Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Another gauge mounting option


For a long time we've had requests from customers for an instrument bezel gauge mount.  We've had that for the older GD chassis cars for a long time, but didn't have one for the GR...until now.  Our friends at SMY Cluster Maker labored long and hard to make a gauge mount that fits and looks like a stock part.

The mount is textured just like the stock dash, and the finish is a flat dark gray that is a near-perfect match.  If you weren't looking for the mount, you'd never know it wasn't a factory part.  It fits two 52mm gauges.  There's a good amount of mounting depth, but it's not infinite, so the very longest of gauges might not fit.  The Prosport Halo gauges we had in our car fit fine, though.

Installation is pretty easy.  The factory instrument binnacle removes without using tools.  You do have to give it a good sharp tug to disengage it from the clips that hold it in, but it won't break.  The new bezel just clips in -- again, no tools required.

With the new instrument bezel gauge mount in place, we can see how well the Prosport Halo series gauges match the factory red lighting.  Note that for the sake of a clear view (as well as symmetry), we mounted the touch pad for the left-hand gauge on the lower left side of the gauge, meaning the touch pad is now upside-down.  We figured that's a minor price to pay for not having it sticking out into the instrument panel.

When combined with our windshield mount gauge pod, you've got a total of four possible gauges you could mount in any of the GR chassis cars.  (GR chassis includes 2008+ Impreza, WRX and STI.)  We actually did install four gauges in a customer STI recently.  Stay tuned for photos or videos of that car.