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Mini Cooper S R53 - DIY Air Vent Gauge Pods
(60 mm Turbo / Water temp gauges)
Hi,
Read many post on many forums but found nothing useful. So there was no other way than to try it on my own. I was thinking for a day or two ‘how to’ and then… Well! Less word and more pictures! And this is not stolen project! GhettoSmurf is my nickname on M|U forum!
First I bought two new air vents if some unexpected s* happens!
How to get those vents out and not to destroy half of the dash? Well. It took me a minute to figure it out! You just need to think with the upper head and not lower one!
VOILA!
And now the tricky parts of DIY…
Very important to be accurate and patient!
Exactly 60mm! You will see why later on!
VOILA 2nd time! You see those not cut out parts? They will hold gauge 100% (they wore grinded in a curve), so you do not need any rubber or stuff like that! OEM all the way!
Those 2 rubber bands are magical! They are holding pod firmly in position and compensate some vibrations.
Final product and look! I say you can’t beat that!
Not yet pushed all the way, coz next weekend I’ll have to do some wiring and stuff to make them work.
Hope you like it and I hope it helped! If u like it make it Sticky!
Greetings from Slovenia.
There are probably literally tens of millions of configurations achievable for the Mini. And with all the parts available, its important to point out that the most interesting, and likely the most useful, are those that we driver's imagine and create. Awesome execution of a great concept.
I almost did this mod over the summer. Now that it's cold out I am glad I had not. The vents on either side of the wheel keep my hands warm in cold mornings like today........something to think about.
__________________
2003 R53 - DS - 135K + Miles
Parts of MINI NOT Modded ( A Shorter List ) Block/Head/HK Stereo.
That really looks great with those gauges on either side of the Speedo. Any idea yet on how the A/C or heat effects the gauge. Will the constant flow of A/C on the back effect it. Reason I ask is because my Pro-Sport analog tach would get hung up all the time in colder weather.
__________________
2003 R53 - DS - 135K + Miles
Parts of MINI NOT Modded ( A Shorter List ) Block/Head/HK Stereo.
That is killer!! Great job!!!! I doubt the A/C would affect it but I would think the heater would not help the gauges. Are the vents block somewhere prior to the gauge?
Where did you get the gauges....cost....have you found any other gauges that you may have wanted instead....Are the vents blocked off in the back so the heater does not affect the gauges?
i've been digging around online trying to find a good place to get the power to illuminate my gauges, so as that they would light up when i turned my headlights on, as apposed to being illuminated constantly with the ignition on. i see you used the cig lighter for this source. what i want to know is do your guages dim with the dimmer for the rest of the dash? thx in advance! btw sick install and diy!!!
^^^ Yes they do all of mine are wired the same as this. ^^^
That looks sweet, almost factory. I'm not sure about the hoods, but your car.
__________________ DOING THINGS RIGHT THE WRONG WAY SINCE 1983. THE ROAD TO GREATNESS IS OFTEN PAVED IN BROKEN PARTS. ALL DONE BY ME, FOR ME, MY WAY! YES IT'S STILL COLLECTING DUST!
Is there any way to adapt this to work with a 52mm gauge?
__________________ 2004 Chili Red MCS:
|Borla street exhaust||Borla headers||15% pulley||K&N cold air intake||ADR M Sports on Hankook Ventus V12 Evos||JCW Alcantra shift boot||body color shift boot trim||#3 Pool ball shift knob||25% tint||Marshall Mini Boost Gauge||22mm Alta Rear Sway| Live in Knoxville, TN? Are you going to the U.S. F1 GP? Click THIS!!!
The best guauge install I've seen.
2005 MCSa, Rays AM 18x7.5/5Zigen ZR520+ 18x7.5/Work VS-XX Burning Gold 18x7.5 et 45 fr/32 r, Parada Spec 2, Koni 1150 Coilovers, R56 Brembo's with 5mm spacers, Aero Kit fully color-coded, Bond Mini Front Bumper, CF Paddle Shifters with a/m OMP steering wheel, CraftSquare mirrors, Recaro Speed drivers seat, full Arqray exhaust system.
Why ask why? Just Drive.
And post some pics of them lit up
03 MCS b/w, checkered rear spoiler & rear view mirror caps, xenons, Katzkin custom leather/suede interior, alta 15%, lightbar (55watt hid), 19mm sway, cold air. 7.5J 17 BBS CV, 
DOING THINGS RIGHT THE WRONG WAY SINCE 1983. 
