Oil Pressure 1.6 K-Series

[Chrisp5782]

2004 1.6 K-Series oil pressure readings are as follows:

Cold Idle - 4.5 Bar
Hot Idle - 1.8 - 2 Bar
Hot 3000RPM - 4 Bar

Granted I'm using the standard electrical gauge and sender but will be switching to mechanical very soon.

Does this seem about right?

[Chrisp5782]

What's the general consensus on mechanical gauges, it would seem, on the evidence I've read, that when the switch is made to a mechanical oil pressure gauge there seems to be an increase in reading over the Caterham electrical gauge?

Your thoughts?

[Chrisp5782]

Fitted a mechanical gauge - what a difference!

I've got a constant 30PSI at hot idle and a very healthy 65PSI at around 3500RPM when hot.

Start up is around 70-75PSI, confidence restored!!

Those electrical gauges and senders really are crap!

[Chrisp5782]

Fitted a mechanical gauge - what a difference!

I've got a constant 30PSI at hot idle and a very healthy 65PSI at around 3500RPM when hot.

Start up is around 70-75PSI, confidence restored!!

Those electrical gauges and senders really are crap!

[Chrisp5782]

BertBert said:

I wonder why so much store is put in to the accuracy of mechanical gauges?

30psi hot idle OP in a K is cloud-cuckoo land.

Bert

How do you figure? That's the reading both on the fitted mech gauge and a remote (garage equipment) mech gauge.

You should be getting 2Bar (28PSI) as a healthy hot idle pressure and around 4Bar (58PSI) at 3000RPM.

The reason I say the electrical gauge was crap was because it was never consistent in comparison to the mech gauges.

[Chrisp5782]

BertBert said:

I wonder why so much store is put in to the accuracy of mechanical gauges?

30psi hot idle OP in a K is cloud-cuckoo land.

Bert

How do you figure? That's the reading both on the fitted mech gauge and a remote (garage equipment) mech gauge.

You should be getting 2Bar (28PSI) as a healthy hot idle pressure and around 4Bar (58PSI) at 3000RPM.

The reason I say the electrical gauge was crap was because it was never consistent in comparison to the mech gauges.

[Chrisp5782]

freebee said:

my oil pressure electrical gauge 1.8 k series has always read low but I was horrified to see the needle reading under the red line at hot idle today. My logic says when I turn the ignition on engine not running the needle should be at 0 but its below zero. My gauge is 0 to 8 bar but I never see more than two bar.
so should I go to a mechanical gauge or just try a new sender, is there a mechanical gauge that matches, the dash set I have?

I'm a fan of the mech gauge, I believe they're more accurate and, just as importantly, consistent.

I bought my set up through Merlin Motorsport but it's the same as the equipment supplied by Think Automotive, £58 all in, cheap for peace of mind. Took about an hour to fit from start to finish.

The gauge is Mocal and whilst it doesn't match the CATERHAM gauges perfectly it certainly doesn't look out of place.

I've got a very new (less than 300 miles) CATERHAM sender and a couple of gauges for sale - if you're interested in them PM me.

[Chrisp5782]

freebee said:

I looked at the stack gauge it looks ideal, I presume I take out the electrical sender and screw in a tubing adapter, so what thread is the sender?

M12 if it's a post 2002 car I believe?

Mines a 2004 and it was an M12 to 1/8 BSP adaptor I needed.

[Chrisp5782]

Red Seven said:

To be more precise, it's M12 x 1.5

Probably struggle to find anything that isn't - it's a standard metric thread.

[Chrisp5782]

REALIST123 said:

Not really, M12 can have a pitch of 1.25, 1.5 or 1.75.

1.75 is the coarse pitch and would normally be regarded as 'standard'. The others are fine pitches and used if the thread depth could be a problem.

I was referring to the application, you wouldn't use a coarse thread on a fluid application.

I wasn't really after an argument either.