EGT gauge for a 2.8L 30V (& other gauge questions)
 

Hi,

I am getting ready to have the PES G2 supercharger installed on my 30V (an early 1998) and I want to know how to best monitor what is going on with the car. There is the possibility that down the road, additional tuning will be done. I have decided to go with the SPA dual gauges, so I can install 2 gauges with 4 readouts in an A-pillar pod.

I want to have both boost & EGT. Do I need to use a dual EGT gauge or is there a place to mount the thermocouple so that a single gauge is OK? Is there a leanest/hottest cylinder that is the one to monitor or should I get a dual gauge and measure in the exhaust manifold after the 3 cylinders on one side are combined?

I am thinking about a boost/EGT & an oil P/fuel P because these gauges are not present in the car and will be useful for future troubleshooting & tuning. If I need to go with the dual EGT, I will only get one additional readout in addition to boost. Let me know what you recommend.

Any tips on using the SPA gauges would be appreciated, especially in regards to the SPA sensors (probably not as plug & play like a VDO oil P sender).

Any tips on the G2 are also welcome, although it doesn't look too bad. Thanks.
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Aalok

One thing to check on an early '98 before installing the G2...
 

is to determine if you have a '97 power steering pump. If you do, you'll have to purchase a '98 power steering pump to install the G2 kit. Contact PES and they can tell you how to visually discern the exterior difference between the two.

Pump info.
 

My PS pump is dying anyway, so at this point the only question is whether I have a core or not. I have looked at my pump and I think I might actually have the right one even though my car was delivered in July of 1997.

The part numbers I got from PES are listed below:

4BO 422 893A POWER-STEERING HOSE
8DO 145 156F POWER-STEERING PUMP
078 145 255H POWER-STEERING PULLEY

When I called around about the pump, I had some trouble finding an F pump, but another part number, I think it ended in K, was available. Does anyone know if the K pump has superceded the F pump? A list of which pump part numbers are OK would be useful, since I am going to order a replacement no matter what.

Thanks!
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Aalok

Update & more questions
 

The ECU is on its way to PES so the install has officially begun (defined by the fact that I can't drive my car anymore).

Looking at the PS pump, I think I have the right one. Once it is pulled, I can get a part # to make sure.

As for gauges, I am going to go with the dual EGT. The other gauge will be a boost/temp. I think I will use the temp for oil temp. I don't know if I can use a switch to go between multiple temp senders, if I can then I will monitor other stuff as the need arises without spending much more.

What is the recommended spark plug gap? I have heard various things, but the numbers most often cited are 0.035-0.038.

Thanks.
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Aalok

I use .035 inch. Good luck with the install.

Thanks for the help!

Good luck with the install (did you get an APR snub mount, also?)

Re: EGT gauge for a 2.8L 30V (& other gauge questions)
 

A single EGT probe should be fine, for the best result I would probably mount the probe in the manifold close to cyl #2 or #5,

Progress report
 

My mechanic installed the supercharger last week and most of the bugs seem to be fixed. I still have a CEL to figure out (laptop is down right now). I think it is probably my O2 sensors needing to be replaced.

Yesterday we put in an oil cooler which, although a serious pain, is done and should help the car last. A new exhaust is also on--a little louder than I would like, but I'll get used to it.

I have a new power steering pump, but I did have the correct pump so I had a good core. This took care of the whine that I had been putting up with for a few months.

I don't have an APR snub mount, but an AWE DTS will go in a couple weeks from now. My car doesn't have a factory subframe brace, so the DTS is a good idea.

As for gauges, I am going with a dual EGT, boost/oil pressure, and water temp/oil temp. I am going to try and make a panel to replace the factory ashtray/lighter area in front of the gearshift. It might not look nice, but it should work. Getting the EGT thermocouples & front O2 sensors in looks like it is going to make the oil cooler seem like fun.
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Aalok