also things which can affect the smoothness of a needle. The weight of the needle has alot more to do with it than you would think. The diameter of your boost gauge tubing, whether or not you're using a restrictor to stop buzzing, etc. 
When talking about the electrical gauges, much of the above still applies. The devices which create needle movement are not computer chips and circuit boards. In fact, they are rather crude and based on averages. The value of the resistors attached to the movement have alot to do with the reaction time. SW has built there gauges to be reactive. They move much faster than VDO's. Again - are you looking for exact interpretation or general information? Needle weight still applies. 
I haven't touched on all the posts in this thread, but I have added quite a bit of information. If you need me to talk about something specific just ask. 
Evan


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## brew city (Aug 3, 2007)

woah thanks 
so wen people are talking down on the jumpy boost gauge that could actually be that its just that much more sensitive 
cool thanks


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## 2kjettaguy (Dec 24, 2000)

*Re: (brew city)*

Exactly. More sensitive is a great way to put it. 
Unfortunately most people think everything under the hood happens to the beat of their right foot, based on a straight line graph, and never skips a beat. This couldn't be further from the truth. We're killing these little K03 and K04 turbos


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## Jeebus (Jul 8, 2001)

*Re: (2kjettaguy)*

Full Stewart Warner gauges in my car, Boost, Oil Pressure and EGT. 
Love them all. They all work exactly as they should. Boost gauge does not bounce around or flutter in the least.


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## spooln6 (May 27, 2005)

*Re: (Jeebus)*

love mine


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