Boost gauge install, cluster pod

ping

Member
Contributor
OK, some pics and a few thoughts:

I'm happy with the location, easy to see but also easy to block if you drive at 10&2 rather than 9&3. It does block the ABS warning light a little, but if it were to illuminate I'd see it.

I should've gotten the Ultralite as it'd match the stock gauges better; the Phantom face is slightly too white and it doesn't have the brushed rim to match my DaveB rings! While I like it, others opinions may vary, and if anyone wants to trade I'm open. The gauge works great. 6-7PSI at WOT (occasional instantaneous spike to ~8 at tip-in) and below 20mm hg at idle, with good response and stability.

Autometer red illumination matches the stock gauges really well - I wish it were not ring-illuminated but backlit thru the numbers, but hey this is a sub-$100 mod including the gauge, old gauge surround, dremel bit, and patience.

Tapping into the vac line and running the line thru the firewall was a piece of cake, only required a 1' length of vac hose and a tee, $3 total from a local shop. There's a great grommet just to the fender side of the brake pedal...

Gauge lights dim with the dash lights, just had to tap into the proper wires on the dimmer (one wire to the blue/white, one to the green/black). The gauge does definitely reflect a red circle into the windshield at night - it's up high on the left side of the windshield; time will tell if it becomes a PITA or if I get used to it. I may quick-fab a gauge surround to eliminate the glare.

Running wires under the Protege dash is easy compared to the VW's I used to work on - lots of room (well, I'm not all that large either - it helps).

Oh - and I can't hold a camera steady to save my life (apologies for the blurry night shot).

I'll probably get one of the molded surrounds if they ever come out - and if I do the gauge wiring is already done. I like the cluster mount as it's less obvious than the pillar and I still have my storage cubby; cubby mount would be my close second choice.

So... enjoy! Now on to wiring up the red city lights and red Madeye lights... now that it's a little warmer... and I have a spare carbon-fiber Autotech single gauge pod now...
 

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hey i like it, me personally i could never use this because i drive 1 handed at 1205. I can drive with 2 but never do unless i'm dimming lights from brights in a curve etc.......Nice job looks professional man.
 
ping said:
OK, some pics and a few thoughts:

I'm happy with the location, easy to see but also easy to block if you drive at 10&2 rather than 9&3. It does block the ABS warning light a little, but if it were to illuminate I'd see it.

I should've gotten the Ultralite as it'd match the stock gauges better; the Phantom face is slightly too white and it doesn't have the brushed rim to match my DaveB rings! While I like it, others opinions may vary, and if anyone wants to trade I'm open. The gauge works great. 6-7PSI at WOT (occasional instantaneous spike to ~8 at tip-in) and below 20mm hg at idle, with good response and stability.

Autometer red illumination matches the stock gauges really well - I wish it were not ring-illuminated but backlit thru the numbers, but hey this is a sub-$100 mod including the gauge, old gauge surround, dremel bit, and patience.

Tapping into the vac line and running the line thru the firewall was a piece of cake, only required a 1' length of vac hose and a tee, $3 total from a local shop. There's a great grommet just to the fender side of the brake pedal...

Gauge lights dim with the dash lights, just had to tap into the proper wires on the dimmer (one wire to the blue/white, one to the green/black). The gauge does definitely reflect a red circle into the windshield at night - it's up high on the left side of the windshield; time will tell if it becomes a PITA or if I get used to it. I may quick-fab a gauge surround to eliminate the glare.

Running wires under the Protege dash is easy compared to the VW's I used to work on - lots of room (well, I'm not all that large either - it helps).

Oh - and I can't hold a camera steady to save my life (apologies for the blurry night shot).

I'll probably get one of the molded surrounds if they ever come out - and if I do the gauge wiring is already done. I like the cluster mount as it's less obvious than the pillar and I still have my storage cubby; cubby mount would be my close second choice.

So... enjoy! Now on to wiring up the red city lights and red Madeye lights... now that it's a little warmer... and I have a spare carbon-fiber Autotech single gauge pod now...
Very nice!! Hehe I have the Phantom gauges and way off =(
 
what kind of a pod did you use. and where can i get one. i love it. it's just what i was looking for.
 
Nice job on the gauge pod. But please, vacuum your carpet! And where are your mats? Shame on you ping, your old enought to know better!! (chair)
 
run4life: No pod, that's a naked gauge, I painted the outside flat black with high-temp flat black grill paint from a rattlecan (durable, and something I had in the basement).

I bought a used instrument surround from LAMP3's wrecked MP3, measured, measured again, marked and measured again, then dremeled a hole in it and slipped the gauge in. Sounds simple and, while it was pretty straightforward, it did require a steady hand and some time. Check the pics for underside detail. The black tape is Scotch 33 electrical tape - great stuff - and it's there only to block any extraneous light from peeking through. The tape is not structural - the gauge is held in by a good fit and one screw (major kudos to anyone who can tell me where that "unusual" fastener came from). I painted the screw head flat black as well so it didn't stand out against the instruments.

I just looked at my pic again - the Phantom gauges are certainly a little off the MSP color, but aren't near as bad as the pic makes them look! BTW, the carpets have been not only vacuumed since the pic was taken, but also mildly shampooed, with the rubber winter mats cleansed in fresh, fine quality spring water. (those are the mats you're seeing, the Mazdaspeed mats were gently stored in a cool, dry place for winter) (OK, OK, mats were "thrown in the cellar", but it IS dehumidified!)

Thanks for the kind words!
 

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ping said:
run4life: No pod, that's a naked gauge, I painted the outside flat black with high-temp flat black grill paint from a rattlecan (durable, and something I had in the basement).

I bought a used instrument surround from LAMP3's wrecked MP3, measured, measured again, marked and measured again, then dremeled a hole in it and slipped the gauge in. Sounds simple and, while it was pretty straightforward, it did require a steady hand and some time. Check the pics for underside detail. The black tape is Scotch 33 electrical tape - great stuff - and it's there only to block any extraneous light from peeking through. The tape is not structural - the gauge is held in by a good fit and one screw (major kudos to anyone who can tell me where that "unusual" fastener came from). I painted the screw head flat black as well so it didn't stand out against the instruments.

I just looked at my pic again - the Phantom gauges are certainly a little off the MSP color, but aren't near as bad as the pic makes them look! BTW, the carpets have been not only vacuumed since the pic was taken, but also mildly shampooed, with the rubber winter mats cleansed in fresh, fine quality spring water. (those are the mats you're seeing, the Mazdaspeed mats were gently stored in a cool, dry place for winter) (OK, OK, mats were "thrown in the cellar", but it IS dehumidified!)

Thanks for the kind words!

that's awesome, thans for the walk through. it's nice to see people shaing ideas. I have no idea how to take apart the dash board like that but i'm sure i can find out somehow.
 
^ just be carefull not to brake the clips...and place a towel on your steering column so u dont scratch the clear plastic.
 
Sorry i'm such a jackass and all, but which vacuum line do you have to tap into...sorry if that sounds really retarted, but i've got an autometer boost gauge, and i havn't installed it, cuz i don't know which vacuum line to tap into yet. Thanx guys any feedback would be good.
 
MSP2NV said:
Sorry i'm such a jackass and all, but which vacuum line do you have to tap into...sorry if that sounds really retarted, but i've got an autometer boost gauge, and i havn't installed it, cuz i don't know which vacuum line to tap into yet. Thanx guys any feedback would be good.

just do a search on this forum for "boost gauge installation" you should find a good walk through. or go to the "how-to" portion of the site
 
MSP2NV said:
Sorry i'm such a jackass and all, but which vacuum line do you have to tap into...sorry if that sounds really retarted, but i've got an autometer boost gauge, and i havn't installed it, cuz i don't know which vacuum line to tap into yet. Thanx guys any feedback would be good.
Pretty easy on the vacuum line, and no worries you're not a jackass, least not that I can tell from here. Actually, there are several nipples on the intake manifold just behind the engine - you want to be downstream of the throttle body and upstream of the engine. I didn't use the one shown in a previous post, but rather tapped into another that was held on with spring clips - sorry I don't have a pic and won't take one b/c the "tee" I used is ugly (if I get a chance I'll email you one). I used a vacuum "tee" and, not having spring clips for my ends of the "tee", I used some high-strength high-temp UV resistant (you guessed it) zipties to further secure the tubing. The "tee" has internal ribs to secure the tubes, but that's meant for vacuum not boost so I figured the zipties would at least provide some extra security. I've got a few hundred miles on the setup and no problems yet.
 
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