OP
Ultimately that’s why I’ve shied away from this. After doing the research it appears it’s going to cost me way more than I ultimately think it’s worth.
Has anyone swapped out their factory gauge cluster with aftermarket gauges?
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
Ultimately that’s why I’ve shied away from this. After doing the research it appears it’s going to cost me way more than I ultimately think it’s worth.
And, there are several glaring mistakes that I could never accept that the average person would never catch.
I'm sure what you see is different than what I see -
I couldn't live with the different corner radius on every panel, and different gap & spacing everywhere.
The shifter looks like it's completely blocking other controls.
Blowing hot air onto the back of an ipad sort of sucks.
Visually it's just an incohesive hot mess.
I don't want to be top down in the sun in this either.
I don't know - when the YJ came out it was criticized for being cheap plastic - but I loved the straight row of small gauges and the room for switches directly under. The TJ dash is a nice simple non-distracting design as is. Things are within reach and line of sight. I'll keep mine that way.
The radii being different is very bad. Spacing is bad. The weld burn on the aluminum where the sides meet the center is bad. Glove box door should have been flanged inward with a matching flange in the opening and the fasteners for the continuous hinge hidden. Button head screws should have been Torx or Phillips flat head countersunk to limit how obvious they are in case the hole isn't concentric to the corner radii. The speaker pod on the dash is annoying. The flat top of the dash should have had a large rolled radius lip at the edges closest to the driver. The center of the dash where the large round is should have been recessed for a sunglass pocket. The angle in front of the shifter where the console meets the dash looks off. Have to see it in person to tell.
Personally not a fan of that shifter location but again, need to see it up close to see if something obvious made that location work.
From a design and execution stand-point, it is a hot mess to my sensibilities. The concept and how far they got is to be applauded though. Mostly I think I'm offended to spend that much to just get it that close. Someone is obviously talented, they just need a nudge from a design aspect.
There are also some issues where the A-pillar meets the top of the dash that I can't tell are really an issue or just the pic.
BTW, a "MrBlaine" rig that has been "blainified" and rolling out of his shop is beyond perfection. Things like "cost" do not compute. They are works of art.
I was down at his shop picking up some rear disc stuff and he had a unlimited ready to roll. I am a fabricator by trade and found myself touching stuff on it that I probably should not have. While the solutions to things like "radii" may seem complicated, he will explain it in a way that is just common sense.
I was down at his shop picking up some rear disc stuff and he had a unlimited ready to roll. I am a fabricator by trade and found myself touching stuff on it that I probably should not have. While the solutions to things like "radii" may seem complicated, he will explain it in a way that is just common sense.
If anyone could recommend a seller and installer of a custom instrument panel in the Phoenix area please pass it on. I am tired wiring and will pay the price.
I’ve seen that gauge cluster bezel on Quadratec/Extreme Terrain, and would really love to get something like this installed. Does anyone know what the cost/difficulty is with installing this set up on a stock TJ with the 4.0? I really like the look of old fashioned gauges like a CJ/Bronco/defender etc...
I did the R2.8.
I messed up with my gauges in my lack of planning. The oil sender is a closed reading. So when I start it up I get Zero pressure. The fuel gauge I initially bought was backwards so it indicated full when empty.
Like I said I didn’t plan my gauges correctly. But I did opt for the GPS speed-o
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
What all struggles did you have with this setup? Looking at doing the exact same thing!
I ordered the GPS speedo that was $550ish. everything else was less than $80 each.
i ordered the wrong gauges in a few of them. the oil pressure shows 0psi, and the Fuel gauge has the wrong Ohms reading. so those two i need to send back to auto meter.
do the research before ordering, i was running out of time and was very hurried. thereby made some mistakes.
i had a sheet of thin aluminum and made my own cut outs.
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
Jake kozlowski
TJ Enthusiast
Ah, gotcha. Well i love that look! Gotta lay it all out once the arrive.
Gauges i purchased all Autometer. Love the look of them!!!
Speedo (gps)
Tach
Oil (Mechanical)
Fuel (Custom ohms, can calibrate empty/full)
Boost
Water Temp
I replaced my interment panel with Intellitronix LED Digital Gauge Kit and have been very happy. They were great to work with.
