cb951

I'm considering replacing a couple of pretty new Cyberdyne gauges (boost and fuel pressure) because of quality and visibility issues, and have narrowed the choices down to:

1. AutoMeter Z-series --
Black face, black bezel, white numbers, red pointer. Mechanical boost gauge and electric fuel pressure gauge.

2. Stewart-Warner Competition series --
Black face, black bezel (extra optional bezel), white numbers, red pointer.
Mechanical boost gauge and electric fuel pressure gauge.

3. AutoMeter Phantom series --
White face (I don't like white), black bezel, black numbers, red pointer.
Electric boost gauge with peak and warning (I like those features) and electric fuel pressure gauge.

4. AutoMeter Sport Comp series --
Black face, silver bezel (I don't like silver, but could possibly paint it black), white numbers, red pointer.
Electric boost gauge with peak and warning (I like those features) and electric fuel pressure gauge.

What I'm really after is something "stock" looking (black face, black bezel, white numbers, red pointer), but with peak/warning on the boost gauge. (VDO, of course, would look most "stock", but doesn't make an electric fuel pressure gauge.)

Since all of the choices listed above involve some compromise, I'd like to know if anyone can shed some light on accuracy (and durability) of these Stewart-Warner vs. Autometer gauges.

xsboost90

i know SW was the shi# back in the day, but i've had no problems w/ Autometer guages- probl had them in about four cars of mine and pretty much all looked like this..

SeaCay

Autometer makes some great guages. I've used them before and loved the selection and durability.

cb951

Yeah, back in the day ('80s) I was in the parts business and sold plenty of SW gauges. They were generally considered the best then. AutoMeter, just gaining popularity and widespread distribution, was considered second rate but up-and-coming. They were cheaper than SW and their product lines were increasing rapidly, offering a larger selection of more modern looking gauges.

But I don't know how the quality of SW may have changed since then (and since their acquisition by Maxima Industries), or how the quality of AutoMeter may have changed since then as well. Through reading forum opinions and through shopping online, AutoMeter seems to have positioned itself as the leader -- whether by actual merit or simply through much more aggressive marketing/advertising and distribution, I don't know.

There seems be be a lot of favorable opinions regarding AutoMeter gauges here on RL. Anyone have any firsthand experience with SW over the last ten years?

UncleMaz

I like my autometer. I chose Sport comps for price and durability. I don't think you could go wrong with either brand though. As stated, the gauges would look better with black bezels. I just installed red LED's.

MichelleJD

Autometer's office is across the street from my courthouse. We may actually move our offices into their building.

Funn944

I just put in an Auto Meter wideband O2 meter (Cobalt Series, black face, silver bezel, blue led readout) so far it seems fine, it's extremely sensitive, and it has a data logger output as well. It's programmable for different types of fuel also.

cb951

Any Stewart-Warner opinions?

cb951

Anyone?

cb951

Stewart-Warner opinions?

Please...

fork_included

are you building a spaceship? What sort of reliability and accuracy tolerances are you looking for exactly?

cb951

I'm really just looking for preferences of one brand over another and why? Yeah, I'm sure that "either brand would be fine", but if I'm going to spend a couple hundred bucks, I'd like to feel that my money is well spent. "Cognizant dissonance" is a terrible thing... I'd hate to choose one over another without any firsthand advice. I did that when I bought my Cyberdyne gauges, and I'm really sorry I did. (I believed Cyberdyne's false description and retouched photos. Cyberdyne's gauges are not only substandard, but falsely advertised.)

UncleMaz

If this helps, the customer service at Autometer is excellent. I had a bad sender after more than a year of use. I wrote Autometer an email. They replied immediately. Autometer asked me to check the sender to make sure. When I responded a day later after I tested the sender with a multigauge. They sent a new sender out without needing the old one back that day. So, as nobody seems to know **** about SW, but if you are unhappy with how something works from Autometer, they will remedy the situation quickly.

cb951

Thanks, Michael.This is useful info. It confirms the general consensus of AutoMeter quality with some actual experience. Still, I'd like to hear about SW experience as well.