What are the most important gauges to get????

[spin05]

New Ram owner here. Been reading everything i can for the last 3 weeks. Ive only owned the truck for 3 weeks and love it more every time i drive it. So i am looking to install a overhead gauge POD behind my mirror. I am debating on just a two gauge or go ahead and put in a 3 gauge one. I will be towing a sizable trailer so a transmission temp gauge is for sure. After a transmission temp gauge what would be the 2nd most important gauge to get?????? If i go with a 3 gauge POD which 3 gauges do you guys reccomend ???. My truck is a mostly stock 2004.5 3500 4x4, 3.73 gears ,48RE, stock except a S&B cold air intake and 4in exhaust. thanks in advance Scott

 

[DAN V]

I would go with ISSPRO gauges. I have pyro, transmission, and boost on the A pillar, and FP in the cubby hole in the dash. As for the 2nd most important gauge to have, I would say it should be the pyro. If you are towing a trailer up a steep grade you do not want the EGT's to get too high. I have the ISSPRO EV2 gauges. They have always been my favorite ones to use. JMHO.

 

[Jim W]

I agree with the above poster that the A-Pillar pod is the best location for the gages. The gages are in a line of sight so you do not need to take your eyes off of the road. Since you will be pulling a trailer the rear view mirror will not be used at all. So you will need to look up and take your eyes off of the road. It has gotten to the point that I hardly every use the rear view mirror anymore; I most rely on the driver side and the RH door mirrors for watching traffic behind me.

As far as gages go I have the boost gage on top then the EGT’s, since this is the easiest to see and then the Transmission temp gage in the bottom hole. Just my $0.02.

Jim W.

 

[DNDracing]

I went with the gauge pod under the overhead consul, over the rear view mirror.

I did this for a couple reasons. I'm not a fan of the A-pillar mounts in general (but to each his own), and didn't want to loose my grab handle. Getting light and power to the gauges was easy, as I spliced off the feeds to the temperature/compass in the overhead counsel. Also as Jim said with the A-pillar mounts, that location allows for a quick check of gauges without taking your eyes off the road.

As you can see in the picture, I've got trans temp, and fuel pressure, but on our generation trucks with the CP3 fuel pump, fuel pressure isn't as important, and especially when stock. I also have EGT and boost monitored with a Bully Dog programmer. I would say I look at EGT and trans temp the most, especially when towing, I think those are the two big ones, boost would be my next choice if I was going with a three gauge mount.

Congrats on your "new to you" truck, hope you love yours as much as I have loved all three of mine, including my current 3rd generation truck.

Best of luck with your installation.

 

[mwilson]

I too avoided the A-Pillar mount as it creates a huge blind spot in stock form, would have been far worse with gauges. I went the Edge Attitude w/Juice route. Bought the overhead mount. My only complaint is that it is hard to read in the daylight. The audible alarm will tell me without looking if I am pushing it too hard.

I did just order the Edge CTS Monitor upgrade yesterday, I have high hopes for that set-up. Merry Christmas to me......

Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Mount for the Attitude Monitor...

 

[cerberusiam]

Since you are not running a power adder or timing box a Boost and Pyro gauge is not really needed, the engine will run at what it does and that has been deemed safe.

A better add to the trans tmep would be fuel pressure(s). Since you have an 04.5 you might still have the filter mounted pump and that you want to monitor always, even a retro to the tank you should monitor as they don't always work as they should. I would add LP pressure and rail pressure to your 3 gauge set above the rear view. That will give you the the most useful set in a decent place to glance at them.

If an when you want to add power and more gauges, a 2 or 3 set module on the top of the dash is the optimal placement. You can add boost, pyro, and possibly a drive pressure gauge there to easily monitor important things right in the line of view of the road.

Whne you buy the gauges buy the optional lighting harness controller and use it to control the back lighting. The EV2 lighting does match dash illuminations correctly when tapping the dimmer supply. It will always be too bright unless you dim it down and flicker at lower settings.

The A pillar set is by far the WORST location to put gauges. The blind spot is already too large and by adding gauges makes it really bad. In addition having to refocus on the a pillar tends to take vision away form the road worse than any other location, they are almost too close to be usable. The dash and rear view location do not require as much refocus and you still have peripheral vision on them you loose at the a pillar.

 

[Regcabguy]

A Westach combo gauge and a SRT-10 Mopar pillar yields a grab handle and boost/egt's. Mine's worked flawlessly since 10/06.

 

[jgillott]

Here's the dash mount on my '07

 

[Mark31]

Scott, just sit in your truck and see how much you have to turn your head and take your eyes off the road to look at the overhead and A pillar areas as compared to a dash mount. I agree with Cerb and jgillott. Mark

 

[buzzinghalfdozen24]

I too, have the main three gauges in the cubby hole under the radio. Yes they are out of peripheral vision, but unless you are doing something that you are pushing your truck on the edge the gauges are just for reference. I love them down there, they have a great look. I will mount both fuel pressure gauges on the steering column sometime soon. They're all so interchangeable I may look to swap positions around sometime. Maybe putting the egt and pyro on the column where it's easy to view. Just my two cents, each to their own

 

[buzzinghalfdozen24]

***boost and pyro***

 

[Shadrach]

I have 3 on the pillar and 3 on the dash ( pryo, boost and fuel pressure - mine is a stick ) Sine you have a Auto I would do the trans temp there and if you want a fuel pressure gauge then add it else where. The dash is by far the easiest to read while driving. The A pillar is hard if you have bi-foculs and when coupled with vent shields makes for a HUGE blind spot. David

Did you notice my speedo goes to 200 Oo. Must be because I have the HO engine. :-laf

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[Prairie Dog]

A Westach combo gauge and a SRT-10 Mopar pillar yields a grab handle and boost/egt's. Mine's worked flawlessly since 10/06.

Same exact setup since 2003. Not blingy but totally functional.

 

[Rimcrew]

You might consider the Edge Insight CTS. You can run up to eight gauges on one screen. That may seem like a lot, but I am using all but one of them in my basically stock truck. Better to have too much info, than not enough...

 

[spin05]

I like that Edge insight ,that is pretty slick. A couple of questions thou. Do i still have to add a thermocoupler to get the transmission temp??Or does it do it thru the computor??? I see there is a EGT probe so i relize i will have to buy that. so what about boost probe. So i guess what im asking does the Edge require the usual probes and such that a reguler gauge install requires or is it all done thru the OBII port and the trucks computor?????

 

[Rimcrew]

You will need a thermocouple for EGT's and a pressure sender for oil or fuel pressure (lift pump). Boost/rail pressure/trans temp are all done via existing sensors. I'm not sure how accurate the trans temp is, but it looks reasonably accurate on my truck.

I have mine mounted in the SRT A-pillar cover, and it is a very clean looking install.

 

[spin05]

I was searching tonite for a pod for a windshield/mirror overhead mount for the edge. It appears they dont make on for that........i will call edge to confirm

 

[Rimcrew]

They make an insight adapter so you can mount it in a normal pod.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Boost, egt, trans temp, fuel pressure from the lift pump.