Gauges for 1996 Cobra ---show me your setups
- Thread starter OldFashRed
- Start date
COBRA90GT
Mustang Master
Are you talking about adding functional gauges (oil pressure, water temp, etc) or a gauge overlay for your speedo/odo dash-cluster? 
Adding a quality aftermarket oil pressure gauge is the first thing I would add...
Adding a quality aftermarket oil pressure gauge is the first thing I would add...
Looking to upgrade both......
COBRA 90GT.
I am leaning on adding the steering column one gauge unit and the two gauge clock unit.
----if so what would be the best three gauges to add,,,,,,functional gauges of course.
Thus, in clock area would it be bet to add oil pressure and water temp?
And if so, then what to add on column?.
Also, what is the best way to ALSO upgrade the speedo/odo cluster.....with an overlay only?
THANKS.
COBRA 90GT.
I am leaning on adding the steering column one gauge unit and the two gauge clock unit.
----if so what would be the best three gauges to add,,,,,,functional gauges of course.
Thus, in clock area would it be bet to add oil pressure and water temp?
And if so, then what to add on column?.
Also, what is the best way to ALSO upgrade the speedo/odo cluster.....with an overlay only?
THANKS.
COBRA90GT
Mustang Master
I like those steering column gauge pods - think they look sharp, but I personally run oil press and water temp in an A-pillar gauge setup (Autometer).
As far which types of engine monitoring gauges you would want, a lot of that is simply personal preference - I went with the two choices above because I felt that those were the most crucial for my situation (NA engine, no power adder - otherwise I'd look into adding a boost gauge, wide band O2, etc). You can add pretty much whatever you want - oil temp, volts, and so on...
I don't personally care too much for the clock pod mounting area, but many others like it. You can also do a custom job and install them where your HVAC control panel is - seen that on a few other cars.
Go with whatever mounting location you like best; A-pillar, steering column, clock pod, HVAC panel, etc.
BTW - As you may or may not know, the factory oil pressure gauges in our cars are nothing more than a "dummy" gauge because they are set to point almost directly in the "middle" of the "low" and "high" mark on the dash.
IIRC, the factory oil pressure switch/sending unit simply reads a signal and if it sees more than something like 6psi of oil pressure, the needle of the factory oil pressure gauge will point to the "middle" and lead one to believe everything is just fine. Of course, once you fall below 5 psi, your engine is probably toast so it's a little more comforting to run a "real" oil pressure gauge so the driver knows how their engine is actually running, etc.
Many people weren't happy with the factory "open/close" oil pressure switch that Ford used in these cars but I think it was done to prevent people from complaining about their oil pressure needle moving around eratically. Those people may have been mistaken and thought something was wrong with their car when the needle "moves around," as silly as that sounds...
I don't have any personal knowledge about changing out the factory dash/speedo cluster or adding overlays - if you run a search on the message board or on Google, I'm sure you can find somebody's write-up about how to change it out.
G'luck.
As far which types of engine monitoring gauges you would want, a lot of that is simply personal preference - I went with the two choices above because I felt that those were the most crucial for my situation (NA engine, no power adder - otherwise I'd look into adding a boost gauge, wide band O2, etc). You can add pretty much whatever you want - oil temp, volts, and so on...
I don't personally care too much for the clock pod mounting area, but many others like it. You can also do a custom job and install them where your HVAC control panel is - seen that on a few other cars.
Go with whatever mounting location you like best; A-pillar, steering column, clock pod, HVAC panel, etc.
BTW - As you may or may not know, the factory oil pressure gauges in our cars are nothing more than a "dummy" gauge because they are set to point almost directly in the "middle" of the "low" and "high" mark on the dash.
IIRC, the factory oil pressure switch/sending unit simply reads a signal and if it sees more than something like 6psi of oil pressure, the needle of the factory oil pressure gauge will point to the "middle" and lead one to believe everything is just fine. Of course, once you fall below 5 psi, your engine is probably toast so it's a little more comforting to run a "real" oil pressure gauge so the driver knows how their engine is actually running, etc.
Many people weren't happy with the factory "open/close" oil pressure switch that Ford used in these cars but I think it was done to prevent people from complaining about their oil pressure needle moving around eratically. Those people may have been mistaken and thought something was wrong with their car when the needle "moves around," as silly as that sounds...
I don't have any personal knowledge about changing out the factory dash/speedo cluster or adding overlays - if you run a search on the message board or on Google, I'm sure you can find somebody's write-up about how to change it out.
G'luck.
Gallows
Member
Autometer "A" pillar
Florida 5.0 dash bezel
Not my car [below pic] I have a 03 console to go in and think I will ditch the bezel pod and do this
View attachment 228458
Florida 5.0 dash bezel
Not my car [below pic] I have a 03 console to go in and think I will ditch the bezel pod and do this
View attachment 228458
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