I've spent hours on here reading and reading and i just have a few questions, mainly regarding gauges.

What do boost gauges measure?
and what do pyro gauges measure?

I have a 1997 12V CTD and I'm wanting to put on a 5 inch strait pipe and intake and eventually injectors and a good fuel plate. I just want to cover all bases so I dont break anything!

 

psi boost and egts

 

boost measures the psi of air that the turbo pushes to the intake, and the pyrometer (EGT gauge) measures the *F temperature that the exhaust gasses are when they come out of the cylinders into the exhaust manifold if the temperature probe is mounted in the exhaust manifold and not in the exhaust down pipe...

Only pyro is necesary for slightly modified trucks but both are good to have to monitor engine operations...

I could go much more in depth, but only if you ask for it...

 

It seems that pyro is pretty simple.

I'm still pretty confused on the boost tho, the concept is there, but why would you want to know the psi of that Air ? ? ?

 

The boost gauge measures the pressure that your turbo is supplying to the engine. The turbo is basically an air compressor. The more air you get in, the more fuel you can burn, the more power you get. So, it helps to know how much boost you are running out of your turbo. If you aren't running enough boost, your exhaust temps will also go up, hence the need for a pyro. I think that is how it works, as I have only been into diesels for a year or so. Someone else can probably get more technical with it, but I don't want to step in an area and get something wrong.

 

Boost pressure is a good start when you are trying to troubleshoot excessive black smoke or low power issues.
Raising boost (slightly) can also be used to lower EGT's by a few hundred degrees if you constantly pull long grades.
If you plan to add more fuel (moving plate forward or adding new, more radical plate) then you can make better use of that fuel if you bump up boost too.
Too much boost though can wreak havock on your head gaskets.
Dry Creek