Vacuum Gauge Install 'Fuel Saver' style

[MY1PATH]

Soon I will be installing a 3.3 in the wife's truck. Using a vacuum gauge will help me monitor its performance and economy. It won't do much better on gas if we just wind up driving it faster lol. SO this will be for before and after monitoring.

This one is called a fuel-saver because you can use it to curb your driving habits using color coded zones; the harder you step on the gas the less vacuum you have.
The colors read as follows:
POWER (0-6) POOR (6-12) BEST ECONOMY (12-21) DECELERATION (21-30)

This auto-meter gauge came with its own bezel and I decided I wanted it on the ledge near the A pillar,

I pushed it down with some foam double back tape and looked at how I want to run the wires and Hose...
I wanted to run it down between the dash panel and the pillar panel but the dash panel has a lip that gets overlapped by the pillar panel. So shaved the lip off and cleaned up the same area on the pillar panel.



Now it was time to get everything routed... I pulled the cluster and Using a bent hangar I pulled the hose and wires from the corner down to the cluster area.
---The Vacuum hose I continued behind the dash and fed it down next to the speedo cable, then I fed it through the firewall grommet that is also used for the alarm speaker and the fog lights. From there it follows the fog light harness until it meets a Tee at the FPR vacuum hose.
---The lights I routed down to the cluster harness and spliced with the light for the Clock; this makes the gauge light up during the day to combat the glare (being right next to the window) and switch to a dim-able circuit when you turn the rest of the lights on.

 

then I put everything back and here's the finished product.

Edited January 21, 2013 by MY1PATH

[MY1PATH]

Ran out of time to edit;

AFTER a good run I found it idles just normal at 21 hg vacuum and shows about 0.75 hg when running WOT @ redline(all stock). This is good, this means the Intake setup is Ideal for the engine. 0-1 is what you want. I think for NA 1 is best because any reversions inside the intake when a valve closes are canceled out by the slightest amount of vacuum.

More than 1 hg indicates that there is a flow restriction and that the engine would use more air if it was available.

I imagine the 3.3 will pull 1.5-2 hg which is acceptable to me as its not a race motor, just a family car.

[Inyourface1650]

Cool! I laughed at the one installed on the 26' Uhaul I drove last year. I got 4MPG as a result.

 

Back to pathy's.....so what your saying is mine runs .75hg all the time...

[Leo94]

Back to pathy's.....so what your saying is mine runs .75hg all the time...

[vagabond]

Nice write up, now we know what to do when we run ours from the piller pod

[MY1PATH]

Nice write up, now we know what to do when we run ours from the piller pod

You may not have to do any trimming from the pillar pod because the wires will come from behind the panel instead of between the panel and the dash.

[Tungsten]

This is exactly how I found that you do not need a "cold air intake" on a VG30E truck. The intake vacuum at WOT is already >1 Hg. The factory intake is ideal.

[MY1PATH]

Here's a better shot of the gauge

 

This is exactly how I found that you do not need a "cold air intake" on a VG30E truck. The intake vacuum at WOT is already >1 Hg. The factory intake is ideal.

Correct, the pathy already has a cold air intake, it pulls from the fender and the stock filter box with a K&N filter flows up to 454 CFM and this is more than any NA VG3x variaton could ever need. http://www.knfilters.com/dynocharts/33-2031-2.pdf (found one in the JY the other day for $2 retail is $60)

Stock vg33 should only need about 312 CFM At 6000 RPM and 390 if it went to 7500 RPM

A vg34 @ 7500 RPM would only need about 425 CFM http://www.mk5cortinaestate.co.uk/calculator3.php

[Tungsten]

Awesome thanks for the close up and link to the calculator. Do you have a link where you bought this? I was looking into doing this mod but can't find a gauge I like.

Edited January 23, 2013 by Tungsten

[Skib]

Awesome thanks for the close up and link to the calculator. Do you have a link where you bought this? I was looking into doing this mod but can't find a gauge I like.

 

summit racing carries that gauge.

 

and I picked this one up from Napa

 

[Skib]

where did you tap your vac line into path?

[Tungsten]

VDO gauges are awesome. FYI I know some stock WD21/D21 clusters are compatible with VDO inputs and outputs. Also, Summit Racing actually has a pretty good selection.

 

I like this one:

 

Edited January 25, 2013 by Tungsten

[Skib]

VDO gauges are awesome. FYI I know some stock WD21/D21 clusters are compatible with VDO inputs and outputs.

 

 

Iv always been favourable to VDO, I ran them in my old SCCA car.

there generally very well priced too, which is great when you race on a budget.

[MY1PATH]

where did you tap your vac line into path?

"---The Vacuum hose I continued behind the dash and fed it down next to the speedo cable, then I fed it through the firewall grommet that is also used for the alarm speaker and the fog lights. From there it follows the fog light harness until it meets a Tee at the FPR vacuum hose."

 

I used a Tee left over from my old TBI stuff but you can find small ones like it at the parts store. the one inluded in the kit was big and clumsy.

 

Awesome thanks for the close up and link to the calculator. Do you have a link where you bought this? I was looking into doing this mod but can't find a gauge I like.

Summit Racing

[vagabond]

"---The Vacuum hose I continued behind the dash and fed it down next to the speedo cable, then I fed it through the firewall grommet that is also used for the alarm speaker and the fog lights. From there it follows the fog light harness until it meets a Tee at the FPR vacuum hose."

 

I used a Tee left over from my old TBI stuff but you can find small ones like it at the parts store. the one inluded in the kit was big and clumsy.

 

Summit Racing

A couple of quick ?s, did you use the plastic hose that came with the gauge, mines reading between 20 and 21 at idle but just about anything else it goes to crap, what kind of readings are you getting at 65/70 and between 2700 and 2800 rpm

[MY1PATH]

I would replace the clear plastic hose SOON, mine collapsed under vacuum. I find I stay in the green best when RPMs are 3200-3500 or higher if necessary but with light throttle application. Summit racing has some nice silicone vacuum hoses that seem to be working out very well in my truck. They bend nicer without pinching and they stretch over nipples easier. Just remember, its 4mm hose for 5mm nipples.

These rigs are under powered so I'd say even staying above 10 is good for green.

[vagabond]

Thats what I figured about that plastic hose, I was planning on replacing it tomorrow. Running between 2750 and 2800 on a level road it's hitting about 8 to 10 inches speeds about 68 at that rpm

Thanks for the reply

[MY1PATH]

so the 10:1 3.3 went in my truck (my 3.0 died) which runs a different MAF.
Redline WOT is 0 (zero) which is lower than her stock 3.0

I used a different gauge but I think zero stays accurate between the two because they sit at zero with then engine off. so the flow restriction is not the throttle body because both trucks run the same throttle body. but my tuck runs an N60 (infiniti M30) MAF which is much larger.

 

So the flow restriction is the MAF

But You can't just swap the MAF, or bore out the stock one because it will throw off your AFR ratios.

[Precise1]

I thought it was going to be 9.5:1? What did you do differently?

 

What happened to the VG30?

 

B

[MY1PATH]

I thought it was going to be 9.5:1? What did you do differently?

 

What happened to the VG30?

 

B

My original thoughts were that that would be all I could get out of it.

Then made some projections were based on milling various depths measuring this way

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/704245_406570512749544_654428494_o.jpg

and I realized it would be higher But the puddle likes to 'jump' to the caliper and the syringe was sticky so accuracy was slightly limited. 0.050 was going to be 9.7 and 0.060 would have been 9.86

 

In the end I took off .060" (too much) and measured with a better syringe. The exact number is 9.96:1 which is 0.98 higher than stock 8.98:1

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/793882_443010419105553_1605447852_o.jpg

 

I'm thinking 0.50" will be about 9.75-9.8

 

Edited February 19, 2013 by MY1PATH

[Precise1]

Got it. Thanks for the explanation.

 

B