Understanding the current state of your vehicle’s vital signs is one of the important distinctions between an enthusiastic driver and a skilled one. The more gauges and sensors you have delivering that information, the more complete your picture of your vehicle’s health is in the moment. Adding something like an inline fuel pressure gauge is a great way to make sure your vehicle is still running smoothly as you ask it for more power.
Why Use an Inline Gauge?
Inline gauges are always hooked up to your fuel line, which means they precisely monitor the pressure in the line in real time as the car runs. Without it, you can use a few methods like checking the pressure at the fuel rail or checking the electrical performance of the pump to make sure it is operating at full power and maintaining full pressure. Neither of these approaches compares to the constant monitoring of the actual fuel pressure provided by an inline gauge.
With the real-time feedback you get from those pressure gauges, it is easy to make sure that your vehicle maintains a consistent fuel pressure as you ask for more and more from your Holley Sniper EFI. If the pressure starts to drop, you know immediately and have the chance to back off and evaluate the situation. Similarly, in the event of a pump malfunction that over-pressurizes your fuel line, you get feedback before the problem causes issues in other systems.
Choosing the Right Pressure Gauge
There are two types of pressure gauge, liquid-filled and dry. Dry pressure gauges use a gas in their construction, which makes them inexpensive for the level of precision under the right circumstances, but they are also prone to malfunction due to temperature extremes and high vibration applications. Liquid-filled gauges are better for systems that pressurize liquids instead of gases, those that involve high heat or freezing temperatures, and situations where a lot of mechanical vibration is expected. That means your inline gauge should be a liquid-filled one.
When it comes to liquid-filled gauges, the most common options are water, glycerin, and a mixture of the two substances. Water-glycerin combinations are the most precise at all temperatures above -46 Celsius. Glycerin-only gauges are fine to -17 degrees, and water gauges obviously do not work well if they freeze.
Monitor Fuel Pressure Under High Demand
When you start working with high-performance upgrades, your car’s vital signs become more important than ever. When your vehicle demands more fuel to deliver the power you’re asking for, the fuel pump needs to work harder to maintain line pressure, and the regulator becomes more important than ever.
It is easy for vehicles to wind up with pressure-related performance issues after major upgrades if the fuel pump is pushed past the capacity that it was originally designed for, and monitoring pressure in real time is a great way to see exactly when that issue pops up as you continue tweaking your performance.
Find Your Next Upgrade
Figuring out how to get the most out of your vehicle means understanding how to balance upgrades like an EFI that directly impact your performance with those like a rooftop cargo carrier hard shell for your field tools or pressure gauges for your vehicle’s various fluid systems. Check out your options today.
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