Oil Pressure Gauge

[LEV_101]

well, i got given a Oil Pressure Gauge. and wonder what if shows ... i know it shows oil pressure ... but why do people need it for.

thanks for any help !

[ATAl]

In a nut shell: When it goes to zero while the engine is going it's new engine time

[Ae92typeX]

in a nutshell- above (actually, if its still going at zero its impressive)

For a day to day car most people would not need one...but it allows you to monitor pressure at different times, be it idle, cruise etc. You can compare this to the spec's and see if its what it should be, and it can also be helpful if you are testing different oils in the car, as some when warmed will be at different pressures (although all good oils will be fine anyway).
I run one, and various others in my mini, but I dont even have an engine light so its more necessary for me (well piece of mind anyway).

[TygerTung]

Some engines won't mind losing oil pressure for a short while, but some engines will die VERY quickly.

[ollieboy]

in a nutshell- above (actually, if its still going at zero its impressive)

I used to have a mitsi cordia, it suffered severely from mitsi syndrome (worn valve guides, rings and turbo). Used to top it up with oil and about hundred k's later the oil gauge would read zero. Look at the dipstick No oil, Oh well.

Constantly topped it up so I decided to try and kill it. About 600 k's with no oil and it was still going, That was quite impressive, then I sold it for a large profit. Problem Solved but I am still amazed it went with hardly any oil for so long and I still see it driving round sometimes, pursued by an ominous cloud of blue smoke.

[Ae92typeX]

haha, yea, weve killed afew mitzi's cos of lack of oil...you must have had a strong one.
When it dosent register on the stick you still have shit loads (well potentially) most sticks only show the top 1L ish.

[matt dunn]

Back in the days when i still had my KP60 starlet,
I could tell when it needed oil because the oil light flashed on when you braked hard. Time for another litre or two.

IMO if you are running a gauge instead of a light you are waiting for a disater.
Either run a light, or both.

Matt