So I know that in the show your guages thread there was a guy that made his own guage pod that looked stock, that was mounted in the A pillar. Now that we know this can be done since the airbag falls from the side above the window, does anyone know if they are going to do the same a build their own or have any vendors thought about making these at all? Maybe this is a project for SID and his team, SID?

 

Having seen in person a MINI that has had an A-pillar Airbag deploy I would not mount any there, because all that hold that pieces of plastic in place is a few small teathers designed to hold only a thin piece of plastic, add 1/2-1 pound in guages and in an impact that becomes 4lbs of pulling force, far more than those threads were desgined to hold. If that breaks loos on the street or track there is now an object of substanial mass waiting to impale occupants of the vehicle, this is the same reason it is not good to have things like tools lying around the car and you make sure all speakers are properly mounted, in the 80s there were many crashes that had speakers been securely mounted the occupants could have walked away but instead they were killed on the spot because they had been impaled by the speaker magnets; and it is that same lack of security that I find looking at the A-pillar straps. That said I think it you want ot ount guages there it is going to be almost strictly DIY.

 

the cover doenst have any force exerted on it.

it merely pops open because the tie down for the airbag is located behind it.

 

BTW, these are my gauges.

also, I cut off the retaining straps cause they do nothing, any wiring on the gauges would stop the cluster from going anywhere, no mater how much force is applied.

 

I agree that they would not go anywhere but everyone is entitled to their opinion, On that note is anyone planning on making a mold to make this piece? I would liek to know how that other guy that did make the pod, mad e the mold? Just trying to help the community out with something that I think would be a big hitter in the market.
Thanks

 

I think people have heated up and bent the a-pillar pod from a different application to make it fit.

 

any universal pod will fit, Summit sells a wide range of them that are easily bendable on the edges, so they mold to any pillar farily easily.

Im not a big fan of the molded pods myself, i like the look of the roll bar mount pedastal pods.

 

I'm very interested in the very cool A-pillar pods displayed here in April 2005 by Minionrails. I wonder how he made the ones he showed photos of. I wonder whether more can be made.

 

Eric at www.supremepowerparts.com can do a single or double A-pillar pod in 10-14 days with fabric matching for the headliner. Not sure if they need the Mini piece sent, though. I'm sure a lot of people would want one if it becomes a production item instead of a one-off. Randy at M7 reminded me about the degree to which it obscures visibility (especially track) -- when I was considering it.

 

I agree, some vendor has to be considering making these for us. Would M7 be willing to make some of these? Does anyone know?

 

First of all racinbmw is wrong when he says
'Now that we know this can be done since the airbag falls from the side above the window'
Yes there is an airbag above the door behind the trim but there is also an airbag behind the A pillar trim (check out the decal on the trim itself - it says "AIRBAG").
Second I think people missed the point of the first responder to this post. The A pillar plastic trim is held in place with retainers that are designed to allow the trim to come off when the airbag deploys. If you read the manual it tells you that once this trim is removed for installing any wiring behind it, it must be replaced (basically it's for one time use only). If you attach gauges to this trim panel then when the airbag deploys it will become a missile and probably impale itself on your head. I think I would rather be hit with a few ounces of plastic trim than with about two pounds of metal gauges.
Just a thought.

 

770 KOF,
I am a little offended that you think that I would be that dumb to post something that could end up hurting others. You are correct in the fact that the A pillar plastic piece says "airbag" on it however if you redirect yourself to the "show me your guages" thread you will see evident pictures that there is NO airbag behind the A pillar plastic cover. The word had the be located there for whatever saftey law requires the cars to have the word airbag brought to the attention of the driver. If you look in our Mini's there is no where that BMW could have put this word without branding into our headliner. So with that statement I am correct that there is no airbag behind the a pillar cover. You can remove the cover very simply, (did it this weekend), and you will find two straps that run up through the pillar into the headliner where the airbag actually sits. As for the A pillar flying, this was addressed as well, the A pillar is held in by two tabs in the rear that prevent it from flying at you, because if it did fly at you even without guages on it that would be a bad engineering design by any car manufacturer to endanger the driver or passenger in an accident. I think that BMW thought that one through. So please understand that having guages on the A pillar is doable, and can be done with a mold. Everyone is entitled to doing what they would like on their mini's and if you still think that this will empail body parts then that is your opinion and we can take that risk.
Thanks

 

racinbmw
I will check my workshop manual tonight and if you're correct (and from what you've said it appears that you are) - I stand corrected (I also sit corrected ).

PS Sorry if I offended you.

 

hmmm not a very well thought out or informed post. Firstly, would you even want the a-pillar flying out at you? Do you think that MINI would have a part that just randomly launched at the driver in the case of air bags deploying? I think not.

At which point you will probably respond with....the added weight will cause it to launch. Again, probably not. The retraints they used are probably very heavy duty string....they arent gonna skimp on safety measures, that would be asking for a lawsuit. And a pillar pods are 99% of the time down near the windshield which would cause MUCH less leverage then having the weight up at the top since the air bag is up there that is the part that will come un done.

And just further proof that there is nothing to worry about....a pic of a car that was in a full-airbag-deployment accident. You can even talk to the driver....the a-pillar moved a few inches max and you will see that the bottom is still attached and thats where the gauges will most likely be.

 

So that's why they have a "breakaway" A pillar trim. I see not that one end of the airbag is attached under the trim. Very informative picture. Thanks for clearing up my misinformed post .

 

So................. Back to the meat of this conversation - does anyone know of a supplier/vendor that is willing to produce an A piller pod for MINIS or has one in the works?

 

Well I think we should hit Outmotoring, Pilo racing, Randy Webb, M7, all of them up to see if any of them would be willing to do this. Now how do we get their attraction? Anyone?

 

heheh a UK company already makes mini specific ones.....but we would have to put in on our passenger's side

 

Flip it and it will work, what company is that and we might be able to hit them up to make us some that will fit the US versions.
Thanks

 

minispeed makes them:

 

upon further inspection...they make them for LHD already.....durrrrr

they have lots of colors and have dual or single setups...here is an example: http://www.minispeed.co.uk/new_mini/...duct&id=mlb164

 

RallyMINI,
You think you could setup a group buy with this company? My other thought is that I think I can speak for most people, and say that most will want a pod that is the same in color as the stock A pillar, do they have that? Can you see what you can do for us all. Thanks and great find on that!

 

Hahah i will definitely try and see what i can do. I agree, i want mine the same color. But i'm sure it would be easy to find some flat colored spray paint to match. Your pillar is either gray or dark gray (anthracite)...that shouldnt be too bad.

I will keep you all updated

Who in this thread would be interested (this isnt like a signature garauntee...i just want to gauge how many of you want them)?

 

Count me in for the dual gauge LHD.

 

I wish you all well in this endeavor but we are not interested in this project. For me it is the visibility problem or more a lack thereof. We have some VERY tight canyon roads and the A pillar is already to fat for my liking. There is another reason which is more of a local So.Cal Issue and that would work against having such a set up. Believe it or not the local authorities have a list of automotive modifications which they use to profile cars with regards to pulling them over. The top five are fat exhaust tips, vinyl graphics, aftermarket wheels, tinted windows and you guessed it A pillar mounted gages. I am not making this up. I love California LOL

Randy
M7 Tuning