Good Morning


I was wondering if anyone had installed 52MM Defi gauges in the Stock WRX pod.
Pics would be greatly appreciated as I would like to know if they actually fit withought carving up the entire pod.
F.Y.I I don't like the Defi pod if your suggesting...

Thanx

George

 

Yeah, I don't care for the Defi pod nor have I found any other pod for 52mm gauges that I care for...most are simply too tacky for my tastes.

They're a close fit in the Subaru pod & some carving (I used a Dremel) is necessary. I used a mounting plate from Derres Catalano. Not sure if he's still producing them... I didn't strictly follow the plate mounting instructions: I reversed the plate and ground a bit more off the pod to try to recess the gauges as much as possible... Still get some gauge lighting reflecting into the windshield at night, but it is not too bad. I used black RTV to attach the plate & gauges. Holding up OK after 1-1/2 year.

Ran across premodified factory pods a couple weeks back: available from http://www.wrxtra.com.

The next trick is where to put the Defi control unit...mine is (still) double-sided foam taped under the gauge pod. Anyone have a "carbon fiber look" cupholder or center vent plate they're willing to sell? Love to mount it in (or next to) the cupholder but can't bear cutting into my original...

Brent.

 

brentlz - Good job on modifying the stock pod.

 

Thanks. A very light touch with the Dremel removed the big stuff, then moved on to a 2" or so diameter cylinder (can, dowel, etc) with sandpaper glued to it to get the curves correct...If I had to do it over, I'd probably buy a premodified one.

Brent.

 

Thank you for the help guys...
I checked out Wrxtra.com and the pod looks good but what boggles me is why does your pod look so modified compared to theirs?
I mean yours looks like you dremeled quite a bit off of your plastic housing in comparison to Wrxtra's...
Are defi 52mm gauges drastically bigger than (wrxtras) 52mm Autometer?

 

Yeah, it does look like I took off more material. Going from published spec's, both the Autometer & Defi Link gauges have a bezel outside diameter of 58mm (2-1/4"). However, it looks like the Autometers bezel curves inward towards the gauge face where the Defi is straight... It also appears that WRXtra's plate mounts further back into the pod than mine, which is a good thing IMO.

Then again, it might just be the angle of the pic's.

You might want to drop WRXtra a note at info@wrxtra.com and see if they've tried fitting the Defi gauges in their pod. Looking at the dimensions of their faceplate against the Defi gauge dimensions, it looks to be a very close fit...0mm to spare.

From WRXtra:


From Defi:

For the 52mm Defi Link (Unit = mm):
a = 42
b = 26.5
c = 52
d = 58
e = 20
f = 20
g = M3
h = 6.5
i = 6.5
j = 55


Brent.

 

Thanx Guys


I will contact WRXtra...

Cheers

George

 

Bump good thread!

 

awesome job brentlz, I also like the cf trim

 

Thanks much. I still really need to find a good place to mount the Defi control unit: haven't accessed those buttons in years Thought about mounting it under the steering column, to the side of the center console, or even down under the e-brake handle but all these locations just seem a bit lame and scream "tack-on". If I ever do find an OK place to mount it, I'd really consider picking up a v2 controller to get button lighting.

Brent.

 

yes good thread...everyone should have a dremel, small but one heck of a tool...nice diagrams too brentlz...

 

oops i meant wrxtra nice diagrams, but one heck of a job brentlz

 

wanna post a night shot of your setup? thanks.

 

Just took a couple quick shots (in the garage)...not the best, but they should give you some idea of how they look at night.

They're pretty darn close to OEM lighting color and brightness IMO. Maybe a shade darker green on the Defi backlighting. The Defi's also have red needles vs the OEM orange. The only gauges I've run across that match closer are the Omori "WRX look" gauges. The VDO Vision gauges look fairly close (green backlight & red needle) too.

One minus of the Defi gauges(and many other electronic gauges) is that it would be pretty hard to get them to dim with the way Subaru runs the dash lighting.

If I'm remembering this correctly: one wire (ground) is at +12v when dash lights are on. The other wire (dimming) varies from 0v, +3v, +6v, +9v, +12v with the operation of the dimmer switch. This effectively gives 12v, 9v, 6v, 3v, or 0v to the dash lighting bulbs as the dimming is increased. Since the Defi gauges share the ground line for power to the controller unit with the ground line to the gauge lighting, this Subaru "floating ground" dash lighting makes it pretty hard to supply +12v to the Defi controller and vary the voltage to the lighting circuit...I suppose someone creative enough could come up with a circuit to supply 0v, 3v, 6v, 9v, & 12v output to the Defi dimmer input from a +12v, +9v, +6v, +3v, 0v Subaru input. Fortunately, the brightness is close enough that I've never had to overcome my inherent laziness and pursue this possibility further.

This shot gives a pretty good comparison of the Defi to stock gauge lighting(one step dimmed back from max lighting):


This shot is much dimmer than the gauges actually are, but give a better idea of the backlighting. The red light on the oil pressure gauge is the "warning lamp" built into the gauges. The gauge reading that triggers this lamp is adjustable via the control unit:


Brent.