Drivers side air vent gauge pod...

S3 Paul

S3 Paul

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I bought one of these from a tuner a year or so back and it was very expensive !
I do like where the gauge fits but the price hurt,
Im not on a sales pitch , just asking if im wasting my time. ive started to mess about with making the panel that sits in the airvent in place of the fins to house the gauge, I could just do one for a mates car as planned or make a couple or so if people would be intrested?
 
Yeah I would like one, but the price is what puts me off :s
 
I'd be interested because the ones sold by tuners are extortionate for essentially a piece of plastic, And i dont want a pillar pod, Do eeeet!
 
S3 Paul said:
I bought one of these from a tuner a year or so back and it was very expensive !
I do like where the gauge fits but the price hurt,
Im not on a sales pitch , just asking if im wasting my time. ive started to mess about with making the panel that sits in the airvent in place of the fins to house the gauge, I could just do one for a mates car as planned or make a couple or so if people would be intrested?
Click to expand...

Agreed, absolute rip off!! I could be interested in this. What you making them out of mate??

Cheers

Steve
 
The cheapest holder i've seen is £40 which is quite steep for a piece of plastic. If you're able to make these to the same standard for half the price you'll be onto a winner.
 
potencial interest over here too! not a fan of obvious pods

i had been looking to see if i could mount a gauge in the ashtray so it can still be closed and tucked away (i did something similar on my last pug 406 sri turbo) but i imagine if it can be done someone on here wouldve done it already?
 
eddieantifreeze said:
potencial interest over here too! not a fan of obvious pods

i had been looking to see if i could mount a gauge in the ashtray so it can still be closed and tucked away (i did something similar on my last pug 406 sri turbo) but i imagine if it can be done someone on here wouldve done it already?
Click to expand...

Not sure the ashtray is big enough IMO, especially as it has the cigarette lighter/12v output socket integrated into it.
The cubby hole above with the folding could be an option? I've seen three gauges fitted in there.


Steve
 
Steveo_A3_1.8t said:
Not sure the ashtray is big enough IMO, especially as it has the cigarette lighter/12v output socket integrated into it.
The cubby hole above with the folding could be an option? I've seen three gauges fitted in there.


Steve
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's just a cutdown and reflushed single din gauge pod. Seen that a few times.
 
i made a vent pod yesterday was awesome fun making it :D only down side is the paint i used to paint it turned out to be really shiny paint so it look a bit tacky that will soon be sorted when i cover it with a nice material that matches the dash. but man the things you can make out a catalyst bond and cardboard
 
coatesy said:
i made a vent pod yesterday was awesome fun making it :D only down side is the paint i used to paint it turned out to be really shiny paint so it look a bit tacky that will soon be sorted when i cover it with a nice material that matches the dash. but man the things you can make out a catalyst bond and cardboard
Click to expand...

Come on, you know the rules! Where's the pics :)
 
coatesy said:
i made a vent pod yesterday was awesome fun making it :D only down side is the paint i used to paint it turned out to be really shiny paint so it look a bit tacky that will soon be sorted when i cover it with a nice material that matches the dash. but man the things you can make out a catalyst bond and cardboard
Click to expand...

C'mon Coatsey share the wealth lol!, cheers for that charge pipe and the extra pipe you sent me buddy. Your a star
 
Ive made a couple now...
Im waiting on paint at the moment,
My question now is... sell my "posh" one or sell the copys
 
I'd be interested in one if someone made some and was willing to sell them On for a decent price. 😁
 
okay okay yeah what was i thinking not sharing the pictures.

this is one of my cardboard cut out template thing



and this one is it semi finished well it was finished until i realized that the paint dried shiny as feck :/



im thinking of getting some material you know like what goes over speakers and putting that over it so it blends in with the dash more
 
Last edited by a moderator:
yeah when i was test fitting it sort of just went in and was happy where it was no chance its going to fall out or fall in, well it would be impossible for it to fall in as the hole gets smaller and it wont fall out because its made to the size of the hole so its pretty tight in there.

pretty awesome handy man for a computer nerd :D
 
I will put a couple of progress pictures up tomorrow when i get home
Ive made them from wood and shaped them.
 
Coatesy you deserve one of these for that effort mate:

BluePeterBadge.jpg
 
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:'( what really ! oh my i don't know what to say this is the happiest day ever, iv always dreamed of this day.


Firstly i would like to thank my parents and the people of asn for helping me achieve my life long goal of getting a blue peter badge. :yahoo:
 
I used MDF for one then sealed it with fibre glass resin for final shaping
The one i have recently been working on i used an off cut of hard wood. ( i live next to a joinery shop) The again sealed it and im working on final shaping.
 
S3 Paul said:
I used MDF for one then sealed it with fibre glass resin for final shaping
The one i have recently been working on i used an off cut of hard wood. ( i live next to a joinery shop) The again sealed it and im working on final shaping.
Click to expand...

Very interesting Paul.

You might also want to supply a range of different sized holes as I remember being limited to the gauge I could buy due to the size of the hole in the holder. Not too sure how big you could get away with before the wood would become week but it might be worth looking into!?
 
Well i have one with a hole machined into it and one without... What sizes are you thinking?
Mine is stock 52mm
 
S3 Paul said:
I used MDF for one then sealed it with fibre glass resin for final shaping
The one i have recently been working on i used an off cut of hard wood. ( i live next to a joinery shop) The again sealed it and im working on final shaping.
Click to expand...


ah sweet i was thinking of using fiber glass but as i didn't have any and was excited to have a go at making one i just used catty bond over some doubled up cardboard, think i might have some more experiments on using different stuff to make another one
 
To get a good match on the texture and colour is my next problem.
There is some final shaping to be done for a good match to the dash , but it's getting there.
A3 dash is a different colour than the s3 too I think? The spare vent I'm using is from an a3 but the same panel fits in both.
I also thought about doing a centre vent pod but I think most people would miss those more
 
yeah i get what you mean, at least with the drivers side vent if the window steams up you can open the window or if its to hot open the window.

it would be good to find some material or some wrap stuff that's the same colour as the dash
 
S3 Paul said:
To get a good match on the texture and colour is my next problem.
There is some final shaping to be done for a good match to the dash , but it's getting there.
A3 dash is a different colour than the s3 too I think? The spare vent I'm using is from an a3 but the same panel fits in both.
I also thought about doing a centre vent pod but I think most people would miss those more
Click to expand...

Any pics yet mate, gonna start mine tomoz when I change the thermostat and plumb\wire in boost gauge
 
I wasnt home last night.
I will dig them out at tea time when i call in at my place.
Se what people think so far
 
done this today, used a peice of 6mm MDF and some black sticky back felt.

i removed the fins out of the vent and cut the MDF to size (quite a bit of fettling) then cut hole out (53mm hole saw).

click pics for full size!!




steve
 
Well it looks like i managed to leave the vents down at my unit...
So all i have on my laptop is the very early stages of my first vent panel...
It does fit better and more fully now,
Pictures of the current state will be posted when i get down to my unit.

19012010069.jpg

Gaugepod2-1.jpg


16012010064.jpg


This is the VERY expensive pod ( once removed from the housing ) so i knew what i was working towards...
22102009006.jpg


Gaugesfitted.jpg
 
They look better now, Just they seem to be hiding at the moment !
 
nice job paul, certainly spent some time on that!! looking forward to swwing the finished result.

cheers westy, all i need now is a decent boost gauge. my second hand Auto Gauge one is so bad lol
 
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