Gauges are go!!

[Pugme]

well after a bit of a let down at the dyno run, i discovered the car isnt holding boost properly it still got 265 at the fly, but before i try to fix the boost issue i need to gt my gauges in so today i got my finger out and got some in!! not wired yet tho, they are 52mm gauges,(from left to right) oil temp, boost, oil pressure

the mdf plate will get painted or leathered black, i got two options leave as they are, or what i may do is removed the smoked lenses and cups so i just have a gauge in a pod sort of thing, then place a tinted perspex panel over the front face of all of them to keep the oem look rather than tokyo drift gauge style!!

what do ya reckon?


http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h187/P11gme/P4030397.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h187/P11gme/P4030396.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h187/P11gme/P4030394.jpg

[apeman69]

Go with the tinted perspex panel. The overlap of black plastic stuff around the dash hole and the clock's top cowling mean you do not have to be perfect in shaping your piece of perspex :)
I opted for a medium grey tinted perspex which is extremely close (in shade) to the stuff on the dash clocks and the clock perspex. However, you'll be able to see through it and everything behind the perspex. That's why I put a black piece of paper over the top of the gauges with cut-outs for the displays. Non-gauge areas look black and it fits in nicely with everything else.
If you've ever disassembled the dash clocks you'll see that it has a black backing plate that the gauge designs are printed onto. You need something similar to this behind the perspex so it looks OEM and you don't see the gaps between your gauges. If you're doing perspex then painting the MDF black may not be enough as you might be able to perceive the depth of the gauge from light reflecting and refracting. I'd mount the gauges as far forwards in the apperture (as close to the perspex) as possible, if not touching it.
One final tip: look at the assembled unit, in the car, in direct sunlight. If the black area behind the perspex is not black enough (it really needs to be a solid black) then you'll notice it in these circumstances.

Sorry if I'm teaching my granny....

43521
43520

My gauges need to come out and be moved forwads a touch which I'll get around to one day (it'll only take an hour start to finish) because I can see that the boost gauge is mounted too far back... the depth perception I was trying to describe.

[Pugme]

435704357143572

ok lenses are off, just waiting for some black leaher to turn up, so i can trim the panel.

just gotta wire them up and sort the perspex.

[Mark 4]

We're drifting apart again Darren.

[aboo]

Yeah that dash needs a good dusting:p

[Pugme]

dont worry it will look very oem when the tinted perspex goes over the front. its boost, oil temp and oil pressure, the last thing i want is some in ya face a pod gauges!! i need the gauges to monitor the car properly :)

i know its filthy, it got like that from trimming the clock area out.

[Pugme]

bit more work done tonight. well there in and the front plate is done, 90% happy with the trimming, the perspexs got a bit scratched, ill see how it comes up after the glue has set which is holding it to the top cover, if the scratches bug me i have enough perspex to do another one. the 2 black blobs are double sided tape where i was trial fitting.

all that is left is to physically wire them up in the bay.

if once the top cover is fully pushed down i may do a very thin black silicone bead round the edge of the perspex just so no light can escape.

435914359243593

[aboo]

I'm not feeling this. Gauges are getting covered & you have them sitting at weird angles.

[Pugme]

covered?? its tinted perspex :)

the first pic was b4 i put the cover in, the middle pic the cover is on and the third pic the cover is on. when ignition is off, the cover goes black, when on it is translucent :D

the gauges are angled so the important parts of the gauge are visible. the not fixed yet, but will all have to sit 45 degrees to the right if you know what i mean

once car is up to temp the far left needle will be straight up, not sure what oil pressure will be but guessing it will be "2 o clock ish) and boost 0 is at the top, 1 bar at "3' o clock"

[aboo]

I mean by covered some of the gauges are not visible. I can see your thinking but it doesn't look right to me. Sorry. There are others that have put the gauges in the same place & look a lot better imho.

[Pugme]

the only othe thread i could find on 3 in the clock was this one

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?46242-three-52mm-gauges-in-the-clock-bay-it-s-possible!&highlight=gauges

and mine sit pretty much the same as his except 45'd the opposite way due simply to different make of gauges.

[apeman69]

I'm not feeling this. Gauges are getting covered & you have them sitting at weird angles.

Same here. Sorry mate but I just don't like the angled gauges. It looks obvious that they didn't fit in the available space and that you've tried to make the best of it. Maybe if I had a bad neck and a propensity to lean to the left then they'd be great!

[c0xxy]

how hard would it be to raise the clock roof bit?

[Pugme]

they can be straightened up once iv resolved my boost issue, for now tho i need to be able to accurately see what boost the car is hitting, once sorted ill straighten them up, end of the day, you use the oil temp to know when the car is warm, you dont need figures for that, oil pressure you only need to know if it drops, boost you need to know what psi your hitting, iv over rotated it so i can clearly see 0-1bar and then set the other 2 gauges to suit. there will be no need for this once the boost problem is fixed :)

so i can straighten them up in a while :D

im pleased with them,they do what i need, i dont have any gauge pods on show :) hold on im going out for a fag lemme straighten them and sit the cover on

hmmm not sure on raising the clock roof

[c0xxy]

i do like it, but thinking... if you could raise it so it looked like a smaller version of the dash, be beautiful!

[Pugme]

43594

result, should of tried this first!! lol, cos of the large numbers on the boost gauge its perfectly visible when upright!! lol

better??

when the cover is pressed down (how it will be when fixed) the light doesnt creap under the bottom :) also i will clean the silicone off the top edge tomorrow

[MarkSanne]

Anyone who knows where you can buy tinted perspex online? It seems hard to find here in the netherlands. Only clear perspex everywhere. I've been looking for it since I started this madness years ago.

[Atik]

Here you go Mark..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PERSPEX-ACRYLIC-SHEET-TINTED-QTY-1-/120696688865?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement _Equipment_ET&hash=item1c1a1550e1#ht_672wt_906
Seller doesn't state European delivery, but worth asking. If you need, I'm happy to have it delivered to me and I can forward to you.

[MarkSanne]

Ah! That is cheap. I'll try to work it out. Thanks!

[apeman69]

There's a company I've dealt with before that has lots of choice: size and colour options but they are more expensive. Last time I looked their website was being redeveloped. plasticonline.co.uk or plasticsonline.co.uk
They'll also cut it to a more usable size if you don't fancy doing it yourself.

Sent from my Huge Brain using MyFingers :)

[HOODY]

Liking the effort gone into this, im currently looking for gauges to suit the interior, at first i was just going to go for a stand alone boost gauge, but now thinking may go for 3 in a pod but not sure which pods fit the A post, now ive just come across this post, thinking how i could do this aswell, i would prefer to see all the gauge tho.
Just found these:
sold seperatly @ 20quid...hmmmmm
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MATCHING-SET-6-PLASMA-DISPLAY-GAUGES-SEE-VIDEO-/380243570368?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5888486ec0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQZu7XYbfGk


was it easy to wire in the oil gauges m8?

[aboo]

I have one of these for boost Steve.http://www.extremeautoaccessories.co.uk/show_image.php?img=2_1173445883.jpg Go's really well with the dash

[HOODY]

cheers Andy! just looking at various ones on youtube now, thinking I may go for the smoked out lookin ones... decisions decisions.. your right tho, that one does fit in with the dash colours.

[crazyken76]

pete m is making some carbon evo clock pods at the moment they mite work

[HMG1K]

Still not right for me, the gagues look squeezed in, especially the side ones. Weren't there smaller dials available? All the numbers on the dials need to be visible otherwise, aesthetically, it's not good. :-(. Sorry. :-)

[crazyken76]

44330 this looks better

[Pugme]

the trouble im seeing with all these alternative methods of pods and gauges are they are too in your face, i want to keep the inside of this car looking as clean and as simple as possible, iv still not had the time to wire up the oil pressure or temps! lol

but i will get this finsihed b4 modified nationals!

[HOODY]

I do like crazykens photo, and would really like that look, however i dont want to part with my kenwood doubledin stereo, i like it tooo much..lol

[HOODY]

what other places have people placed them at?

[mattnz]

I've got two mounted on the A-pillar, and one mounted on the door card :)

[HOODY]

Got this one arrived friday, nice n simple..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JDM-STYLE-60mm-Smoke-lense-2Bar-Boost-Gauge-/370441502831?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item564008c06f

[HOODY]

just thinking if you use the middle clock bit maybe these would work well behind tinted plastic, and take the silver surround of the gauge off too..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-x-52mm-DIGITAL-GAUGE-Oil-Temp-Press-Boost-Water-/370501897289?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5643a24c49

btw..dont mean to say your way is no good m8, just another idea to throw into the thread..

[HOODY]

found wiring instructions..woooo

[sabreuk]

heres my boost gauge that ive finaly got working its the plasma type gauge but works quite well i think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTDMckAqo7s

[crazyken76]

heres my boost gauge that ive finaly got working its the plasma type gauge but works quite well i think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTDMckAqo7s
nice thats where my gauge is at the mo

[sabreuk]

thanks ken,

[kNuTz]

what other places have people placed them at?

This is what I ended up doing.

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=41802&d=1297930787

[c0xxy]

just seen this which i think is brilliant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8&feature=grec_index
ash

[SteveH]

just seen this which i think is brilliant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8&feature=grec_index
ash

That looks pretty cool. not sure about the square cut out on the dash but theres no reason you couldn't have the little "A" piece slide up a few centimetres like a bed end tv. although i have no idea how much room there is under the dash for a frame and motors.

[foxdie]

just seen this which i think is brilliant!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRx7R8KwX_8&feature=grec_index
ash

Atik! I think we just found a kick ass method of hiding Smokescreen :D

[SteveH]

That looks pretty cool. not sure about the square cut out on the dash but theres no reason you couldn't have the little "A" piece slide up a few centimetres like a bed end tv. although i have no idea how much room there is under the dash for a frame and motors.

Abit like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-qACzj77A or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjZoka0dJLQ&NR=1