AEM X-Series Boost Gauge Kits

AEM X-Series Boost Gauge Kits: 30-0306 and 30-0308

If you're adding a boost gauge to your Honda or Acura, AEM's X-Series gives you a reading you can check afterward as well as watch while driving. You can come back to the peak reading after you've switched the car off, or send the pressure signal to your logger while you're driving. AEM offers two kits here, so you'll choose between the 35-psi 30-0306 and the 60-psi 30-0308 before you order.

Choose the gauge and sensor together

The 30-0306 comes with a 3.5-bar brass MAP sensor and displays boost up to 35 psi, or 2.5 bar. The 30-0308 takes the display up to 60 psi, or 4 bar, and comes with a different 5-bar brass MAP sensor. You've also got manifold vacuum on either version.

If you're expecting more than 35 psi, you'll need the 60-psi kit. There's no menu setting that turns the smaller kit into the larger one. You can change units, the warning and the peak setting with the buttons, but you're still working with the gauge and sensor you ordered.

Both arrive with a black bezel and a reversible black faceplate. If you prefer bar to psi, you'll reverse that faceplate as well as change the display mode. AEM's manual walks you through opening the gauge to do it.

The brass sensor and your ECU

For a reading on the dash, you've got the brass sensor supplied with the kit. AEM describes brass boost sensors as a reference for you, the driver. Its recommendation changes to stainless when you're choosing a more precise pressure sensor for ECU calibration. So if you're buying parts for an ECU installation as well, you've got another sensor decision to make.

You can log the reading from this gauge, but that doesn't make its sender the right MAP sensor for every ECU. Check what your ECU needs from its MAP sensor before you connect the AEM sender to it. The X-Series has four digits in its center readout. You'll still need to look at the sensor specification when you're considering measurement accuracy.

Peak recall on the X-Series

You don't have to watch for the highest number while you're driving. You've got the PEAK button to bring up the maximum, including after you've turned off the car. Before another run, you can clear the peak you've already stored.

For a closer look at what happened, you can record the X-Series reading in your ECU or logger. You'll have the pressure trace to compare with the rest of your data, including when you reached that peak. You can connect through 0-5 V analog or through AEMnet CAN. You'll need AEMnet support on the receiving device if you wire the gauge to its CAN input.

For analog logging, you've got the calibration in the manual for the kit you bought, along with separate analog-positive and analog-negative wiring instructions. Follow those signal-ground instructions instead of adding the signal return to a convenient power ground.

You can set the center display to flash above or below a pressure you choose, using the tune and operating limits for your engine. If you're looking for wastegate control, you'll need a boost controller as a separate part of the setup. The X-Series also dims its display automatically. You've got that feature when you're using the gauge after dark, along with the flashing warning when pressure crosses the threshold you've chosen.

Mounting the shallow X-Series housing

The X-Series housing measures 0.825 inch deep overall. Only 0.200 inch of that is the cup behind the mounting face, so you've got less gauge housing to accommodate behind your pod or panel. You'll still need room for the connector and the harness to leave the back of the gauge without being crushed. The supplied bracket and thumb nuts secure it in a 52 mm opening.

You'll use the pressure sensor out at your intake, with the harness running back to the gauge. AEM recommends remote mounting with flexible tubing and vibration isolation to help it last longer. If you've got exhaust components along the harness route, keep the wiring clear of their heat. You'll need a protected location inside your car for the gauge itself, since it isn't waterproof.

If your pod opening is a little larger than 52 mm, you've got the supplied rubber band to help the gauge fit more snugly. AEM still recommends that you secure it with the bracket. A gauge that pushes neatly into the pod needs to stay there when you're driving, too.

Specifications

Available kits

Parts supplied with each kit

AEM supplies the gauge and its matching brass sensor, plus the power/I/O harness you'll wire into your car. You've got the bracket, thumb nuts and retaining band for mounting it, and four insulated butt connectors in the box. You'll also find a tee and 36 inches of 7/64-inch vacuum hose for the pressure connection. The adapter supplied with them has a 1/8 NPT female thread and a 3/16-inch barb.

If you're fitting it to a boosted Honda or Acura, you'll choose the pod or panel and the pressure takeoff to suit your car. You're buying a universal gauge kit, so those mounting details depend on your car. You'll also need a 5 A inline fuse on the switched 12 V supply to the gauge. AEM doesn't include that fuse, so add it to your order if you haven't already got one.