Stack gauges

athens7 · November 26, 2009

Having been spoiled by the mechanical oil pressure gauge I installed this summer, I thought it would be nice to have a water temperature gauge I could rely on as well. Mocal makes a mechanical water temperature gauge, but the capillary tube probe is too big for my sender hole. Stack claimed on their website to make a mechanical gauge with a 1/8 NPT thread pitch probe, but when I got it, it was 1/2 NPT. So I went with one of Stack's electrical stepper motor gauges. Again the Stack website was wrong about thread pitches, but the good folks at Merlin Motorsport got me the correct parts. The temperature gauge sender hole on the SVT Zetec thermostat housing is 1/8 NPT, as is the sender for both Metric and English Stack water temperature gauges (the Stack website says the metric gauge sender is M10x1). In order to not have 3 different types of gauges on my dash, I swapped out the Mocal oil pressure gauge for a Stack unit. I have a Stack fuel gauge on order to complete the set.

Pros to the Stack gauges-

very high quality compared to stock

better mounting hardware

very accurate/responsive

solid state senders

Cons to the gauges-

they look very different than the stock gauges

-brighter lights (LED)

-illuminated needles

-purple/black bezels, especially noticeable in sunlight

Stack recommends a 1 amp fusible link in the wiring, which they do not provide

As one can see from the night pictures, there is a striking difference in the brightness of the gauges. The Stack gauges are not too bright, just whiter and more visible. I am getting LED bulbs to replace the incandescent ones in the speedo and tach in the hope that they will be closer to the Stack lighting.

All in all, the Stack gauges are very nice, especially if one is willing to go whole hog and buy the complete set. If the goal is simply to replace the crappy Caterham oil pressure gauge/sender, I would recommend the Mocal gauge, as it looks and lights very much like the stock gauges. With that honest but perhaps shameless plug said, I am selling my Mocal gauge if anyone is interested. Less than 6 months old, new condition. Cost new $50, $30 obo plus $5 shipping.