987 oil pressure gauge in wart

[masraum]

Has anyone with a 987 done this before?




I love my car, but there are a couple of things that I hate about it after being spoiled with my old '88 targa.

There's no dipstick (or way to retrofit since I have the 3.4L, the non-S cars can retrofit)
The way to measure the oil level sucks (takes a minimum of 5 mins sitting around waiting with the car off).
There are no gauges for oil pressure, oil temp (it's got H2O temp) or oil level (see above).

It does have a digital speedo output AND an analog speedo (why couldn't that have been an O-P gauge or multi-gauge?!), and a way to show tire pressure or fuel economy on a digital screen.

On the 986 series, you could swap in the 996 gauge cluster and all of the gauges would work, but my understanding is that doesn't work on the 987.

So, if I had to pick one of those the 3 oil gauges to have, I'd go with the the oil pressure.

This seems like a pretty good idea (except maybe for the gauge manufacturer. Prosport looks and sounds like something that would go in a civic. I do like the low pressure light though since this would disable the factory idiot light)

[onewhippedpuppy]

That’s a really good idea. The sport chrono stopwatch is useless anyway. You could also get something like a ScanGauge though it’s not very elegant.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That’s a really good idea. The sport chrono stopwatch is useless anyway. You could also get something like a ScanGauge though it’s not very elegant.

Right, I've got a scangauge and used it on my last couple of miata. I'd considered using it in the boxster, but it's not elegant. Also, 987s don't have oil pressure senders, so that won't provide oil pressure. They only have a switch and idiot light.

Supposedly, the oil level sender includes oil temp, but in the threads that I found, no one was able to get that temp to output on an OBDII app.

The nice thing is that Autometer makes another version of the gauge in the photo/video above that's got a built in idiot light.

[2.7RS]

You could T split the idiot light or Temperature sender where you have room and place electronic oil pressure sender

And buy a black face VDO gauge.

I did this on my 911.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 2.7RS

You could T split the idiot light or Temperature sender where you have room and place electronic oil pressure sender

And buy a black face VDO gauge.

I did this on my 911.

Believe it or not, the silver faced autometer more closely matches the stock gauge faces in my car. Also, based on the videos, there doesn't seem to be a ton of space in that area, so putting a T in place and then screwing 2 senders in place would be a pain. Also, I'm pretty sure the temp sender is in the crankcase, so no way to measure pressure there.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The sport chrono stopwatch is useless anyway.

That's another thing. I've never (and can't imagine that I ever would) used the stopwatch. All it is for me is an indicator that a particular vehicle has the sport/chrono option. Since it's there, may as well make it useful. I've already got one useless gauge (analog speedo). No reason to have 2.

[GH85Carrera]

It is just weird that Porsche does not have those gauges somewhere in the display. My wife's Macan does had a display screen that shows water temp, oil temp and I thought even oil pressure. I will have to double check that next time I drive it. It is a scrolling display that another screen shows the individual tire pressures.

I always hated that my 911 did not have a volt meter so I fixed that. I also hated the temperature display of dashes, and the first modification I did to my 911 was to put in a calibrated oil temp gauge. I changed that 25 years ago.



This was takes when I was changing the dash lights to LED bulbs.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

It is just weird that Porsche does not have those gauges somewhere in the display. My wife's Macan does had a display screen that shows water temp, oil temp and I thought even oil pressure. I will have to double check that next time I drive it. It is a scrolling display that another screen shows the individual tire pressures.

I always hated that my 911 did not have a volt meter so I fixed that. I also hated the temperature display of dashes, and the first modification I did to my 911 was to put in a calibrated oil temp gauge. I changed that 25 years ago.



This was takes when I was changing the dash lights to LED bulbs.

Yep. the only gauges available in a 987 boxster/cayman, water temp, fuel level, speedo, tire air pressure, fuel economy and outside air temperature. Then you can request the oil level once the motor has been off long enough. If the motor/oil is not warm, then it could take 30 mins. If the motor is up to full temp, then you have to shut the motor off and wait for 5 mins.

There's no sending unit for an oil pressure gauge, and no way to get oil temp. I believe the 981 cars have a fancy little digital gauge to the right of the speedo that can display more info. I'm not sure what.

In the 986, you could swap the 986 3 gauge cluster for the 996 5 gauge cluster. I've seen one mention of someone doing that in a 987, but it's not a straight bolt in and they work, like I said, no sender for oil pressure, and the gauges don't fit in the binnacle (granted, my car doesn't have a binnacle).

I've always loved the dash on the old air cooled 911s. I'd love to have a full set of 911 gauges, and a mock-up of the part of the dash that holds them to hang on the wall or put on a desk or something.

[javadog]

I would go with an oil temperature gauge before an oil pressure gauge. The information is more useful in how you drive the car.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

I would go with an oil temperature gauge before an oil pressure gauge. The information is more useful in how you drive the car.

That's not an uncommon sentiment. Oil temp is a bit harder to do, although I have heard that it's possible to get a spin-on oil filter adapter that has a port where you can put a temp sender.

But oil pressure can also be an indication of temp. IE, when cold, normal pressures are X,Y,Z. When the oil is normal temp, the oil pressures are R,S,T. If the pressures drop lower than R,S,T, then either the temp has gone higher than normal or you've got another issue (AOS issue can cause low pressure at idle due to high crankcase vacuum, low oil level can cause lower pressure, etc...)

[javadog]

Originally Posted by masraum

That's not an uncommon sentiment. Oil temp is a bit harder to do, although I have heard that it's possible to get a spin-on oil filter adapter that has a port where you can put a temp sender.

But oil pressure can also be an indication of temp. IE, when cold, normal pressures are X,Y,Z. When the oil is normal temp, the oil pressures are R,S,T. If the pressures drop lower than R,S,T, then either the temp has gone higher than normal or you've got another issue (AOS issue can cause low pressure at idle due to high crankcase vacuum, low oil level can cause lower pressure, etc...)

Let me give you an example, from having owned the exact same car you’re talking about. Ever noticed your water temperature gauge gives you the same exact temperature once the car is warmed up? Porsche has designed the gauge to give you That Temperature, so long as your actual temperature was within a certain range of values. That’s designed to keep you from worrying about small changes in temperature.

You can do nothing about the oil pressure, it will likely be fine the entire time you own your car. Using oil pressure to estimate your oil temperature is silly. Just put a temperature gauge in and be done with it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

Let me give you an example, from having owned the exact same car you’re talking about. Ever noticed your water temperature gauge gives you the same exact temperature once the car is warmed up? Porsche has designed the gauge to give you That Temperature, so long as your actual temperature was within a certain range of values. That’s designed to keep you from worrying about small changes in temperature.

You can do nothing about the oil pressure, it will likely be fine the entire time you own your car. Using oil pressure to estimate your oil temperature is silly. Just put a temperature gauge in and be done with it.

Yep, I completely understand. The water temp gauges on miatas after the first year or two were the same (almost an idiot light), basically 3 readings, cold, normalish, way too hot, and they were packed full of grease so that when they did move, it would be super slow.

[911boost]

Sucks you cannot add a 997 gauge cluster, as they have all of the gauges you want.

[HardDrive]

Actually thought of you last weekend Steve, there was a Spyder at the cars and coffee. I had never seen one in the flesh. Love that interior.

[masraum]

For folks that want a Voltmeter



search amazon for "digital voltmete" and you'll find a myriad of options for the little 3 wire voltmeter that can be integrated into the panel.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Actually thought of you last weekend Steve, there was a Spyder at the cars and coffee. I had never seen one in the flesh. Love that interior.

Nice, I've got to get out to those. It'd be a lot more likely if they didn't happen first thing in the morning. I'd probably be more likely to show up at Cars and Brunch or Cars in the Afternoon.