Auto Gauge Meter - Vacuum and Volt Meter

Not the usual toys or figures... though I would consider it as toys as well LOL. This time around it is something for my "Gouf".... LOL

It's the Auto Gauge Meter thingy;

Below are some photos during the installation process;




That's how it looks on the engine area, I don't know much about car, let alone the engine so nothing much I can explain, but this is basically the connector between the air intake system and the air filter.




This is the punk who did the installation work.... anything wrong I can go get him again as I have his photo LOL.....




Further installation procedures, I don't know what the heck are they doing now;





This is one of the gauges that I want - Vacuum Gauge - the other one is Volt. Meter





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

According to an article from the link below:

http://www.international-auto.com/fiat-lancia-tips-on-reading-gauges/tips-on-reading-gauges-vacuum-gauges.cfm


Vacuum Gauge;

Though little understood, the vacuum gauge is probably the best single indicator of your engine's health you can get.

A Little Background;

When your car is idling-whether it's fuel injected or carbureted-the throttle plate or plates are restricting the amount of air the engine can breathe in. The pistons are attempting to "suck" the mixture past the throttle. (Of course, in reality, it is atmospheric pressure that is attempting to "push" air into the engine as the pistons travel downward on their intake strokes.) When throttle is closed, vacuum is high in the intake manifold, from the throttle plate(s) to the combustion chambers. By contrast, at wide open throttle there is relatively little restriction to outside air entering the intake manifold, so vacuum in the manifold is very low.

A vacuum gauge reads pressure differences from atmospheric pressure, so the reading is zero in our "normal" sea of air. By convention, vacuum gauges in the US read "inches of Mercury."

Reading the Gauge;

Unlike a fuel gauge, the vacuum gauge will keep you entertained with its instantaneous, wide-ranging movements.

When you floor the accelerator pedal, you can watch manifold pressure (another word for vacuum) swing from strongly negative to nearly zero (atmospheric pressure). When your engine is "on the overrun," like using engine braking down a steep hill at high RPM, you'll see really high vacuum readings. Naturally, turbocharged and supercharged will show very different results, with readings swinging into the positive at high speed. IAP's vacuum gauge is not designed for turbo or supercharged vehicles. Your vacuum gauge is also a sort of "poor man's" fuel mileage indicator; when vacuum is low, you are burning more fuel.

Absolute readings are not as useful as changes over time. That is, if you establish baseline readings under a variety of circumstances, you will know what to look for if your engine begins to deviate. Everything else aside, a high vacuum reading tends to indicate a healthy engine.

Having said this, we can make generalities about the readings you can expect. Note that engines with performance camshafts tend to read lower vacuum. Readings are also lower at higher altitudes; the rule of thumb is approximately 1 inch of mercury for every 1,000 feet of altitude gain.

The following readings will not apply to turbocharged engines, or cars with a separate venturi for each cylinder (like Weber DCOE or Dellorto carbs). All readings are inches of mercury (in. Hg.)

( Click to enlarge )



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Some pretty interesting technical stuff there, I personally don't know much about this either, for me the gauge is something nice to see... LOL

By the way here it is now after installation is completed, it is basically on my right side;




This is the Volt Meter;




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Again according to this site = http://www.international-auto.com/fiat-lancia-tips-on-reading-gauges/tips-on-reading-gauges-voltmeter.cfm


The voltmeter will let you know if there is a problem with your charging system or battery. It is easier to use (and especially to install) than an ammeter. Learn your car's baseline voltages, so you can recognize when something may be going wrong. Here are a few possible voltmeter indications, assuming the car has been running enough to charge the battery. All accessories should be off:

( Click to enlarge )



And another look at the Vacuum Gauge;




And another look at both of them;







This is another "loot of the month" - I think they call it as non-slip pad or what ever, pretty nice to have - but after my friend told me that there is another version that comes with light - I feel so pissed off with my self and determined to get that instead next time...




Both of those gauge and the above thingy - already over SGD 100.00 sigh....



The other stuff that I did is changing this air filter - look at that square black box on the top right corner.




I replaced it with this "sports" air filter - a more high performance type and in a way is much better and it also improve the performance of the engine and add a little bit of horse power.

My A520 or rather I like to refer it as "Gouf A520" ACTECO engine spec is basically 2.0L (1.971 cc) maximum power 102 kW (139 PS; 137 hp), maximum torque 182 Nm - top speed with manual transmission: 185 km/h (though so far I only dare to push up to 155 km/h).


With this new high performance air filter, the horse power now should be around or within 145 hp like that (though this is not really an accurate estimation but surely it wont reach 160hp).

Looking at the number, it is not much obviously - but you really can feel the difference when you are driving it. You can feel that the acceleration is improving a lot.... now I can overtake a 2.0L Toyota Camry hahahahaha.... yeah yeah, big achievement what ever... nothing much to be proud off in fact... but I'm sure happy with the improvement.






This is it, the new air filter;





The price is SGD 32.00 plus another SGD 5.00 for installation (that's basically just over 2,000 yen)




This is now the old (default) air filter - rest in peace;




I take the liberty to see the inner parts of this air filter;





I have to highlights here though that I've been blessed to have my good friend Eric Lim for being so helpful to share his knowledge about cars and he did gave me lots of tips and helpful advise and I really appreciate it. This guy have several nice cars in his collections, I mean real cars, not those toys or models.

Another exciting item this month.... the Absolute Citron, it's been a while since I last drink this...






Mixed it with some ice and this lime cordial....




And the taste is absolutely brilliant.... well, that is my favorite words for anything nice or excellent. A glass of this after a tiring day is really awesome.




Other than that, the only figure items I expected this month is the S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider V3 The Next and I guess that's about it, not much to review as Christmas is coming soon and we will be busy with lots of other stuff and in addition I do have some special project that I hope to finished as soon as possible.... and perhaps we shall have some final freebies for 2010 maybe...




end