Gauge settings

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
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Hi all (but particularly engine bods - Simon, Dave, SeanB, etc and anybody that’s thought about this before),

I picked my Exige up from the Edwards this morning. They’d done a wonderful job installing my gauge senders (which is a huge understatement, thanks again chaps! ).

So, the question is now alarm settings for the gauges? The angle I’m coming from is that I’m belting around a circuit and something starts to get a little out of the ordinary (rather than a sat in traffic type alarm, where I know I’m broiling and have nothing else to do other than look at the gauges!). Having said all this, I’m not sure if the alarms do both min and max but I thought I’d ask.

Temps first:

Water - Max=90oC / Min=70oC
Oil (Shell Helxi Ultra, on intake side of engine) - Max=115oC / Min = 65oC

Pressures (guessed from watching (carefully!) max/min on fast road driving):

Oil - Max=70lb/in2(5bar) / Min=50lb/in2(3.5bar)
Fuel - Max=50lb/in2(3.5bar) / Min=30lb/in2(2bar)

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers, Ian

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Temps first:

Water - Max=90oC / Min=70oC
Oil (Shell Helxi Ultra, on intake side of engine) - Max=115oC / Min = 65oC

Pressures (guessed from watching (carefully!) max/min on fast road driving):

Oil - Max=70lb/in2(5bar) / Min=50lb/in2(3.5bar)
Fuel - Max=50lb/in2(3.5bar) / Min=30lb/in2(2bar)

Hi Matey,

Glad you have got them all fitted. OK, my opinion on what to set the alarms at are as follows. I am sure everyone will have a differing opinion, but if everyone explains why, then you will be able to make your own mind up.

Water Temp: The SPA only gives alarm on the max temp. I would go for 90 deg. I say 90, because your car would never normally see 90, so if it does see 90 for some reason, then something could be wrong, and it gives you time to ease off and do a cool down lap.

Oil Temp: Again it will only alarm on max value. I would set it at 100. I would do this because mine doesn’t see 100, so if it does then for the same reasons as above I would want to ease off. I don’t know what Oil temps you are seeing, mind you I guess you don’t either if this is the first time you have had a gauge. But if your car is anything like mine with the original oil cooler setup, expect to see WELL over 120 after a 15 minute track session.

Oil Pressure: The SPA alarms on only low pressure and I would have it set to 3 bar. Now, this may annoy you, as at tick over especially when warm the oil pressure will normally fall below this figure. However as you said, these alarms are for when you are flying round the track with the red mist down and as your oil presure at full hammer will be well over 4 bar, if it suddenly drops below 3 bar, you want to know ASAP so that you can ease off, as it may be hitting 3 bar on its way down to ZERO bar. If you can catch it at 3 bar and ease off then it could save your engine. This scenario is usual on long corners where your oil pickup pipe gets starved.

Fuel pressure: Again it alarms on the low figure. I am guessing you are still running 3 bar fuel pressure and as such it should never really move from 3 bar. It will fluctuate a little bit for the odd nano second which isn’t a problem, but it should stay around 3. I would set it to 2.5 bar. You may get the odd alarm every now and then for a nano second, but if your fuel pressure drops for a sustained period your engine WILL run lean and MAY melt. Again fuel surge in long left hand bends (the pump is on the left of the car) may leave the fuel pickup gasping for fuel.

Hope this helps.

Sean…

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If you can catch it at 3 bar and ease off then it could save your engine.

Exactly my aim.

Hope this helps.

Yes, brilliant, thanks!

Any other thoughts anyone?

Ian

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Sean’s logic seems good, the only thing I woould do after setting these levels is try turning them down/up on a trackday until you find the “normal” levels in your car. Then set the alarms to just a little bit above/below this. You may end up back at the levels Sean suggested but at least you would know where your norm was.

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I think I need a willing passenger for this. It was tricky looking at the gauges whilst driving on the road, let alone going for it on track. Thank goodness for the remote alarm light!

Ian

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I volunteer as “HUD Calibration Engineer” for Brands,…I am going to be carless so no worries…

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I think I need a willing passenger for this.

If you adjust them gradually until the alarm just goes off and then set then just slightly higher/lower you will not need a passenger…although its a good excuse to blag a ride

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True, but I’d spend most of my day in a queue to get back on track!

Cheers Ben, don’t forget your lid.

Ian

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Thanks Simon

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IDG

Sean’s on the mark, just make sure that if you are continuing to run a wet sump , you get it baffled.

simon

Simon - is there a correctly baffled sump out in the market place that is a direct swap for the standard one?

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Plans do one. I have one of these fitted to my car.

Sean…

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I can’t see it on their website Sean, so can you give an indication on price?

Would it be as easy as swapping during an oil change, or is there a lot of dismantling that’s required?

Ian

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I think it was around the �200 mark.

Yeah it is easy to change, just undo the rear bottom engine mounting and obviously the exhaust manifold has to come off. Then undo the sump and there you go.

Words of warning include, be very sparing with the silicon sealant when you fit the new sump as any that gets squigged out on the inside when you bolt it up, WILL end up sucked into the mesh of your oil pickup.

Also make sure you don’t get any of the old oil drip onto the seling surfaces as you mount the new sump as this has a good chance of ending up in a leak, further down the road.

HTH

Sean…

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be very sparing with the silicon sealant when you fit the new sump

i take it that there isn’t a proper gasket out there to do this job? Surely its not above the wit of the current batch of afterparts suppliers to have one made up…that’s the second time this morning in posts on this board someone has mentioned problems with sealant in the oil pickup filter!

Thanks for the info and pricing.

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be very sparing with the silicon sealant when you fit the new sump

i take it that there isn’t a proper gasket out there to do this job? Surely its not above the wit of the current batch of afterparts suppliers to have one made up…that’s the second time this morning in posts on this board someone has mentioned problems with sealant in the oil pickup filter!

Thanks for the info and pricing.

A gasket wouldn’t really help here. The two mounting faces are perfectly flat and the lightest skim of sealant is all that is required. Gaskets can brake and can leak with age, so in my opinion sealant is the right way to do it, just don’t go mad with the sealant gun I guess.

Sean…

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My advice would be never use a silicone based sealant on a sump or anywhere inside an engine. Instead use an anaerobic sealant such as Loctite 574, this makes a perfect seal and has the advantage that it will only set in the joint, any which spills from the joint will simply wash away rather than break off, swell up and block your pickup. I have seen at least a dozen engines wrecked through ingress of silicone or other sealants into the oil strainer.

Dave

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Fair play Dave good advice!! I guess with me, its normally a matter of what I have lying around. lol. And if you don’t go mad and only put on the correct amount, Silicon is OK, wouldn’t you say? You would be suprised what you can do with a tube of bathroom sealant. LOL

Sean…

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Properly applied and with very little more than required silicone sealant can do the trick, but why take the risk? Your idea of the right amount may differ from others and they may risk their engine for the sake of a few pounds worth of the correct stuff. That why it’s safest to use a sealnt whihc has no unecessary risk attached due to its formulation.

Dave

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Fair comment Dave.

Sean…