Autometer Nexus Guages

[Jim Nilsen]

Has anyone else seen the new Nexus guages from Autometer? You can see a video demo of them on their website. They don't show the whole array of gauges that are available but it sounds like it is going to cover quite a few.

Has anyone seen them in real life ? If they are as nice in real time as they are on the site they have me as a new follower after almost losing me to Koso for guage choices.

Jim Nilsen

[Zefhix]

Has anyone else seen the new Nexus guages from Autometer? You can see a video demo of them on their website. They don't show the whole array of gauges that are available but it sounds like it is going to cover quite a few.

Has anyone seen them in real life ? If they are as nice in real time as they are on the site they have me as a new follower after almost losing me to Koso for guage choices.

Jim Nilsen
I got a full demo at SEMA last year and I was pretty impressed. The guages are built on the same "daisy-chain" platform you see with the Defi guages. They are the ones we're using.

[Jim Nilsen]

I remember walking by them now . There wasn't too much going on and the guages were on the rainbow color rotation thing and it looked so ricey that it turned me off and I just didn't get past my first impression enough to wait around for the full demo , but now I wish I had.

I also didn't remember seeing any speedometers or tach's with the same display style. Did you remember them from the demo ?

They look a lot more to my liking in the video clip of them than what I remember in person and some things take time to grow on me when they are so new.

The best feature of them is the red warning change of color at what you preset it to be , I don't think I would miss seeing that and the playback at different rpm levels could be very useful info if you are having problems.

The one thing that makes most all of the guage info redundant is the Gen 7 DFI playback capability. Some guages for temp purposes seem like the best reason to go the Nexus way. No matter which one I go to for info I have to have the laptop so it would be convenient to have both.

So now I have to find a shop with a demonstration unit to see and play with them. I'm still interested in the impression others have of these.

Jim Nilsen

[Zefhix]

I've had alot of correspondence between autometer and myself regarding the Nexus guages and their will be the Tach/Speedo/Fuel and volts by spring...Tach/Speedo=3 3/8 Fuel Volts=2 1/16...






I remember walking by them now . There wasn't too much going on and the guages were on the rainbow color rotation thing and it looked so ricey that it turned me off and I just didn't get past my first impression enough to wait around for the full demo , but now I wish I had.

I also didn't remember seeing any speedometers or tach's with the same display style. Did you remember them from the demo ?

They look a lot more to my liking in the video clip of them than what I remember in person and some things take time to grow on me when they are so new.

The best feature of them is the red warning change of color at what you preset it to be , I don't think I would miss seeing that and the playback at different rpm levels could be very useful info if you are having problems.

The one thing that makes most all of the guage info redundant is the Gen 7 DFI playback capability. Some guages for temp purposes seem like the best reason to go the Nexus way. No matter which one I go to for info I have to have the laptop so it would be convenient to have both.

So now I have to find a shop with a demonstration unit to see and play with them. I'm still interested in the impression others have of these.

Jim Nilsen

[Jim Nilsen]

I didn't think I was going crazy , now I know I didn't miss what wasn't there. :hmm:

I,m looking forward to seeing them when they come out. Keep us posted if you get wind of any more info about what is available for choices than what is at the website.


Thanks , Jim Nilsen

[wickedmotorhead]

Sweet I was looking at those too and didn't see any tach or speedo, but 3 3/8".....WEAK! 5" would seal the deal for me.

[Jagarang]

Ok..they are killer. Damnit I can't use them! My only gripe would be, why do they start the 270 degree sweep pointing down? Why not balance the the 45 degree dead space across the bottom, i.e. like gauges allways have been? Personally I think the movement would be more balanced visually, I guess the OLD man in me just likes the old fashioned look with a updated mechanism.

[Jim Nilsen]

I just recieved a Jegs catalog with prices for the Nexus gauges.

They are $199 for some and $249 for others and they don't list a speedo or a tach yet. you will have to spend cose to $1600 to get a real complete set of gauges.

I keep telling myself that they are more than just gauges, they are mini computers that are like having a copilot watching all of the time and can remember everything that happens exactly as it happened.

Information like that is worth it in the long run.

It could even get as high as $2000 before a person had it all together.

Hopefully they will offer a package that is a little more economical :lol:



Jim Nilsen

[Steve1968LS2]

For those who want to see the pretty videos.. :)

http://hp.autometer.com/products/nexus/index.html

Do they list anywhere what sizes they offer in this? And what guages???

[John Monnin]

Anyone have pictures of Nexus gauges installed yet?

[ProdigyCustoms]

Yup

[BonzoHansen]

YupIs that every one they make? :)

[Jim Nilsen]

I was told at SEMA that the speedo and tach will be available mid spring to summer. There are a bunch of gauges and some can be used for more than one purpose if you want to label them as somthing else. A sensor is a sensor so to speak and if the gauge reads the sensor that will work for what you want to read it can be used for what you want. It gets a little iffy on some sensors but if you use your imagination you can understand what I am saying.

Also be aware that they now have an expanded control box, the early ones would do 8 gauges and the new one does 12 if I remember correctly. When I got mine to start they only had the 8 gauge version and now I may have to go to the 12. I am told from where I bought my gauges that since my box has never been used I will be able to change it up to the better one when I go to buy the speedo and tach.

These gauges are very nice and very expensive but the data that they store and playback can be very useful for troubleshooting and performance gains.

The speedo will be a 160mph and not the 200mph I was hoping for but 160mph is more realistic and if I can go faster the tach will tell me what I was at by using the math anyway.

They also keep adding more choices as more people are asking so don't be shy and quiet, email or call and ask for what you want. I have always found that they never have a complete set of gauges that match in any given style. They know what I mean by it and it is hopefully going to change with the PT crowd wanting to know everything that is going on in their cars. I want a brake pressure gauge and they told me I might be able to use the nitrous pressure gauge in place of it. Sounded possible if the sensor can handle brake fluid coming in contact with it. Things like this will get addressed and worked out as time goes on. Nexus gauges were put out a bit prematurely to get their foot in the door of digital data aquisitioning or the others would have left them behind totally.



Jim Nilsen

[speedster]

Jim -
I went round and round with the Autometer guys on the Nexus gauges. I wanted the "whole" set and was told that the Tach, Speedo, Fuel Level and Voltmeter gauges were not "ready" yet. So I said I would buy all of the other ones I needed and when the new stuff came in pick those up. Then they said that you can't run the volt, fuel, or speedo without the 6401 (12 channel controller) which they last told me would be out in May barring any slowdowns. So, I said, could I get the 6400 controller for now, and when the 6401 was ready either swap the guts or upgrade the whole unit. They bluntly said you need to buy the 6400 and then throw it away and get the 6401 when it's ready. I asked for other alternatives and the guy said he was busy and hung up. So, that was definately not the best customer service scenario.

Frank -
Can you get good a deal on Autometer Nexus gauges ??

[speedster]

One last thing - the Autometer crew at thr PRI show display were very helpful, but did not have enough Nexus details yet.

[AndyB]

The illumination of these gauges really appeals to me; my only gripe with the normal autometer stuff is that they are too dim at night. I have used brighter than stock bulbs but IMO that is still not enough.

As nice as these look, the price is a bit steep. I really don’t need my gauges to perform a pre programmed opening and closing ceremony; I just like how bright they appear to be. It would be great if they offered the normal mechanical or electric gauges with the same bright illumination.

[Steve1968LS2]

It would be great if they offered the normal mechanical or electric gauges with the same bright illumination.

They do!! :)

Autometer just launched their new Sport Comp II and Ultra Lite II gauges..

Both have ditched the bulbs and now are led backlit.

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugeop.aspx?sid=60

I wish to hell they would make more 5" tachs in the new stuff.. argh...

[wickedmotorhead]

OH MAN those new sport comp II's are perfect colors for my project, But once again no 5" stuff...I wish, like others have said, that they would complete there gauge lines with all the sizes and types, I mean they already have some 5" gauges I don't see how hard it would be to change the back face and trim ring. I understand the Nexus is a totally different breed but like the Carbon Fiber ones, and other basic Mechanical and Electric guages.

[OHCbird]

The Autometer guy at PRI told me they were working on a faster or 'improved' stepper motor for the 5" tachs and speedos. The 3 3/8" stuff sells well with the sport compact market, so they hit those first. I'd like a set of 5" cobalts if I could.

I've made a programmable module that triggers gauge colros, or warning lights at set temps & speeds- that's what I'm going to do with my cobalts.

[Steve1968LS2]

OH MAN those new sport comp II's are perfect colors for my project, But once again no 5" stuff...I wish, like others have said, that they would complete there gauge lines with all the sizes and types, I mean they already have some 5" gauges I don't see how hard it would be to change the back face and trim ring. I understand the Nexus is a totally different breed but like the Carbon Fiber ones, and other basic Mechanical and Electric guages.

The 5" pedestle tach can be mounted in the dash :)

(that's what I'm doing)..

so the word of the day is :woot:

[Steve1968LS2]

The Autometer guy at PRI told me they were working on a faster or 'improved' stepper motor for the 5" tachs and speedos. The 3 3/8" stuff sells well with the sport compact market, so they hit those first. I'd like a set of 5" cobalts if I could.

I've made a programmable module that triggers gauge colros, or warning lights at set temps & speeds- that's what I'm going to do with my cobalts.

You should sell those moduals.. would be nice to be able to trigger low oil pressure warning lights and such.

[John Monnin]

I've made a programmable module that triggers gauge colros, or warning lights at set temps & speeds- that's what I'm going to do with my cobalts.

THATS FANTASTIC!
I have been begging the electrical engineers that I work with do develop something like this. but they are not car guys so they are not really intersted in helping. I never could understand why nobody made a programable warning system that could be calibrated to existing electronic gauges?

I have used Greddy peak/hold gauges before. They are the cheapest quality gauge with a peak/hold function but I they are only avialable in metric units and the Japanese have some funny ideas about waht colors to make gauges. I do love the ability to program a warning value that will cause a light to trigger and also record the highest value. This is great for boost pressure when i was programming a electronic boost controller. It is just hard to watch the gauges extremely closely and still drive safely. I don't want to pay for a fancy opening and closing sequence too.

Right now I have SportsComp Peak/Hold boost gauge that works perfect but the lighting is just not great. At night the lighting is uneven. I tried repalcing the incandescent bulb with White and Red LED bulbs but the lighting is still uneven.

to me the perfect economy gauge would be priced only slightly higher than elctronic versions of SportComp gauges but would have better lighting and a warning light capabilities. I have been looking at the Nexus gauges but just getting Boost, EGT Watertemp, oil pressure & a controller is probably $1000, Sport Comp II and a warning device like OHCbird's sounds like what I have been looking for:)