Gauge pod options...

[E30Idea]

franko90 YGPM

[franco90]

franko90 ygpm

ygpm "franco"

[PiercedE30]

[De //m3]

PiercedE30, thats nice, is that fiberglass?

E30pq, Not bad, but I really prefer having it as close to line of sight without impeding my vision as possible. I think that right of the gauge cluster will be perfect.

Franco, I'm not bhuge on the pillar mounts because they distracted me when I drove in a car with them before. The don't impede vision very much, but they draw my attention looking through the corners.

I'll post pics up whe I get the pod installed.

[PiercedE30]

Yea, it is. I took a spare vent that I grabbed from the junkyard. I took some 2" PVC pipe (just so happens that a normal sized gauge fits in it perfectly) and hot glued them in place. Then I just FG'd over them and then cleaned up the holes to get a good, tight fit. Only thing needed to retain the full air flow from the vent is to block off half of the vent feed behind the vent itself so that all the air goes through the passenger side instead of blowing behind the gauges.

[dude8383]

You could build a custom gauge pod where your ash tray is.

Like this...

where did you get the materials to make this piece?

[e30pq]

where did you get the materials to make this piece?

The base plastic is the stuff that stereo installers use. I cut out a piece that fit the space where the ash tray was.

I used some scrap plastic strengthen and provide support structure underneath the gauges.

The angled rings are sold by Autometer.

[dude8383]

The base plastic is the stuff that stereo installers use. I cut out a piece that fit the space where the ash tray was.

I used some scrap plastic strengthen and provide support structure underneath the gauges.

The angled rings are sold by Autometer.

i see, this is exactly what i want to do...i wonder if its possible to still keep the cover that flips over to cover the ash tray.

[gm9142l]

The ash tray area isn't deep enough for the gauges to sit low enough that the cover would flip up over.

[Herb]

I got free plexi glass from my mother-in-laws business, went to a fabric store and picked up some black textured pleather type material (quite a bit for like $5), used a piece of cardboard to make my template, dremeled for a bit, 3m 77 adhedsive (sp?), to small 90* fasteners. Now I have a center vent pod that blends well with the dash. I'm not at home, but I think I have a pic of it here somewhere, I'll be right back..... Well I couldn't find a pic, I will post one later, Mon/Tue, for you though.
GL
Herbert

[e30pq]

The ash tray area isn't deep enough for the gauges to sit low enough that the cover would flip up over.

Bingo...

Not enough space to use the cover.

[Eric]

I have a carbon fiber a pillar guage pod. it holds two guages.

had it in the M3, thought about it in the 325, but it's stripped to nothing, so i don't need it anymore

$100 + shipping

[De //m3]

Well turns out that gauge pod was for a 2002...pic on the bottom...



BUT, it did let me see that that was nto an ideal location, and that I really like the vent mount option the best in terms of line of sight. So no wI'm looking for best price on a new or used three gauge pod to go in the cetner vent hole.

If any one has one for sale or knows a place that sells it cheaper than BMP, let me know.

Thanks! -Dylan

[Erick]

Gauge pod (Autometer PN#2204) to the Steering Column upper cover. I placed mine in the 10o'clock and 12o'clock (in front of the speedometer).

[kishg]

here's my setup. vdo guages with vdo angle rings (nla) and the blank from a guy on e30tech. works well. i think i'll remove the radio and get a blank for a a water temp guage in there.