Just got done doing most of the install on some new gauges.

Left to right, Boost, Volts, Fuel Pressure, Dual Temp. ( I'm doing IAT & Engine Compartment for now)

Still need to hook up the sensors for the Fuel Press. & Temps, but it's going to be this w/e at the earliest before I can get to that.

All from:

http://www.veisystems.com/home.html

All electronic with external sensors.



Because of the major PITA of removing an '05 dash pad I just ran everything to the windshield, along the dash line & behind the pillar cover.





Gauges may not be that hard, but let me tell you they're extremely time consuming to do, all the electrical connections are soldered, pluged together & shrink tubed, no crimps here.

The blue is really easy on the eyes at night,



The gauges have a bunch of great features:

All:
9 different brightness levels for both day & night

Boost:
Customizable settings for boost range 12 to 60 psi
One touch peak boost display from last reset.
Displays in either 1, .05, or .01 increments
Custom calibration for accuracy

Fuel psi & Volts:
Customizable high & low audible alarm settings to warn of problems

I love gadgets.

I'd like to see what other people have done.

 

That looks great! I am getting an oil pressure gauge installed here soon and I will post pics once it's done!

 

Please do so,

I started another "show your gauges" thread on another forum also for the express purpose of being able to see what others have done and are using.....

I spent 2 weeks or more driving around with "gauge cups" painter taped all over my dash , so I figure it may help others speed up the process of deciding "what & where".

My wallet has now told me this may not have been the best idea!

I've already found something else I want, will probably just mount it opposit my AFR gauge off my Chrono Pack though, I think any more up where those are just wouldn't fit right.

http://www.aeroforcetech.com/products_order_mini.html

 

Ok, I know the multiple gauge thing isn't for everyone, but I really like as much information & early warning as possible, and with the new Nitrous install & upcoming W/M install I knew I was going to be adding at least 2 more. (NOS psi & W/M)

I absolutely did not want to string any more across the dash, so of course it was time to add some on the Chrono Pac, but I also wanted to add some indicator lights for my new goodies, so here's a way I could do both.

I found some old Craven Speed Double Cup mounts. (old because they don't actually sell these any more.)



Then Inset some 3mm led's into the housings for the indicators. (single cup mounts really don't afford the room for this, therfore double cups instead of 2 singles & a Y bracket)

B

I was thinking of having them both run horizontal across the top of the steering wheel, but they were just too high for my liking, so I opted for verticle.



Now, until spring & I do my W/M install I'm going to have a couple of empty spots, so instead of just bare wholes I found these at my local Ace Hardware, they call them 2" nylon hole plugs.



A little black satin spray paint & I'm much happier.



Now for the backs, had to silicone the led's in place & didn't really like the unfinished look. (I know it's just the backs but if I'm gonna do it, might as well finish it off as nice as possible) so I made some little cover pieces.
Before.



After.


And lastly I wanted to finish the back of the gauge cups too, so again with the hole plugs from Ace, here's a shot of one done, one not.



And here's everything done,



Indicator lights are:
Left (all red)
NOS on
NOS Bottle Heater on
NOS Remote Bottle Opener open/close
Right (all blue)
Rally Lights on
W/M on
(future / open)

Suprisingly enough, to me, it's not quite as obnoxious as I was affraid it might be when sitting in the car.

 

So...I'm not slamming you but it look pretty obnoxious from over here on the Internet. Is there no electronic version of all this stuff that would have been a lot cleaner? One touch panel that could be configured to rotate or display multiple bits of information?

How often are you using these gauges anyhow? Seems a bit much....I mean maybe I am being harsh but I think I look at my tachometer only when at idle...the rest of the time going by sound for when to shift.

 

I think that they are cool but like kahnfucious said, it does seem a little obnoxious. i was blown away by everything, the gauges in the center and the home made holders for the four around the steering wheel. all very crafty.

I think my issue would with the idea of that a MINI is well small, and it is small on the inside too. with that being said i think i would feel to cramped. But honestly it looks great and its even cooler that you did it yourself.

now is it really for functional use or just because you like gauges hanging about in the car?

 

Looks way too cluttered.

Less is more.

 

Oh, I know, like I said, it's not for everyone, if nothing else It gives people options to look at for what they might want to try.
And yes, there are options like Scangauge & Ultra gauge, but as far as I know, Ultra gauge is the only one with an alarm function, which all of mine have, and IMO is the real benifit, the idea is to know ahead of time, rather than after something fails. And as convient as an OBDII plug in multi gauge is, if "I" were relying on it it wouldn't do me much good when I'm tuning or testing things because I need the OBDII for my datalogger, and there are certain things you absolutely need to monitor during those times. I guess the "clutter" of it all just doesn't bother me.

As for using them, yes I really do watch them & pay attention to whats going on in real time, and of course some are far more important than others.

Here's some examples:
IAT gauge - Good for the hot summer months to know if you really shouldn't be WOT-ing your car until the temps have come down after a long idle or some slow driving when the I/C really hasn't been able to do it's job properly.
Volts gauge - Since I'm running an electric W/P I have this connected between the fuse & W/P itself, I will know immediately if I lose power to the W/P before anything would even have a chance to overheat.
Fuel psi gauge - because of the boost I'm running, the vac. line to the fuel regulator has been known to pop off, because of the alarm on the gauge, I would know immediately if this happened and hopefully be able to pull back on the throttle before a bad lean out. Plus with the Nitrous being "wet" I can now tell if the system is possible using too much fuel and I should upgrade the fuel pump to compensate.
Nitrous psi gauge - good indicator of bottle level.

So yea, I pretty much use them all, and as I've said about other thing I've done,it's overkill, I realize that, it's just the way I've always done things.

 

Too many gauges for my taste, but I have to give you props on a very clean install. Great idea on the nylon plug. My main problem with most of those gauge pods that mount to the tack is the unfinished back. Nice work.

One question about your dish install, Did you mount with some kind of tape or did you just put self-tapping screws into the dash?

 

Actually neither, a small amount of black silicone does the trick. (yes silicone is my duct tape )
I find that the black has a slightly better adheasion than the clear, match's the dash better, and with a little effort will come off cleanly if the need to remove them arises, with little or no trace of them ever being there.

 

I keep thinking of a 6 point buck when I see your dash :-) ha...not a knock on you just some levity

 

I was thinking the same thing, but it does look good

 

The criticism doesn't bother me, I completely get it, I probably should have clarified my latest endevor with the gauges before hand but no biggie.

The real reason for the info & pictures wasn't "hey look at me & all my gauges" but more of "I feel a personal need for this many gauges, and here's my idea of how to make it as aestheticly pleasing as possible".

For me, as I started modding & changing things, the one thing I always looked for were examples & ideas, and this is really all it is, examples & ideas for others to either use (in part or a whole) or to make their own variations of, to suit there own tastes. & needs.

For example the "plugs" that I found to use as covers, this was always one of my biggest complaints about using the cups off of the speedo, and the biggest reason I originally put the gauges on the dash, I just thought the speedo setups looked unfinished, but now that I've found these plugs I'm quite happy with the way the cups look overall, and now to me, they just look more "finished".

Oh, and trust me, it was far more obnoxious looking with the double cups raised for the gauges to mount horizontaly, it was of course more linear to match the dash, but they were really in your face then.....

 

I don't think anyone is knocking your attention to detail, ingenuity or willingness to share , although you might hesitate going forward :-)..I think you are catching flack because most people DON'T LIKE YOUR STYLE... but who cares -- thats YOUR style.

I personally have done everything I can to minimize any of my mods. All my wiring is concealed, I try to use stock locations for things for everything...etc..

However, thats me and my car. You and your car can go all out with gauges to the hilt if thats what you think works for you...I questioned you on the need for that many gauges..you answered me and yourself by legitimizing it as needing engine protection - do I buy it? NO...I think by the time one of those gauges pegs itself and throws you a warning code its going to be far too late for you anyhow....and I think it would be hard to monitor all those gauges while actively driving...but who cares what I think?

I don't know of too many people on this site that are running nitrous...maybe its a good idea, maybe you will blow your engine sky high...either way I hope you share your experience so someone can learn something. I personally think that the block on this car is not stout enough for Nitrous -- maybe start off with a small jet 25-50 HP and work your way up?

Point I am making is this: My girlfriend always says to me - she doesn't understand the fascination with cars, modding, etc.. but if it makes me happy and I don't hurt anyone shes happy to support me in it....if it makes you happy and you gain enjoyment out of it -- go for it.

 

+1. A bit too much going on imho but if it serves a meaningful purpose, and you like the way they look, then sweet!

 

It is obnoxious, but I think the setup is cool. Personally, I might have picked an analog version of the gauges. If you can dim the digital ones, it might not be so bad.

Currently I have GReddy A/F and boost gauges flanking my tach. I myself have thought of mounting a few extra gauges in the same position you used on the top of the dash. Oil pressure for sure. Volts, maybe. But I would definitely like to have IAT before and after the intercooler. Some people mount gauges underneath the center switch bank. My thought is... keep the gauges at eye level.

I recall once in my younger drag race days this guy brought out a Mustang II with 14 gauges in it. It was surprisingly clean. With a custom fabricated dash, he had the normal six gauges directly in front, and the other eight the length of the dash over to the passenger side. Was really clean looking.

 

i like it

i might not do it to my car, but i like the idea that it can be done

i bought five 45mm (1.75 inch) gauges from prosport for my cms all4

http://prosportgauges.com/45mm-gauges.aspx

oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, volt and vac/boost

they also have a sixth gauge in the series, EGT

i have been constructing a custom mount to put the 3 oil and coolant gauges on top of the tach with the volt and boost to the right and left of the tach

that is i was constructing the mount, until i saw the post where another member built a custom "a" pillar mount for three 52mm gauges ... now i am leaning towards putting all 5 of the 45mm gauges on the "a" pillar via a custom carbon fiber "a" pillar and a matching right side carbon fiber "a" pillar cover ... decisions decisions decisions

scott

 

The features are the reason I went with these guy's product, besides the self programable high & low points for the alarms, the illumination levels can also be adjusted in both day & night time modes. I do agree an analog style setup would look really good, it would tone down the whole thing, I just couldn't find that style with the features I wanted, plus when I got the first set, I thought that would be it, then I just wanted everything to match.

 

Just as a supliment to this, because of the new / smaller steering wheel I was able to move the gauge pods to the lower mounting position, much less "in your face" I like them far more now. I guess it's true, location, location, location.....
Before:



After:

 

BlnAway...I love it. Of course you've moved on past me for mods w/Sprintex/NOS. I have the heads up from Defi and really love it. I'm not sure that they make it anymore or maybe there's another version but it's cool. I have the water to air and a nice gauge for that is the Mark V Digital Intercooler gauge that tells in/out/difference.
Those would just about max you out.

 

my I/C double readout is on the dash. I am however trying to figure ou what to do to fill the current open space (pos. 3) on the dash, the Aquamist gauge will go on the column, so not sure what I'll do yet, I'm a "little" mental about some things & I really like the spacing & look of the four up there so I will fill it with something, possibly their Valantine Remote Indicator gauge.

 

BlwnAway - looks good! You've done a lot of work. Aquamist gauge on the column=Like

 

There was a thread a couple of years ago where a guy swore by having a Pyrometer. Maybe a need for you?

 

I had thought about that also, actually bought a bung for the header for one. It will either be that or this:

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gaugedetail.aspx?gid=3284

I completely forgot about this until someone mentioned 0-60 in a thread, might be a fun toy to have.

 

i have the Mynes V2 Header also, where are you going to put the bung? I have a Pyrometer off a Dodge w/Cummins I had a number of years ago, I might have to copy what you do!!