Auxiliary Gauges Are Entertaining, If Little Else - 2015 Ford Mustang GT Long-Term Road Test

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  kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863

  December 2015

  Gauges are cool, but they should relate to whatever the most likely problems of the car are going to be or are just for show. I'm sure every gauge that's been invented was done because of a problem that happened that needed to be monitored. You NEED a temperature gauge because if its in the upper range then your car is overheating and you need to pull over NOW. I would like to see gauges for things like the lowest tire pressure or maybe oil level. Ideally, there should be a permanent digital gauge that displays whatever is most relevant and can be toggled.

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  daryleason Member Posts: 501

  December 2015

  Frankly, I stopped trusting most factory gauges, after I found out that engine coolant temp gauges are designed to stay right in the middle until you've over-heated. They got tired of customers complaining about their engine temps fluctuating back and forth in traffic. It was easier to set the temp gauge to stay right in the middle than to try to educate the customer that it will run hotter if you're sitting there idling at a traffic light in August, but will drop down once you're rolling down the freeway.

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  dm7279 Member Posts: 63

  December 2015

  Pointless, sure, but it is a retro touch that brings back memories of an age where these types of gauges were expected, especially in a performance car. I would say a significant percentage of people who buy the Mustang (especially the GT) are of the demographic that remembers the "good old days" and may appreciate this option.

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  ebeaudoin Member Posts: 509

  December 2015

  On a side note- the dash in that Mustang looks so cheap. I see why so many manufacturers have gone the way of the touch screen; because they appear more expensive.

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  bankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021

  December 2015 edited December 2015

  I agree about the vacuum gauge, pointless in a non-turbo performance car, that should be an oil temperature gauge.
  
  I cannot disagree strongly enough about the oil pressure gauge though. Low OP at operating temp is a strong indicator of the internal condition of cam and crank bearings.
  
  Personally I would be happy if every car had 6 always visible gauges (for cars without reconfigurable IP's): tach, speedo, fuel, engine temp, OP, and volts. All of these together (assuming the engine gauges aren't buffered into uselessnes, which many are) give a nice snapshot of the running condition of your engine and a warning of potential pending failures.

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