Custom Gauge Cluster

[Shin_Kudo]

I've been thinking of making my own custom gauge cluster. In other words, I will cut out a plate that will replace the cluster "glass". It'll most likely be CF. I'll then cut holes in the plate and mount aftermarket gauges. I think this would be the most professional and elegant way to mount aftermarket gauges. There are a few issues, though. Does anyone make an aftermarket fuel gauge? Ir will I have to mount the stock one in the new cluster? Also, are aftermarket speedometers aveilable, or should I just use a display unit and have that display the speed?

Finally, has anyone else done anything like this? I've seen it in Option, but never in the US.

[ThatGuy]

Autometer makes speedo, fuel guages and more. Check out any Hot Rod site for other options.

[SilviaDriver]

drag racers do this all the time. the real hardcore one at least. all they have is the tach..forget the speedo haha

[twitchy]

if i had to make one, i would have a 240kmh speedo, small fuel gauge, big tach, coolant etc...
( i dont find a huge problem with stock although i want to put in the faster-reading speedo)

but a few other little goodies, like theres this one car i was in, and i forget what it was, but you press a button at night and all instrument lights go off cept for the speedo. The fuel lights up occasionally

little things like that. I like the idea personally and id love to see pics as you progress. But as a personal preference, I like the stock ones cause they look...well stock and i like that. I hate that when im doing 120 kms the needle is 0.75 around though. Even my dads civic at that speed is only halfway around the dial.

[Shin_Kudo]

I'm not gonna do this for a while. Part of why I want to do it is just to have something different. I'd been thinking of a Stack gauge, or of getting a Defi system, but this method seems like it'll be the cleanest and most original. What I'm trying to decide on is how I'll do the small gauges. As I see it, I could either have a set of, say, four (let's say gas, coolant temp, oil temp, and oil pressure) small gauges with a big tach and speedo (like on an FC), or one of the large gauges that have four needles for the four functions, or I could have an electronic display (Blitz, A'PEX, Defi, etc) that would show speed and everything else. Maybe I'd keep the gas gauge (because I don't think the displays do that), and put in a boost gauge once I KA-T / SR swap. I like the display because it's cool, but it'd also be more expensive, and I sort of prefer to have analog gauges.

But it needs to be done at some point, as I want to have all the pressures and temperatures on display.

Plus, someone scratched "Pink Gozdira" into my Tach, which just won't do......

[Brian]

as far as i know, a STACK unit would handle evenry single one of the functions you need.
you get the normal style Tach, but every other reading is below it digitally.
they are quite expensive though. :(

[Steeles]

crazy expensive. Defi has a similar unit out in japan to I believe.

[240KAT]

Isn't HKS's CAMP unit the same, yet terribly unsuccessful?
Also, all that wiring is going to blow.

[Salty_X]

http://img47.photobucket.com/albums/v145/salty_x/gauges_2.jpg

Not my car, but you get the idea...
There are plenty of companies that make aftermarket fuel gauges and speedos.
The oem fuel gauge looks pretty small, so unless the mechanism itself is gigantic I couldn't imagine finding a smaller gauge.
Also f you have HUD you could always use that to make room for other gauges in place of the in-cluster display.

[Steeles]

haha thats exactly what I wanna do with myguage cluster Salty. find a digital fuel guage put a tach boost guage and oil pressure in and have it look pretty stock