180sx LED Interior

[Touge180sx]

Finally getting my car back together after it being apart for a few months and added a couple new interior mods. LED's in gauge cluster and Digital climate control, My original bulbs in climate control, half were burnt out so I figured why not fix it so it matches, Will be adding some sort of led panel in for dome light within a couple days.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8611/wt002f.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1033/wt004.jpg
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/699/wt011t.jpg

[infamous240sx]

Yeah im planning on doing the same to my s13 as well. how long did it take you btw? Any soldering involved?

[cc4usmc]

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[H4ck3d4l1f3]

Yeah im curious how it's done....??

haha is it just swapping the bulbs or what?

[ixfxi]

you have hotspots.

[Touge180sx]

you have hotspots.

Theres not much way around it unless adding leds everywhere in the cluster or using a kouki 180sx cluster, Since the 3 main lighting bulbs are places almost right across the middle the higher part of the cluster is slightly darker, Which it also is(or was in my car) with regular bulbs.

Its done by adding LED's :P

you have to modify the DCC for the LED's the cluster is plug and play.

[ixfxi]

http://clearcorners.com/temp/interior5.jpg

Theres not much way around it unless adding leds everywhere in the cluster or using a kouki 180sx cluster

or just spend the time to do a good job. this pic has been tossed around for years now, i think i took this photo back in 00-01 because my car was still automatic and i still had an interior. btw, it doesnt matter which cluster you use - they all use the same design, just different faces and needles. i had a 89-90 cluster and now fitted the car with all 96-98 180SX parts.

is your digital climate control fully operable? ac and all?

[NORFY]

one way to help reduce hotspots is to file the top domed part of the led flat and leave it with a rough finish. helps dissapate the light more evenly

[ixfxi]

one way to help reduce hotspots is to file the top domed part of the led flat and leave it with a rough finish. helps dissapate the light more evenly

you mean disperse. dont forget that this also reduces light output. there is always a sacrifice.

[ze12o]

I've heard good things about the 120 degree leds >shrugs< One day i will do this. How did you do yours ixfxi?

[ILoveMyRHS13]

Uhh, just get wide angle LEDs.

[White Comet]

in the near future i plan on going with white leds in my 180sx kouki cluster.


red looks good though

[ericcastro]

http://clearcorners.com/temp/interior5.jpg



or just spend the time to do a good job. this pic has been tossed around for years now, i think i took this photo back in 00-01 because my car was still automatic and i still had an interior. btw, it doesnt matter which cluster you use - they all use the same design, just different faces and needles. i had a 89-90 cluster and now fitted the car with all 96-98 180SX parts.

is your digital climate control fully operable? ac and all?

yeah, do tell :keke:


I have had red for 2 years now, with hotspots, but I rarely look at the gauge anyways.
But I wanna do a different color, or back to a blue hue/tone.

Would like the light more even though.
so spill those beans!!:drama:

[ixfxi]

how did i do it................... the hard way. will i reveal how? not gonna do it.

i will say that i highly recommend NOT going with blue, its not an ideal color for gauges for a multitude of reasons. stick with amber or red, possibly green.. and white is the very last i would select.

[ILoveMyRHS13]

Why not white? Just curious because I'm interested in doing the same and I'm not a huge fan of red gauges.

[HalveBlue]

White and bright lights seriously fuck up your night and peripheral vision.

Blue is incredibly straining on your eyes in dark environments.

Red/amber and green lights offer a large amount of contrast in dark environments, offering quick and easy recognition, without straining rods in your eyes, preserving your natural night vision.

Just look at an airplane cockpit. Chances are 90%+ of the lights are amber or green.

[aoiken3]

^^huh. you learn something new everyday. thanks halveblue

[ixfxi]

White and bright lights seriously fuck up your night and peripheral vision.

Blue is incredibly straining on your eyes in dark environments.

Red/amber and green lights offer a large amount of contrast in dark environments, offering quick and easy recognition, without straining rods in your eyes, preserving your natural night vision.

Just look at an airplane cockpit. Chances are 90%+ of the lights are amber or green.

i didnt explain it because i knew someone out there would be able to explain it better. this is the first forum where someone actually did a great job and people actually listened, instead of what i got on say the miata forums "blue is awesome, go blue!!!"

blue is a fucking nightmare, completely glaring and hard to adjust your eyes from glancing at the gauge and back onto the road. its a joke, i cant believe some cars like VW's (which is yet another reason why VWs suck, imo) come stock with blue gauges.

i have red with red needles in the miata and in the 240. i have white with red needles in the lexus sc. the white numbers isnt too bad, but the red is my favorite (obviously).

[ThatGuy]

Mike, did you also go as far as changing all the warning lights to red as well?

I was trying to figure out a way to change the digital speedo to a red display, but short of layering a transparant red film over it, and possibly cutting down on my visible output, I'm at a lose. Anyone have any ideas?

[DALAZ_68]

if you want brighter (and Eric i told yah this) you can take apart the cluster assembly and sand down the blue film behind each of the clusters, i did this and eric u compared both our clusters (both with red) and u can tell the big difference...

Barry : i have no clue, id have to say th efilm idea is ur best bet, i havent herd anything about the digi display being interchangable wiht anything

[upSLIDEdown]

Basically, your eyes have two different things in them that help with processing colors. Rods, and cones. The cones are used predominantly for daytime vision, while the rods are for night vision. The cones respond quickly, so going out in the bright sun, and coming back inside means your eyes have to readjust. The cones can do that in a few seconds.

The rods, on the other hand, cannot. It can take up to 30 minutes to get optimum "dark vision". Rods do NOT see red. So when you have red gauges, the rods can stay in the full optimum "dark vision" state. If you have blue, white, or whatever else color, they can't do that, and have to readjust constantly, never fully getting into the optimum state of vision for the darkness.

[bejota180sx]

check my blog if anyone wants to see GREEN, i have a few phone pics from my interior there... they are brighter than they actually look... all the interior is in LED minus the AC control...

[Touge180sx]

It looks like where mine is to dim yours is to bright(more than the rest of the cluster?) I am using wide angle leds. For me its good enough, Im more worried about the direction Im heading than my gauges are darker in some areas.

Also if you have a dimmer switch and the bulbs are plug/play then it still works, Atleast the ones that I have done still works so you can turn the brightness down.

[Charsiu]

http://clearcorners.com/temp/interior5.jpg



or just spend the time to do a good job. this pic has been tossed around for years now, i think i took this photo back in 00-01 because my car was still automatic and i still had an interior. btw, it doesnt matter which cluster you use - they all use the same design, just different faces and needles. i had a 89-90 cluster and now fitted the car with all 96-98 180SX parts.

is your digital climate control fully operable? ac and all?

Hey, what kind of LED did you use to get that red/amber color instead of pure red LED I can get from ebay?

Your interior look amazing!!


and sorry for OT

[Jordn]

I just used wide angle LEDs, the plug 'n' play bulbs with 5 leds in them - 4 out the sides and one out the top. Works really well, no hot spots and good light all round. I used white, sue me.

[ericcastro]

if you want brighter (and Eric i told yah this) you can take apart the cluster assembly and sand down the blue film behind each of the clusters, i did this and eric u compared both our clusters (both with red) and u can tell the big difference...

Barry : i have no clue, id have to say th efilm idea is ur best bet, i havent herd anything about the digi display being interchangable wiht anything

Yeah, i couldnt remember who told me and exactly how to do it.
Was it at one of the parties, cause I got an excuse then, lol

Maybe I will pick up a extra cluster at the JY in the future and do it.
I think more of an amber or green might be nice.
Tired of red.