Anyone have a link or 'how to' on dissassembling the stock turbo gauge on a MY03 WRX? I thought you could pop off the lens or slide the casing off but I don't want to break it, as it seems to be on there good. What I need to do after that is adjust my needle in there...it has read low since the day I picked it up.
Thanks all,
Smitty

 

what is the boost at WOT in 3rd or 4th?

 

Hey Matt, I'd haveto go out and run it and see...I don't remember. The thing is, when the ignition is off, my needle reads below 0, and it should be right on 0, right? At least that makes sense to me.

 

This is a common problem with the Lamco gauges.
If the gauge was originally installed in your car when purchased new, and the car is still under the 3/36 warranty, you should be able to have the gauge replaced under the warranty. If those conditions do not apply you would be on your own.
The gauge does not have any actual adjustment for the zero position. It is possible to take it apart and bend some things (very carefully) to change the zero point but you risk damaging the mechanism.
The front bezel is crimped onto the gauge body, to remove it the crimped portion must be pulled away. This can be done by working a small screwdriver underneath and gradually going around bending the crimped part outward. Eventually (it can take quite a while) the bezel will be able to slide off the front of the gauge. Be careful not to break the glass lens. Then, the nut holding the inlet fitting on the back of the gauge has to be removed, this is what holds the gauge mechanism in the housing. With the nut removed, the mechanism will come out and you can mess with it.

 

Thank you for your help, Mulder! I didn't know this was a common problem. I wonder if there is a gauge that mount in the same place as the stock one and looks stock but reads more accurately..

 

You can get one of the Omori 45mm gauges, they will fit into the stock pod where the OEM 42mm gauge goes. If you have the column mounted gauge it's a tight fit but it does go in, if you have the 3-gauge pod on the dash the bezel has to be modified slightly.
The Omori gauges also read in PSI rather than mPa, if that is important to you. They are available in both mechanical and electronic versions with different color/illumination options.

 

yeah, I have the omori boost and egt with a replica bezel, same colors/lighting as the oem cluster, very clean/subtle.

 

OK, this might be a n00b question, but what's the difference between the mechanical and electronic gauge? Does one read better than the other. Also, what is to say that if I do upgrade to this one, that it will or won't read correctly down the road? Are there adjustments? Thanks for your time guys. Stuff like this (gauges, lighting, etc. in this forum) never made sense to me, I'm trying to learn.

 

The stock gauge is mechanical. There is a vacuum line connected directly to the gauge from the intake manifold, and the mechanism inside the gauge moves the needle to indicate the difference between ambient pressure and manifold pressure. The only power needed by a mechanical gauge is for illumination.
An electrical, or electronic, gauge has the manifold line connected to an electrical pressure sensor which is usually mounted inside the engine compartment. Wires from this sensor go inside to the gauge, which contains an electrical meter movement rather than the mechanism of the mechanical gauge. This gauge needs power to operate, in addition to illumination power.
Both types are about equally accurate, however the electrical gauge may have a quicker response. The mechanical gauge is damped using a restrictor in the vacuum line, to prevent the gauge needle from oscillating or buzzing.
The mechanical gauges do not have any adjustments for zeroing the needle. Electrical ones may or may not have adjustments, and if they do it may not be easily accessible.
Another thing you should be aware of, some electrical gauges have a common ground for the power and illumination (I believe Omori does this). This is a problem in Subarus since the illumination for the dash lights uses a variable POSITIVE system, which means you cannot connect the gauge illumination wire directly to the dash lights and have it dim along with them. You either have to connect it to a source of 12V that is switched with the parking lights, or add a circuit to "flip" the illumination polarity for the gauge.
I have the Omori mechanical 45mm gauge, which I installed in the 3-gauge pod to replace the OEM Lamco gauge. It's the "full color" version which allows the face illumination color to be adjusted to match your other gauges.