Decisions: Auto Meter or VDO gauges. Opinions wanted!

[69LT1Nova]

Well, it's time for me to order gauges. Just a simple set - oil, water, volts - to keep an eye on what is going on. I'm getting analog read-outs, but electric senders that work with the LT1... I just can't make up my mind which brand I want. I know Auto Meter is good stuff, and made in the USA... but $$. I was also looking at VDO - since they are 1/2 the cost! (made in outer Uzbekistan??) What do you guys think? :help:

The gauges I'm considering:

Auto Meter
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/10/atm2522-1.jpg

VDO
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/10/vdo350108d-1.jpg

[Rhino]

I know Auto Meter is good stuff, and made in the USA... but $$. I was also looking at VDO - since they are 1/2 the cost!

At Summit's site, they appear to be vary comparable in price. I've looked into using VDO myself, and didn't appear to save much money in the end. Have you found a cheaper source for VDO gauges?

I guess it should also be said that I was looking specifically at the VDO Cockpit and AutoMeter Ultralights for comparison. I'm not certain how the other lines stack up.

[69LT1Nova]

Example (using the gauges I'm looking at):

VDO oil pressure gauge: $25.95
Auto Meter oil pressure gauge: $55.95

I think the thing that drives up the price between the two is that Auto Meter gauges include senders, which I do not need.

[MarkM66]

Don't forget stewart warner performance gauges.

[XLexusTech]

Buy Americian Its good for you :-)

[69LT1Nova]

Buy Americian Its good for you :-)

Yep, I'm all about supporting the home team. :usa:

[vp23271]

Both are good, but at night the needles look different. Not sure if appearance is an issue or if you want the gauge to look closer to stock. I believe the VDO gauge has a plastic needle with the visible edge painted orange and the sides are clear. At night it acts like a prism and the needle has a "glow" to it. If your interior has more of a stock appearance, I would go with Auto Meter. Just my 2 cents.

[69LT1Nova]

Good advice!

BTW - I checked out Stewart Warner... wow... and I thought Auto Meter was $$...

[Blown353]

Both are good, but at night the needles look different. Not sure if appearance is an issue or if you want the gauge to look closer to stock. I believe the VDO gauge has a plastic needle with the visible edge painted orange and the sides are clear. At night it acts like a prism and the needle has a "glow" to it. If your interior has more of a stock appearance, I would go with Auto Meter. Just my 2 cents.

The VDO "Vision" gauges he is looking at have thru-dial and thru-needle illumination. The numbers and needles are translucent and when the bulb is on the light shines through the numbers and needle illuminating just them, rather than the peripheral-reflected lighting of the Autometers he posted a picture of where the needle and numbers are unlit and the light is shined and reflected by the gap between the dial face and bezel. The end result is the VDO gauges are far more clear, better illuminated, and easier to read at night-- think of nearly any brand new car and how the dash is illuminated. Rather than the whole instrument cluster and gauges being lit by reflected light like OEM 60's gauges, on nearly all new cars only the numbers and needles are lit.

The latest Autometers (i.e. the Cobalts, Sport-Comp II, and Ultra Lite-II) all use thru-dial and illuminated needles just like the VDO.

I had several VDO vision gauges in my Subaru STI and will be putting 6 of them into my Chevelle; they're no-frills, good looking and well performing gauges based on my experience and I also don't know how they can build them that cheap. IIRC, they're made in the Czech republic, and VDO is owned by Siemens.

The other thing nice about the VDO gauges is instead of twin stud/sheetmetal bracket mounting is the outer diameter of the case is threaded and a large threaded ring goes over them to hold them to the panel. Much easier/quicker and it won't "dimple" a thin sheetmetal panel. If you're angle mounting them the threaded ring mount won't work, but the gauges still have bosses in the back for traditional stud & sheetmetal bracket mounting (VDO sells the studs & brackets separately)

[69LT1Nova]

I had several VDO vision gauges in my Subaru STI and will be putting 6 of them into my Chevelle; they're no-frills, good looking and well performing gauges based on my experience and I also don't know how they can build them that cheap. IIRC, they're made in the Czech republic, and VDO is owned by Siemens.


Czech republic? Interesting. I thought they were made in Taiwan, China, or somewhere like that. Good to know.

FYI - Siemens sold VDO to Continental (as in the tires) a couple years back. (5/12/07)http://usa.vdo.com/press/releases/corporate/2006/SV_20061220_b.htm
Don't know if the quality is still as good, or if they are still made in Czech (?).

I do like the lighting of the gauges being "throgh the dial" and needle... but also I'm keeping the '69 theme alive with all the other gauges...

[130fe]

If you like the autometers, think about the II series ones. I had standard Ultralites for a few years and they were hard to see at night. I swapped to the Ultralite II series and they are great. THe II series look the same during the day but have LED backlighting and they are great to read at night.

[JWilson]

I had the VDO Cockpit White gauges in my dirt car. I just loved the clean lines/font, and the price was hard to beat. Never had any trouble with them in a pretty harsh environment.

[69stang]

I've been contemplating the same, autometers or VDO. I finally settled on the VDO based on cleaner look and 4" speedo & tach which fits my arrangement better. The 3-5/8" autometer counterparts just felt too small to me for my panel arrangement. They've been around for awhile also and the price is good.