Gauge colour

[Reverend Hedgash]

We are about to buy our gauges (oil, water, tacho) for the Belly Tank.

I would like to know whether there is any wisdom available on if there is an advantage in readability for having a lighter gauge or darker gauge when running on the salt?

They seem to come in silver/white backgrounds with silver pointer, or black backgrounds with white or red.

I am just thinking of the glare when staring out at those witches hats coming at you at speed, then having to glance at the dials there may be some difference.

Any views from the better experienced before we invest in some dials?

Any other thoughts on what to look out for?

I do like the look and quality of old Smiths gauges but they are feeling a little cliche to choose. Any other manufacturers of historical note recommended? Or contemporary?


Thanks

Reverend H+

ps We also have a rule that no plastic is to be used in the tank, so no plastic dials either!

[Bob Drury]

Rev, I mounted my gauges as high as I could, and purposley tilted the gauge panel and tachometer slightly downwards, so as not to catch reflections.  I would also suggest you mount a large red light, wired into a minimum oil pressure sender, in a direct line of sight.  Mine is a Moroso unit, set at 50 psi, but they make several ranges.  A tinted face shield is not a bad lick either......................

[JackD]

The placement of the instruments and the background lighting will determine the appropriate color. You might paint a piece of metal the available colors and look at them in place.
An important consideration is to not have to spend much time looking at them. One of the ways to do that is to rotate the mounting so the desired needle position is straight up regardless of what ever number you are looking for. That way you can quickly scan them without a second thought. Unless the needle is out of the straight up position at least you won't have to spend much time worried about that..

[hawkwind]

Rev I used backlit avionics guages  dark background, superbright leds as teletails and all interlocked (alarms ) that will shut down the show if any programmed parameter is exceeded , so I can glance at all of them if I want to or just concentrate on riding with some confidance that they will do there thing , I'll show you mine if you show me yours    catch ya at the lake soon  
Gary

[ack]

Gauges? We don?t got no stinking gauges.  If you got time to look at gauges you going way too slow.

[JackD]

We are speaking of a car now and they allow a lot more time for reading.
In an effort to get my heart rate down and stay cooler,I fell asleep
in one of mine at the starting line and a magazinee snapped a picture that I saw 3 months later.  LOL  

[Reverend Hedgash]

Thankyou all on the advice given, we have now made decisions and moving ahead.

We are going for some Kenworth Truck gauges purchased from ebay (with standard dark backgrounds) and placing them in the bodywork between the driver cabin and the bonnet in the rear. These are simple no-nonsense gauges and the right price.

We will also put a starter button here as well so we can start the engine and warm up whilst out of the car and observe any irregularities comfortably.

In the cockpit we are going for big warning lights for the water and oil to either side of the windscreen and away from the tacho and shift lift light  (for visiting drivers...)

Haven't found a tacho that we are happy with yet though. Seems street racing muck has swamped the market. Where has the craft gone?

So have decided to design my own dial and have that acid etched on stainless steel and whack that into a reasonable body. This will personalise the look for our car, and sit in pride of place.

Thanks again.

Rev. H+

[JackD]

The Ack machine features idiot lights.  NO COMMENT
I always had an outside and an available to the driver starter button.
2 of my drivers were never told about the inside button and wouldn't have been allowed to use them anyway. LOL
We had a tach that recorded the action and could be replayed back after the run.
Adopt a camera hobbyist and do on board video that you will re watch and treasure forever.

[hitz]

All of this information is a good example why this web site is so valuable especially to a new builder. Thanks for everybodys input and Jon's work at having a place to get iit it public! =D>

Harv

[StraightSix]

Haven't found a tacho that we are happy with yet though. Seems street racing muck has swamped the market. Where has the craft gone?

For some very high quality items (with price to match, sadly) check out the Defi and Stack units.

http://www.defi-shop.com/product/meter/meter_top.html
http://www.stackinc.com/tacho1.html