SPA Oil Temp & Pressure Gauge Installation

[smith647]

Had my 182 a little under a month and so far I've managed to tidy it up no end. Usual bit like new wiper blades, number plates, bulbs etc. Just had cambelt, auxiliary belt, dephaser and water pump fitted by DDC Doncaster. Bought full set of brakes off George on here which consisted of discs, pads, braided hoses and fluid... Plus some 172 Turinis along with Yokohama AD08Rs.

Anyway I know some of you will be tired of reading the same old post over and over again but I've used the search function, read through many posts but nothing seems to give a definitive answer.

I'm booking to go Blyton 23rd of this month but before I do I want to fit an oil temperature and oil pressure gauge. My car won't be a dedicated track car and will only see the track 5 or 6 times a year but after destroying the piston rings in my old ST I feel I need these gauges just for piece of mind.

This is the gauge in question... http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Produ... - Auxiliary&gclid=CNrW1trdl8cCFXQatAodnJUNww

In the description it says "supplied with all sensors and fitting instructions" but will I need anything else? I've read about sandwich plates (good and bad), T-pieces??, sump plug adapters (good and bad points) and also something about the old Clio valver having a sensor which you can fit.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

[NorthloopCup]

@M.C.. is best placed to help you out here mate as he has this gauge installed.

 

[M.C..]

@M.C.. is best placed to help you out here mate as he has this gauge installed.

I got one of these sandwich plates to "stack" with the cooler sandwich plate.
https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/p/mocal-billet-sandwich-plate-for-sender-fitment-m-tgasp200x
The 1/8 npt is then used for the one sensor and you will need a 3/8 bsp male to 1/8 bsp reducing fitting to fit the other sensor.
Hope that is of some help.
Can't post any pictures as I am going away today and not having any wifi for a week.

 

[smith647]

@M.C.. Awesome thanks for the help. So all I need is that SPA gauge, the Mocal sandwich plate and a 3/8 bsp male to 1/8 bsp reducing fitting. Then I'm good to go? I'll get these ordered now if that's correct.

 

[M.C..]

Yes

 

[smith647]

Cheers pal

 

[M.C..]

No problem

 

[barnesautos]

I'm doing mine as well , @M.C.. Have you any pics .
Also any links to senders ect

 

[rich83]

You won't need a 3/8 BSP to 1/8 BSP for the pressure sender. It will fit a 1/8 NPT perfectly - even states this in the SPA manual.

Afraid I haven't any pics of the sandwhich plate fitted to the block, but have a load of others. Also I remote mounted mine on -4 hose to help avoid knackering the sensor from engine vibrations when they are hard mounted.

 

[M.C..]

@smith647
@barnesautos

I would not fit the BSP fitting into the NPT as they are different the BSP is 28 TPI and the NPT is 27 TPI also one is a tapered thread and the other is a parallel thread, they will go together quite easy and will "possibly" seal but IMO not worth the risk.
Here are a few photos of the sandwich plate

 

[Dan@SJM]

You won't need a 3/8 BSP to 1/8 BSP for the pressure sender. It will fit a 1/8 NPT perfectly - even states this in the SPA manual.

Afraid I haven't any pics of the sandwhich plate fitted to the block, but have a load of others. Also I remote mounted mine on -4 hose to help avoid knackering the sensor from engine vibrations when they are hard mounted.

That's a nice installation rich.

 

[smith647]

@M.C.. Thanks for the pictures... Should help me come installation. I take it PFTE tape is a must?

I've ordered my parts (gauge, sandwich plate & extension thing for filter to screw onto) from Merlin Motorsport and they should be arriving Tuesday. Due to what Rich said I didn't buy a BSP fitting but I'll do that now (I knew I should have bought one because you told me). I've bought a A-pillar gauge pod but I'm liking how you've fixed yours in the centre of dash.

How easy are these things to wire in as I've never done it? Is it a case of route wires through bulk head, will I then need to remove the dash top to route the wires?

Will I need one of these for power?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Add-A-C...ade-Fuse-Holder-ATO-ATC-12v-24v-/170709632237

 

[M.C..]

PTFE tape on tapered threads and on parallel threads use a copper washer or dowty seal.
Nice and easy to wire up just a ignition live 12V supply and a earth needed, you will need to put a big hole in the bulkhead to get the plug through or you could strip the plug down and fit it back together once you have passed the wires through.
Cant remember what size hole I drilled it may have been 20mm and I just used a blanking grommet.
I just used the stereo 12V supply but you could use one of those.
As for removing the dash top it will all depend on where you fit the gauge, I fed the wires up to where mine is.

 

[barnesautos]

@M.C.. Thanks for the info , I see in the pics the sensors used in the install , will it be those that come with the kit from tweeks .

 

[M.C..]

@M.C.. Thanks for the info , I see in the pics the sensors used in the install , will it be those that come with the kit from tweeks .

Yes those come with the gauge

 

[rich83]

@smith647
@barnesautos

I would not fit the BSP fitting into the NPT as they are different the BSP is 28 TPI and the NPT is 27 TPI also one is a tapered thread and the other is a parallel thread, they will go together quite easy and will "possibly" seal but IMO not worth the risk.

Sure if you are buying an adapter then buy the right one, but in my situation with keeping to best practice of not 'hard mounting' the sender and wanting the blingy aeroquip fittings not nasty steel or brass - then I was unable to source a -4AN male to 1/8BSP female adapter anywhere. I searched high and low and the custom prices I got quoted were crazy.
I happened to have a -4 male to 1/8NPT female alloy adapter and the thread is like a glove. Bit of PTFE as required on all NPT fittings and a dowty washer was required by BSP, and 100% no leaks or issue.
- Like I say it states in the SPA manual you can do this, and was the only reason I tried my NPT adapter in the first place.

Rich.

 

[Daniel Bellwood]

Smith647, I am also at blyton this weekend. If you see me come say hello, I will also pop over as well. I will be in a yellow phase 1 172.

 

[dablk]

I found a handy blanking plug at the back of the pedals on my trophy. Guess this is porbaly the lack of throttle cable on the 182. This works a treat on mine with a gromet and some extra tape around the cables. The plug strips down easy enough. then used a piggy back fuse with a cable ran all the way back to the passenger fuses next to the door to save cutting anything vital.
The control button dropped perfectly behind the dash on the far right so its usable but out the way
Few pics of mine on my 120 build thread in my sig <---

 

[smith647]

So finally had some time today to fit my gauge... Thanks @M.C.. , @rich83 and @dablk for help and advice/pictures!

(Ignore the top picture with flashing warning light as Ignition was on but car wasn't started)

Next question is what do I set my parameters too? From what I gather the gauge has warning alarms if the oil temperature gets to hot/pressure gets too low.

What's the maximum safe oil temperature to set my gauge too? And what sort of pressure figures are good for the F4r engine?

I use the standard Elf evolution 5w40 oil.

Thanks

 

[nd-photo.nl]

120 degrees for longer periods of time might be degrading the oil. Put it on 110 or so, my gauge (RaidHP) hasn't seen temps above 90 degrees (normal 80-85 degrees). I thought it was faulty as my turbocharged Seat Leon had temps of 100 degrees with normal driving. But the hot turbo adds a lot of heat to the oil so it seems

 

[dablk]

Should have 2 alarms for both high and low warnings. Temp wise. I set my big full flash to something like 60. To remind me to really take it easy. Then the small led flash to approx 78. This means I know when the Rev limit is in or out of operation. Haven't set a high limit. I personally have seen over 100 on a hot day of enthusiastic driving. Not sorted the pressure one. Lowest I have seen on that is 1.3.

 

[RobBrodie]

Sorry to bring up an old thread,

I've just fitted one of these gauges

Could someone give me a rough Idea as to what pressures I should see at what rpm and what parameters would be best?

 

[levaz]

Sorry to bring up an old thread,
I've just fitted one of these gauges
Could someone give me a rough Idea as to what pressures I should see at what rpm and what parameters would be best?

standard setup should be around 15psi on idle with the car warmed up (that's how mines always sat anyway)
other than that it usually sits around the 60-70psi point at around 70mph, can't say I pay a great deal of attention to it tbh.

 

[RobBrodie]

standard setup should be ...

Cheers for the reply buddy
So parameter wise I'm looking at 10psi low and 80psi high(after you have taken into consideration the car would reach 130mph ish)?
Suppose it's hard to say as it depends on speed and temperature etc

 

[levaz]

I'll keep an eye on mine when i drive home later.
See what it does for you

 

[smith647]

I've only got two alarms set one for low pressure at 1.1 bar (16psi) which I believe is similar as what the factory low oil pressure light is set too... My car has a strong oil pump and idles around 1.5 bar (21psi). The high temperature alarm is set to 120 Celsius. On track days the most I've seen it climb too is 111 Celsius.

 

[RobBrodie]

I'll keep an eye on mine when i drive home later.
See what it does for you

Perfect thanks buddy

I've only got two alarms set one for low pressure at 1.1 bar (16psi) which I believe is similar as what the factory low oil pressure light is set too... My car has a strong oil pump and idles around 1.5 bar (21psi). The high temperature alarm is set to 120 Celsius. On track days the most I've seen it climb too is 111 Celsius.

Cheers for the reply, OK that's perfect as a starting point, just didn't know what to expect at all really!

 

[rich83]

I installed my SPA dial the other day too, what have people set the high resolution sample rate to? I've left mine on the what I assume is default which was 0.4. But it can go from 0.1 to 25 in .1 increments.

Also I've only driven mine cold a couple of times since fitting it (max oil temp so far 45deg), but I noticed oil pressure seems to sit roughly 70-80psi on gentle cold driving (I think cold idle was 40-50).... so setting the low pressure at 16psi like above seems quite low? Or does it change a fair amount when the oils hot etc?

cheers

 

[smith647]

Rich the oil viscosity changes with temperature. On cold start up mine shoots upto 7 bar (100psi) but once the oil reaches about 85 Celsius the pressure is then at 1.5 bar.

 

[rich83]

ah cool - I'll set mine as you've done then at 16psi low warning and see how it goes!
what sample rate you using? 0.4 as it is out the box I presume on all?
cheers

 

[smith647]

Yeah same I haven't messed with the sample rate just left it how it was set from the factory.

 

[rich83]

Cool, cheers dude

 

[tuckerj]

@M.C.. , @rich83 , @dablk and @smith647
This thread has helped me a lot thanks,
I have one question that you guys might have the answer to... Do you know if I'm right thinking the sandwich plate extension bolt required is a M20 x1.5 (not 3/4 UNF)?

 

[rich83]

It was certainly metric for mine (mk3)

 

[smith647]

Yep M20 x 1.5 for 182.

 

[tuckerj]

Perfect - thanks again

 

[Mattty]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I can't seem to find the answer elsewhere, and this may be a silly question but I'm not sure.

I want to fit my oil pressure gaue between the green oil pressure sensorand the block (in picture below, to the left of the oil filter) and I've bought a T-piece to fit it on, but will I need to drain the oil first? When I undo the bolt on the green oil pressure sensor will oil come spewing out? Never had to touch one before.

Thanks

 

[NorthloopCup]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I can't seem to find the answer elsewhere, and this may be a silly question but I'm not sure.

I want to fit my oil pressure gaue between the green oil pressure sensorand the block (in picture below, to the left of the oil filter) and I've bought a T-piece to fit it on, but will I need to drain the oil first? When I undo the bolt on the green oil pressure sensor will oil come spewing out? Never had to touch one before.

Thanks

You might get a small amount of oil that comes from where the oil pressure sensor is, but it'll be only a small amount. Just place a rag underneath it to catch any oil that comes out. :up:

 

[Mattty]

You might get a small amount of oil that comes from where the oil pressure sensor is, but it'll be only a small amount. Just place a rag underneath it to catch any oil that comes out. :up:

Thanks for the quick response! How does it come off? Do I have to undo the bolt at the end of the sensor that looks rusty as hell on my picture?

 

[NorthloopCup]

Thanks for the quick response! How does it come off? Do I have to undo the bolt at the end of the sensor that looks rusty as hell on my picture?

No problem! Best Clio forum for the best Clio advice! :up:
Yeah basically you need to squeeze the white plastic section on the oil pressure switch, then pull it off the sensor. After that it's just a case of getting a spanner on the sensor base itself. Failing that, a deep socket should be enough.