Electric gauges with remote LCD DISPLAY

len3.8 · 19 March 2005

???? Electric gauges with remote LCD DISPLAY

Has anyone seen anything like this? Is it possible.
I want to just see the numbers, I have a spot I want to place the readouts, I don't really want to see the round gauges anywhere.
Any help would be appreciated.
I would want them for AF/Oil Pres-Temp/ ect. For a Turboed car.
Thanks
Len

gobble · 19 March 2005

I was thinking it might be possible to remove the temperaure and oil pressure gauges and somehow rig SPA Design dual gauges behind those holes. You would just see the numbers and not the gauges. I've seen it done in an RX-7. Has anyone considered this?

len3.8 · 19 March 2005

gobble said:
I was thinking it might be possible to remove the temperaure and oil pressure gauges and somehow rig SPA Design dual gauges behind those holes. You would just see the numbers and not the gauges. I've seen it done in an RX-7. Has anyone considered this?

I wonder if the spa gauges can be taken out of their respective housings to do this.
Hey KGP take you Spa Gauges apart so I can see the inside. :smile:

gobble · 19 March 2005

Check this out. It appears the answer to your question is yes. This was one of the go-to sites when I had an RX-7. This install looks stock when its done. Can someone measure how small a hole you could have and still see all the relevant part of the SPA gauge?

http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/how-to/spa_gauges/

len3.8 · 19 March 2005

gobble, thanks. that is what I needed to see.

gobble · 19 March 2005

So has anyone had their instrument panel apart to know if this would work?

DDozier · 21 March 2005

Hey Gobble,

I have a spare cluster if you want to mock something up, or if you just need measurments or pics I can do that to. Just from looking at it there is not alot of room depth wise and you still have the issue of maybe cutting the PCboard that the factory gauges are mounted to.

Dave

gobble · 21 March 2005

Are you interested in selling it? I might be willing to cut one up if it wasn't my original cluster. If not, pictures would be nice. Looking at the cluster, do you think this is workable or am I wasting my time? Thanks.

DDozier · 21 March 2005

I would need to see the gauges you want to put in, LEN3.8 is in St. Louis and it looks like he has interest in your project. I will send him a PM and see if he wants to take a look at the pieces I have and maybe you guys can work together on this. As long as you guys promis to play nice!......promis.

Dave

gobble · 21 March 2005

Did you look at the link above? It shows some out of focus pictures of the disassembled spa gauges. Its fine with me if Len3.8 wants to do the work (as long as he shares his results). I'd be willing to try as well, but he is closer.

DDozier · 21 March 2005

This link has allot of photos that might help.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46344

Dave

gobble · 21 March 2005

I would be very interested to know how deep of a gauge could fit into the sides if you remove the smaller gauges (without cutting the plastic).

ScienceofSpeed · 21 March 2005

The Defi Display is a create part with very accurate electronics:

We use this in our car:

We can set you up with a display, controll unit, and sensor package if you'd like.

Cheers,
-- Chris

Hrant · 21 March 2005

Chris, how difficult would it be to mount the Defi gauges on both sides of the instrument panel instead of the pillar where most seem to place them? They look as close as one can get to oem look for an oil temp/pressure gauges.

I would think the instrument panel location is easier from the standpoint of keeping the eye's field of vision in one area. TIA.

gobble · 21 March 2005

They look too big to fit in the instrument panel.

Hrant · 21 March 2005

Yes I agree. But I meant to say is on both outsides of the instrument panel, presumably fastened through a hole in the dash (and some may not want to do this). My bad.

gobble · 22 March 2005

Here is an email I just received from the guy who put the SPA gauges in the RX7:

I have some newer SPA displays that I need to install, to fix the
"display goes black when it gets too hot" issue that the old units had
(the units with switchable red/green illumination are the newer style
and are supposed to be more tolerant of heat). I am looking at one now.
The gauge cup itself is relatively shallow at about 11/16" from the
gauge face (with bezel and glass removed, and the protruding lip on the
cup cut off) to the back of the cup. There are some screws that hold the
electronics to the cup that add about 1/8" to that depth, but they have
a lock washer that could be removed and perhaps some lower profile
screws could be used if there is a clearance problem in that area. You
could even just glue the electronics in the cup to eliminate the screws
completely if you had to. The main clearance problem is for the
connector on the back of the gauge, which sticks out 1/4". For my RX-7
install, I cut the plastic part of the connector down and soldered some
wires to the connector pins and then used a separate connector at the
end of the wires to connect to the sensor+switch wiring harness. I
suppose you could also cut the connector off below the back surface of
the cup and use some small gauge wires and route them out the side of
the cup for minimum depth. You could even eliminate the cup, I suppose.
But you could do 7/8" without going too extreme, 11/16" routing the
wires out the side of the cup, or perhaps even a little more shallow
(9/16"?) by eliminating the cup completely. If it's close and you'd like
some more precise measurements, let me know and I will pull one of my
new SPA gauges apart (since I will be doing that anyway) to measure it
better.

If the depth isn't too much of a problem, the NSX cluster looks like it
would be easier to install the gauges in than the RX-7 cluster, since it
has some round indentations already in place for the stock gauges.

You'll need to find a spot for the little push-button switches, too, but
I am sure that won't be a problem.

KGP · 22 March 2005

gobble said:
Here is an email I just received from the guy who put the SPA gauges in the RX7:

I have some newer SPA displays that I need to install, to fix the
"display goes black when it gets too hot" issue that the old units had

That is indeed a problem, and getting one replaced or repaired requires an act of God. I have been waiting for two freaking months for one to be repaired or replaced.

While the new design might take care of that issue, the support for a defective gauge by SPA has been less than stellar.

nsxhk · 22 March 2005

May I suggest the 1-din triple defi gauge?

http://www.defi-shop.com/product/din/din_top.html

Henry.

ps. don't I sound like a defi sales? hehe

len3.8 · 22 March 2005

nsxhk said:
May I suggest the 1-din triple defi gauge?

http://www.defi-shop.com/product/din/din_top.html

Henry.

ps. don't I sound like a defi sales? hehe

My intentions were to be stealth, I really don't want to look into he car and see gauges everywere. I am looking to hide units out of plain sight. I want to keep the car looking as stock as possible (Interior wise).
No 13" TV (Nav Pod) No gauge pods down the pillar. Just the critical readouts where I can see them.

Thanks Chris , but those Dephis are not what I am looking for.

That is more like something I would be interested in.
Thanks, henry.

gobble · 22 March 2005

len3.8 said:
That is more like something I would be interested in.
Thanks, henry.

Where would you fit it? Replace the factory center console?

len3.8 · 22 March 2005

gobble said:
Where would you fit it? Replace the factory center console?

It looks like its the standard size of a radio.
I would nix the factory Tape deck and head unit. plastic weld a modified console.

len3.8 · 22 March 2005

DDozier said:
I would need to see the gauges you want to put in, LEN3.8 is in St. Louis and it looks like he has interest in your project. I will send him a PM and see if he wants to take a look at the pieces I have and maybe you guys can work together on this. As long as you guys promis to play nice!......promis.

Dave

Thanks Dave, I was looking for something the size of those shown, however, I have a different plan for the actual placement.

Gobble go for it.

gobble · 22 March 2005

len3.8 said:
Gobble go for it.

I also want to stay stealth, and stealth for me is not removing the factory stereo. I don't think this would fit in the ash tray hole.

len3.8 · 22 March 2005

gobble said:
I also want to stay stealth, and stealth for me is not removing the factory stereo. I don't think this would fit in the ash tray hole.

I was talking about the Gauge cluster. I am not interested in using that method.
The ash tray is huge. This din seems as if it would fit in there with very little problem.

I hardly liten to the radio anyway, so there is no big for me. Also I plan on making a door fixture like that on the ashtray, so the gauges would be out of sight unless I want them to be seen.

Electric gauges with remote LCD DISPLAY

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