05-21-2008, 10:40 PM
As Scotty pointed out, the Isspro stuff is really nice and simple, we sold the heck out of those and almost never got returns, they always worked. I just don't know if they make all the stuff to match that you're looking for, but I'd say it's worth looking at their site to see. Then you can order it all up from egauges or other. I'd also recommend VDO too, but either VDO or Isspro may end up costing quite a bit more than Autometer. Keep in mind that these are OEM quality gauges, not only for automotive, but aircraft and heavy equipment too.
Autometer. Perfectly good gauges, of course we sold the heck out of them too, the install kits and instructions are well thought out, I've used them too. Obviously, the selection is WAY better, you might end up with them just because of that. Personally, I don't think they're made as well and most of them look pretty crapulent. Looking at their site now, the ES and GS series look ok. The NV series with unacceptably insane backlighting, some of the other stuff with odd double outlined, weird color writing on it, I've seen them firsthand, just horrible. However, even the decent ones with proper glowing pointers are sometimes not centered properly, and just looking closely at the plastics of the needle, they just seem cheap. Not that they're bad, but you'd never see something like that on an OEM gauge.
I guess the only two gems I'd add are recommending going electric with everything reasonable (other than boost of course) and insisting on glowing pointers and good backlighting (you might see some with LEDs, keep in mind that means you can't dim them without another add on). Skip over all the metal pointer Autometers like the ones above, they just aren't very readable and will never look like "real" gauges. And while mechanical certainly has advantages in reliability and sometimes price, routing hoses instead of wires sucks, and now you've just got more places for your precious water, fuel and oil to leak from. Maybe into your dash, yay!
Autometer. Perfectly good gauges, of course we sold the heck out of them too, the install kits and instructions are well thought out, I've used them too. Obviously, the selection is WAY better, you might end up with them just because of that. Personally, I don't think they're made as well and most of them look pretty crapulent. Looking at their site now, the ES and GS series look ok. The NV series with unacceptably insane backlighting, some of the other stuff with odd double outlined, weird color writing on it, I've seen them firsthand, just horrible. However, even the decent ones with proper glowing pointers are sometimes not centered properly, and just looking closely at the plastics of the needle, they just seem cheap. Not that they're bad, but you'd never see something like that on an OEM gauge.
I guess the only two gems I'd add are recommending going electric with everything reasonable (other than boost of course) and insisting on glowing pointers and good backlighting (you might see some with LEDs, keep in mind that means you can't dim them without another add on). Skip over all the metal pointer Autometers like the ones above, they just aren't very readable and will never look like "real" gauges. And while mechanical certainly has advantages in reliability and sometimes price, routing hoses instead of wires sucks, and now you've just got more places for your precious water, fuel and oil to leak from. Maybe into your dash, yay!
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a van is a good guy with a van