Hewitt Industries Dual Boost Gauge

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
I bought this gauge back around Thanksgiving and installed it around Christmas time so I figured it's about time I take some pictures/video if it in action as I've been very happy with it. I think they're right about $90 as well so pretty cost effective, especially since it's two gauges in one.
First off, it's a Hewitt Industries 0-50 PSI Dual Boost Gauge. Very similar to an Air Pressure gauge that is found in vehicles with air brakes.


The connections have to come out the back with my frog eye dual gauge pod steering column setup - that's probably the only downside to this unit and a minor one at that in my opinion.

The gauge comes with ~10 foot lengths of this really nice thin hose and various fittings in 1/8 & 1/4 NPT both straight and 90. No filter/cotton/orifice/etc in the boost or EMP lines and the needles don't buzz. Well - the boost gauge buzzed a little for about the first month, but is completely smooth now The gauges are very responsive as you can (kind of) see in the video below.

Backlighting is white and dims with the rest of the gauges. I'm pretty sensitive to lighting and have found it to be a very good match in brightness with the OEM dash. I do kind of miss the blue backlighting, but the white is my second choice.

So with this gauge, I was able to take my EMP gauge out of my cluster which cleaned things up a bit.
Clockwise from bottom left: Air Fuel Ratio, Boost/EMP, Actuator Vacuum, EGT, Oil Pressure/Temp

Here's a really horrible video showing the gauge in action - the static like noise is rain on the windshield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NVA339cuss

From a functional standpoint, I can't see any reason not to put one of these in vs any other boost gauge for the money - especially if you've got a non stock turbo or have fiddled with your VNT mechanism.
 
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A5INKY

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Location
Louisville, KY
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI, 2002 Eurovan Westphalia VR6
Very nice, looks like I found my McNalley replacement. I really like that IMP & EMP can be shown on the same gauge with the same scale.

What color is the backlight? Is this an old style gauge you can slip a tinted cover over the LED to change colors?
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Feeling kinda stupid - unless you are running a dual-turbo setup, what is the advantage of this gauge?
 

Digital Corpus

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Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Location
Ontario, California
TDI
'97 B4 w/ 236K mi body, 46K mi soul
Measure/observe EMP and IMP on one gauge. 2:1 of EMP:IMP is a bit high so 1.5:1 is considered best, unless you can get better. The ratio is used for tuning VNT turbos so as to not choke the engine and keep things operating efficiently.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Very nice, looks like I found my McNalley replacement. I really like that IMP & EMP can be shown on the same gauge with the same scale.
What color is the backlight? Is this an old style gauge you can slip a tinted cover over the LED to change colors?
The LED is "sealed" inside (these can be mounted outside in the weather) so no easy changing like on other gauges.

The one I ordered is black face with white backlighting, but you can order it with red or green backlighting with a white or black face. Click on the link in the first post for all the info, but below are the color details




If you've got a stock turbo (1z, alh, PD) than the 0-30 psi version should be sufficient unless the actuator is way out of whack. If you're running a VNT17 or 17/22 up in the mid 20's boost and high RPM, you'll need/want the 0-50 psi gauge. I had my 17/22 setup such that I could have used the 0-30 psi gauge, but used all of my 60 psi separate EMP gauge to figure that out.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Feeling kinda stupid - unless you are running a dual-turbo setup, what is the advantage of this gauge?
As Digital Corpus said, it's for measuring exhaust pressure and intake pressure on the same gauge with the same scale - primarily for tuning VNT turbos.

I've been running a 0-30 psi boost gauge and a separate 0-60 psi exhaust pressure gauge for about 5 years or more - really helpful for troubleshooting, insuring the tuning is correct, etc.

My current turbo runs twice the boost pressure as exhaust pressure down in the 1500-2000 RPM range so is relatively efficient there. My 17/22 would run around 1:1 at similar boost pressure which is less efficient.
 

andy2

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Location
Bowmanville,Ontario,Canada
TDI
13 Jetta,94 Golf drag car 585bhp,Samurai buggy BHW 300bhp,97 Ram cummins
Just need to use an inline filter for the exhaust pressure or the gauge will get bunged up with gunk.I use a Numatics PLS-B Air Line Filter 125psig
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
I have not had one get messed up yet - The tube will get condensation in it in the winter and freeze, but once the cabin warms up and it thaws out, it works just fine again.

Maybe my tube/hose is long enough that it's not a problem (I've got all 10 feet coiled up under the dash)?

That said, the numatics PLS-B looks like a nice economical solution.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
So a couple months ago the exhaust side started getting sticky/slow. It would go up to 20 psi and then stay there when you let off the throttle, be slow to respond, etc. If you got the pressure above the sticking point it would rise farther and sometimes come back down and work again and sometimes not.

So, I pulled the hose off the back of the gauge and some thick black liquid came out (hint - don't do this when the engine is running!). The gauge seemed to work a bit better but a couple weeks ago it started getting sticky again. I pulled the hose off again (with the engine off this time!) and squirted brake clean down the tube which cleaned the tube out, but didn't really make the gauge work any better.

I'm guessing that they have a pretty small orifice right before the bourdon tube that acts as a check valve of sorts sometimes with all the schmutz in there. Must be smaller than the orifice that was in the 0-60 psi glycerin filled hydraulic gauge that I used to use.

I need to pull the gauge out to clean it properly and then install one of the filters that andy2 recommended above. Looks like I'll have to contact a local distributor to get one as they don't seem to be "for sale" online.

I'll report back once I know more

Overall though, I'm still very happy with the gauge despite this minor issue.
 

kbrenny

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Location
Mora, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta wagon TDI
Did you order it directly from Hewitt or do the have dealers / distributors?

I was just getting ready to hook up a temporary EMP gauge for testing but this could be a permanent and useful option.

I am going to hook mine up through a drilled and tapped EGR block off plate.

How did you hook yours up to the exhaust manifold, and what type of hose / line and fittings did you use to connect to the manifold ?
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Machineman - the red needle is exhaust, green is boost

kbrenny - I ordered directly from Hewitt in California.

I've used EGR Ports or drilled/tapped in the manifold - both seem to work fine. I have a ~8" straight piece of stainless 1/4" tubing with swagelok ends and then go to any kind of tubing to the gauge. No need for spiral wound copper, etc in my opinion. Stainless has less than half the heat transfer coefficient of steel and less than 10% of copper so no problems with the tubing getting too hot - just run it away from the manifold. The tube that Hewitt provided with the gauge is really nice stuff.
 

kbrenny

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Location
Mora, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta wagon TDI
I just got off the phone with them and ordered mine.

They offer a stainless kit for hooking up to the exhaust manifold.
He said it would include everything to go from the manifold to the plastic tube and not have to worry about melting the tube or seals on the fittings.

The stainless kit is not listed on their website but their tech support guy recommended it. List price was $45 but he said he would give me the biggest discount management would let him since I was ordering it with a gauge.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Cool about the stainless kit - Grab some pictures and a part number when you get it and post it up here if you would please.

I've got 10 of these filters (PLS-T so it has the 1/4" ends) coming from a local distributor for myself and a couple other people who were interested. I'll have a few left over, let me know if you want one or two or whatever. Probably ~$15/ea at your door.
 

andy2

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Location
Bowmanville,Ontario,Canada
TDI
13 Jetta,94 Golf drag car 585bhp,Samurai buggy BHW 300bhp,97 Ram cummins
Where do you get these from?

I found them on ebay however they don't appear to be common.I stumbled upon this filter as BD diesel performance uses them in the EBP gauge kits.BD recommends replacing the filter once a year and do sell them separately.I never bothered to call BD even though we are a dealer for them.

Might be worth a call to see..

I use one on my truck with the exhaust brake and it freezes up in the winter.Havn't looked at it since I put it in 3 years ago.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
Exhaust is very wet. You probably got some condensation built up in there when you had something drain out.
Make a low point in the tube, and use something oversized like 5/16" or 1/4" line, and the fluid would work like a P-trap in your house's plumbing.
Then the only thing contacting the gauge's bourdon tube will be relatively clean air. Sorta like those diaphragm gauge isolators, but with water/condensation as the diaphragm instead.
 
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