About a year ago I made a custom Gauge Pod for my RX8. It is still holding up strong and I decided to finally make up a DIY for anyone interested.


The idea of my pod/gauges was to keep them looking as close to "stock" as possible and match the interior of the car. I ended up using a 2nd hand trim piece and ProSport Premium Series gauges to achieve this. I go in a bit more detail of my choices and decisions in the attached PDF file.

The file is 16 pages with a LOT of photos and steps that I went through so it was more convenient for me (and everyone else) to make it as a downloadable PDF (similar to my footwell lights DIY).

The following is also a video of the pod and gauges in action. Enjoy!

 

I decided to post a summary of the DIY & some pics after all for those with mobile devices. FYI: The PDF attached in the original post has more detail.

1. I found some 90 degree pipe connectors for a 50mm pipe. These connectors are actually slightly bigger than 50mm and are perfect for modelling the 52mm gauges. As you can see, I went for a staggered fitment. I also super-glued some 50mm pipe cut-outs underneath the front of each “gauge” which were used to roughly model the shape.

2. The next step involved a lot of masking tape. I used tape to make the shape I was looking for. This involved a lot of layers and small cut-outs, but it also meant the pipes would be removed easily.

3. Fiberglass. There are plenty of tutorials online on how to fiberglass, so I won’t go into detail. Mix the resin with a hardener, cover masking tape in resin using a brush, layer small strips of fiberglass over the shape and repeat.

4. At this point, I decided that more support was needed between each “gauge”. I covered certain areas masking tape againand filled it up with lots of fiberglass and resin.

5. Bog/filler time. I started adding a bit of car filler at a time to help shape the pod. This was followed by sanding, spraying with primer, sanding again and repeating. At this point you don’t need to have the shape perfect. When you’re happy with it, give it a trim to get rid of any rough edges.

6. Time to cut into your dash trim. I positioned the pod design over my rough area for my car (will be dependent on the driver, height, angle preference etc.).

7. Use masking tape to shape and fit your gauge pod into place. At this point it is crucial to use the masking tape on the top of the dash trim and make sure you don’t leave any gaps. All the fiberglass will be added at the bottom side of the trim piece so that the height of the actual trim doesn’t change and fitment remains perfect.

8. As in the previous steps, apply fiberglass. Add a lot to ensure strength. It won’t look pretty, but you won’t be looking at it.

9. Once you have your shape, give everything a quick sanding, including the trim piece. Then add your bog/filler. Also add a thin layer of filler to the trim piece in order to smooth it out and remove the texture.

10. Sand, add filler, sand, add primer (helps see imperfections). Repeat

11. Don’t forget to test fit your gauges. They should be loose. I cut out 3x 1cm long rings from 50mm diameter pipe then sanded the inside down until the gauge fit tightly. Glued/fiberglass-ed/bogged these rings to the front of each whole and continued with the sanding.

12. When happy with the shape/smoothness, give it one last wet-sand. I worked all the way to 1600 grit sand paper, and add your final layer of primer. When dry, give a very quick wet-sand with 1600 grit to smooth out/prep for final layer.

13. Almost there! Pick your final colour. I used Dupli-Color Carbon Spray Wrap due to the color and texture similarity to the un-touched trim piece.

14. Once done, you basically have a custom DIY gauge pod, with stock fitment so just install it.