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Dash Dial options....
nib1980 - 2/1/07 at 11:40 AM

Morning All.

I'm about to start making up my dash, And I'm trying to decide what clocks i can use (stress the word can use, I'm really bad at wiring).

I know I want dial types for cars, not the digidash type.

My questions is what can I use and where can I get it from.

I want Speedo, rev counter, water temp, fuel guage.

I'm running a xflow with 4 speed box, and megajolt.

suggestions and examples will be helpful.

many thanks


MattCraneCustoms - 2/1/07 at 11:57 AM

for a start, go on autometer.com. They have a nice site with a massive selection of different faces and styles. I plan on using their Carbon Fiber (American Spelling) Faced gauges, but what I want comes to £600!!
Hope thats a start,
Matt


designer - 2/1/07 at 12:08 PM

Why do people always put a rev counter in their car?

I know it looks good flicking back and forth!

But for a road car, why bother? Overall, it serves no purpose!


Marlon - 2/1/07 at 12:16 PM

try ETB Instruments, these are what I have used, fair prices and good quality and choices too.

hth john.


whitestu - 2/1/07 at 12:29 PM

My donor came with some free - they look crap but work prefectly!

Stu


MikeRJ - 2/1/07 at 12:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by designer
Why do people always put a rev counter in their car?

I know it looks good flicking back and forth!

But for a road car, why bother? Overall, it serves no purpose!


Each to their own, I find I use the tachometer on my road car more than any of the other guages, but maybe that's because I tend to drive quite hard.


BenB - 2/1/07 at 12:35 PM

I find a rev counter useful on the Locost.... On my tintop I haven't got a rev counter but the rev range is pretty dismal so I don't really need one.
On my BEC it's so noisy (wind blast etc) and exciting that I find it difficult to work out what %age of max revs I'm at. Having the rev counter is pretty useful... Often I'm blating along @ what I think is 4k and look down and its 7-8k!!! Equally, because driving the Locost @ 30mph feels like driving a normal car at 60mph I find myself wanting to shift up too early sometimes. A quick check of the speedo shows 3k, so I know its not time to shift!!! I'll probably use it less when I'm used to driving the car......

Having a tacho is also useful when you get the car to SVA for the noise test It appears my adjustable tacho was misreading so when I did the dB test, I reved it to 2/3rd max power as asked but rather than giving 4k as indicted, it was giving 3k.... Oh dear Do you think I should go back and fess up?!?!

I've got speedo, tacho, fuel, oil pressure and water temp and for me that's the minimum.... Just wish I'd left some space on the dash for the boost dial I'm going to be fitting soon(ish)....

I'd go for Greenguages next time because they do a nice stick-on prop magnet setup for the speedo and you can use their DIY dial program to adjust background colours, dial colours etc...


DaveFJ - 2/1/07 at 12:40 PM

I just bought a set from Haneline Instruments in California. full set of 6 guages including senders came to £246 plus £61 to the taxman... bargain!

They were very helpful - until they had my money and had shipped the dials - after sales service seems somewhat non existent - although i must admit i haven't tried phoning them - only email.......

I have these:



linky

Have a look under Gauges>Teleflex

only took a week to arrive too


nick205 - 2/1/07 at 01:06 PM

I used ETB guages - dead easy to wire up following the instructions supplied by ETB. They're also very helpful if you get stuck too. Whole lot including the lamps from SVC cost about £350 IIRC.

HTH Rescued attachment latest-1.jpg
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nick205 - 2/1/07 at 01:07 PM

finished dash... Rescued attachment latest-2.jpg
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nick205 - 2/1/07 at 01:08 PM

by the way...nice avatar DaveFJ


DaveFJ - 2/1/07 at 01:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by nick205
by the way...nice avatar DaveFJ


Well - It's not Christmas anymore


Nosey - 2/1/07 at 01:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by designer
Why do people always put a rev counter in their car?

I know it looks good flicking back and forth!

But for a road car, why bother? Overall, it serves no purpose!


Each to their own, I find I use the tachometer on my road car more than any of the other guages, but maybe that's because I tend to drive quite hard.


How hard is quite hard? Should you be driving that hard on the public road and still keep glancing down at the tacho? If you want to race, I'd recommend a shift light. When I'm on the road, I'm not going hard enough to need a tacho. When I'm racing or rallying, if I ever have time to look down & register whats on the tacho, I know I'm not going hard enough.....


nick205 - 2/1/07 at 01:55 PM

I use the tacho in my tin top to the point where I wouldn't consider driving a car without one personally. To my mind it's vital, for safe overtaking, that you know where your car's power band is in the rev range and that you have the revs correct for overtaking acceleration. Most modern tintops are also relatively well soundproofed so the tacho gives an easy measure of how hard you're working the engine.


MikeRJ - 2/1/07 at 02:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Nosey
How hard is quite hard?



It's a Honda VTEC engine, designed to be driven hard, and I do. Rev limiter is about 8500 RPM, but it's quicker to shift before the limiter after second gear and accurately telling the difference of a few hundred RPM by ear at those revs is tricky.

quote:

Should you be driving that hard on the public road and still keep glancing down at the tacho?



Should you really be glancing at your speedo/fuel guage/radio when doing 70-80 on a motorway? Utilising the engines full capability in the first few gears does not mean I am driving irresponsibly or even exceeding the speed limit. I only drive my car hard when conditions permit and certainly not in built up areas. I am not a boy racer/chav etc. and I find the tone of your post somewhat condescending.

quote:

If you want to race, I'd recommend a shift light.



I don't want to race, the civic is my everyday road car.

quote:

When I'm on the road, I'm not going hard enough to need a tacho.



Well that's just fine for you, but I drive differently. Don't judge everyone by your own standards please. I've never had an accident in 19 years of driving cars so my driving standards can't be that bad.

quote:

When I'm racing or rallying, if I ever have time to look down & register whats on the tacho, I know I'm not going hard enough.....


Then why do you even have a tacho fitted to your car? Come to that why do people buy expensive, super accurate Stack tachometers for competition cars if they are so useless?


Humbug - 2/1/07 at 03:11 PM

I can second (or third, or whatever) ETB - good choice - including colour of face, bezels and pointers - and very helpful on the phone for advice Rescued attachment dash.jpg
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cossiebri - 2/1/07 at 03:45 PM

One word lads says it all....Gadgets, We all love gadgets!
On another note try,
http://www.gaugeplace.com


Nosey - 2/1/07 at 04:07 PM

MikeRJ, apologies if I came across as condescending, it wasn't at all my intention to insult you or you're driving, just to say my opinion is different to yours. Sorry if offence was caused.

With 20/20 hindsight, my first post should probably have been:

I don't need or look at my tacho on the road, and my competition car has no tacho, just a sequential shift light. Those are my dash dial options.....