very nice. are that the color the lunar gauges come with or did you use a dimmer or something?Originally posted by jeffsvt
Here is a picture of my Lunar gauges if it helps you any .
Lunar Guages or Ultra Lite? Which looks better to the stock guages?
- Thread starter Sluggy Snake
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Lunar all the way
lunar, matches closely to stock, nice and bright green (brighter then then stock guages) mine is hooked to my dimmer but even dimmed they are pretty bright.
I got the ultra lites. I plan on putting them in this weekend.
The faces of the ultra lites match the faces of the 03/04 cobras better. 03/04 have a "titanium" colored face. I just like the look of the gauge better too. I got water temp, oil press, and boost. I got the autometer gauge cluster to hold 2 gauges around the factory gauges. not sure where I'm going to put the third yet. I don't want it to look like jet cockpit. I still have to add the A/F gauge too. I might put 2 gauges down by the shifter. I'll have to make something.
I don't care if anyone else can see them at night, I usually run my dash lights pretty dim. As for color, I'll probably get those led bulbs to match the color if it's too far off.
I like a stealthier look. I even plan on putting my pulley gaurd back on after I do my pulley swap.
.02
jim
The faces of the ultra lites match the faces of the 03/04 cobras better. 03/04 have a "titanium" colored face. I just like the look of the gauge better too. I got water temp, oil press, and boost. I got the autometer gauge cluster to hold 2 gauges around the factory gauges. not sure where I'm going to put the third yet. I don't want it to look like jet cockpit. I still have to add the A/F gauge too. I might put 2 gauges down by the shifter. I'll have to make something.
I don't care if anyone else can see them at night, I usually run my dash lights pretty dim. As for color, I'll probably get those led bulbs to match the color if it's too far off.
I like a stealthier look. I even plan on putting my pulley gaurd back on after I do my pulley swap.
.02
jim
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i got the ultra lite on my 03....i put green bulbs in them and they look great. the lunar is cool at night but dont match during the day...my ultra lite match during the day and are not that far off at night!.... plus saved me a lot of money
i got the ultra lite on my 03....i put green bulbs in them and they look great. the lunar is cool at night but dont match during the day...my ultra lite match during the day and are not that far off at night!.... plus saved me a lot of money
This has been an interesting thread...
Since search was down I was looking and couldn't find anything.
I was all set to order Lunars, now you have me second guessing. Someone mentioned reliability, which ones seem to be faulty Lunar or Ultralites? Where did you purchase the green bulbs for the Ultralites to match?
Since search was down I was looking and couldn't find anything.
I was all set to order Lunars, now you have me second guessing. Someone mentioned reliability, which ones seem to be faulty Lunar or Ultralites? Where did you purchase the green bulbs for the Ultralites to match?
Scratch that found the links for the bulbs I think...
any autoparts store will sell bulbs...they are 194's
I would like to put some lunar gauges on. I am not sure what guages to go with....Tran Temp, Air/Fuel. Suggestions??? I was thinking of 5 guages, A/F,Trans Temp, Water Temp, Oil Temp, Boost. Can I get 5 in the car and have it look right? Thanks for the help guys!!!
Egauges Links
Ultralite
Lunar
Second what is the difference between a mechanical/ electrical...? Do mechanical's use senders or not? I noticed that some guages such as fuel pressure come in both, yet I know one is not safe to have in car, I am guessing that would be a mechanical. Is anyone better?
I am looking for a boost guage, engine temp (water right?), fuel press, oil pressure...
Ultralite
Lunar
Second what is the difference between a mechanical/ electrical...? Do mechanical's use senders or not? I noticed that some guages such as fuel pressure come in both, yet I know one is not safe to have in car, I am guessing that would be a mechanical. Is anyone better?
I am looking for a boost guage, engine temp (water right?), fuel press, oil pressure...
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I don't know if one is "better" or not. Depends what you consider better. All the electrical gauges have a small sending unit, that you thread into what you are trying to measure, then there is just a small wiring harness (3 wires) to connect the sender to the back of the gauge. The wires are easily bent, and routed in cramped places. The gauges themselves are light weight, they just have a tiny motor in them, connected to the pointer through a gearbox and some circuitry. The mechanical gauges use the fluid you are measuring to physically move the pointer. A mechanical oil pressure gauge routes the hot oil into the car, through small tubing into the back of the gauge. Mechanical boost uses a small length of tubing to route the "air" from the intake manifold into the back of the gauge, to read pressure or vacuum. Mechanical fuel press, same as oil pressure, you are routing the fuel into the car, under high pressure, very bad if you get a leak. Now a mechanical Temp gauge is a bit different, you couldn't accurately measure the tempurature of a fluid if it traveled through 6 or 8 feet of tubing. So with those, you get a sealed capillary tube, it's fixed to the back of the guage, and the temp sending bulb is fixed to the other end of the capillary tube. The bulb on the end heats up, and applies pressure to the gas inside the sealed capillary tube, this pressure then is "read" by the gauge, and converted to a temp readout. These are the most difficult to install, since the length is not adjustable, if it's too long you just coil the capillary tubing somewhere (but not too tight, if you crimp it, it may break) you also need a fairly large hole in the firewall to feed the whole sender and tubing through (it's all one piece from the gauge to the engine) Even installing it into a dash pod can be a bear, as you have to feed that whole mess down around the instrument cluster and through the dash, and the firewall, (the tubing doesn't bend corners nearly as easily as a small wire)
I chose the electrical fuel pressure for safety reasons,
Mechanical boost because it's cheaper. ( the electrical boost gauge recalibrates itself everytime you turn on the ignition to compensate for varying barometric pressure and temperature) (they "should" be more accurate, but I have never known anyone to use the electrical boost)
electrical oil pressure (it was available in a full sweep otherwise I would have bought the mechanical)
mechanical oil temp (it wasn't available in a full sweep electric)
Mechanical gauges have a 270 deg sweep, and typically electrical gauges only have 90 deg, notice the factory gauges on most cars, whether it be fuel, temp, press, etc, they usually only sweep 90 deg. Some (more expensive) are avail in a full sweep electrical version, which is what my oil press is.
Water temp, Oil press, Boost
if you go with a wide band O2
A/F
Fuel press
if you are big into road racing
Oil temp
No matter what it's a lot of gauges, along with the factory set. It depends on the look you like. You can put 3 on the pillar and 2 around the factory cluster. or 2 on the pillar, 2 around the factory cluster, and 1 on the column.
if you go with a wide band O2
A/F
Fuel press
if you are big into road racing
Oil temp
No matter what it's a lot of gauges, along with the factory set. It depends on the look you like. You can put 3 on the pillar and 2 around the factory cluster. or 2 on the pillar, 2 around the factory cluster, and 1 on the column.
Mechanical fuel pressure gauges do not route fuel into the car as it is illegal both on the street and the track because of obvious safety concerns. They use an isolator in the engine compartment. Fuel goes only as far as the isolator. The isolator is a diaphram with the fuel on one side and antifreeze on the other. The tube coming off the antifreeze side runs to the gauge in the car. The isolators are usually anodized aluminum and look cool. They don't detract from your engine bay. The same can be done for oild pressure if you want. I was told that running the oil line all the way to the gauge is now illegal in NHRA. I have not verified that.
I like mechanical gauges because they require no outside power. When you turn the car off you temp gauge is still working (you'll actually see the temp go up when you shut the car off). They used to be better because they react faster than a sensor type gauge. This may not be true anymore with sensors today, I don't know.
I too am running a full sweep electrical oil pressure gauge. Ultra lite, man was that thing expensive! I'm running amechanical water temp gauge. Yes they can be a hassle to run and route initially, but you only have to do it once so no big. I know the factory sensor will not register temp if the sensor gets stuck in an air pocket, meanwhile your motor is melting. I don't know if that's true with Autometer sensors, I should hope not. Mechanical gauges always work, dead batterys, fraid or shorted wires, corroded connectors, and bad grounds have no effect on mechanical gauges.
Disadvantage to a mechanical oil pressure gauge, even with an isolator, if the gauge line splits you're losing oil. It's not detrimental unless you don't fix it. I had this happen in my last car. I was not running an isolator. I had a defective steel braided capilary line that split inside the car. The gauge still read pressure (because there was) but I started noticing a puddle forming in my parking spot. The I noticed my carpet was soaked and it was dripping out of one of the gromet holes in the floor. That's why I went electrical oil this time. If I were to run an isolator there's that much less tubing to split and leak oil. If the antifreeze side splits, the antifreeze drains out and the gauge reads zero. No harm done. You still have the same problem with the pressure side though. I went with VERY good electrical this time. $200 good!
I like mechanical gauges because they require no outside power. When you turn the car off you temp gauge is still working (you'll actually see the temp go up when you shut the car off). They used to be better because they react faster than a sensor type gauge. This may not be true anymore with sensors today, I don't know.
I too am running a full sweep electrical oil pressure gauge. Ultra lite, man was that thing expensive! I'm running amechanical water temp gauge. Yes they can be a hassle to run and route initially, but you only have to do it once so no big. I know the factory sensor will not register temp if the sensor gets stuck in an air pocket, meanwhile your motor is melting. I don't know if that's true with Autometer sensors, I should hope not. Mechanical gauges always work, dead batterys, fraid or shorted wires, corroded connectors, and bad grounds have no effect on mechanical gauges.
Disadvantage to a mechanical oil pressure gauge, even with an isolator, if the gauge line splits you're losing oil. It's not detrimental unless you don't fix it. I had this happen in my last car. I was not running an isolator. I had a defective steel braided capilary line that split inside the car. The gauge still read pressure (because there was) but I started noticing a puddle forming in my parking spot. The I noticed my carpet was soaked and it was dripping out of one of the gromet holes in the floor. That's why I went electrical oil this time. If I were to run an isolator there's that much less tubing to split and leak oil. If the antifreeze side splits, the antifreeze drains out and the gauge reads zero. No harm done. You still have the same problem with the pressure side though. I went with VERY good electrical this time. $200 good!
thats interesting about the fuel pressure, It's obviously not the same as oil pressure at all. So they don't want high pressure fuel in the car, but piping hot oil dripping on your shins is ok. 
I really like my full sweep elec oil pressure, I'm sure eventually they will make the full line available like that.
I really like my full sweep elec oil pressure, I'm sure eventually they will make the full line available like that.I thought there were some mech fuel pressure gauges as I described above, and they say "for installation outside the vehicle only" kinda like most exhaust systems are "for offroad use only"
Those are the ones usually mounted on the hood. Fuel leaking inside the car can be toxic. Also don't forget, on spark from an amp, the cigarette lighter, or a dash light and BOOM.
Oil isn't nearly as flamible, just hot.
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Thank you so much for completing this thread... all this information is great and I am sure others can use it as reference. Thanks again all for the input.
Well I started to research this more... but found that they do offer a aqua color that is in between green and blue around 505-507nm, however nobody offers them in the 194/168 series bulbs!!
I haven't seen that color, but you would assume that it is in the range that we would like. I contacted superbrightleds and they offer only what they have on the website right now. I am going to inquire more about this though.
660nm Ultra Red
595nm Super Yellow
8000K Cool White
525nm Aqua Green
470nm Super Blue
The analness continues!
I haven't seen that color, but you would assume that it is in the range that we would like. I contacted superbrightleds and they offer only what they have on the website right now. I am going to inquire more about this though.
660nm Ultra Red
595nm Super Yellow
8000K Cool White
525nm Aqua Green
470nm Super Blue
The analness continues!
I hear ya :lol: I've been down that road, but it starts get expensive too, when you have to mail order everything, and just for trial and error, cause no one can answer specific questions.
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