I'm considering gauges since its somewhat necesary evil to keep tabs on what's going on, especially since EM is in my near future. However, I think Defi's are overpriced and oversized. MadDad currently has a set of gauges that are 1/2 the price, the correct size (52mm) and the same quality. They DO NOT warn or sweep though. Alright with me, I have no gauges in the car now (except boost) so I have no warn or sweep to begin with. Thoughts?
This brings me to my next choice, I do not like Defi's HUGE gauge pod...I much prefer autometers bezel (http://www.daddysscp.com/dcart4/product.php?productid=107). Not only does it mimic the OEM gauge pod, the gauges are actually pointed moreso in the driver's direction rather than the middle of the backseat.
Looks good. MadDad has a good reputation and from what I gather excellent customer service. As for dimming, you can solve that with a soldering iron and a few bucks. Wouldn't sweat it. That said, I absolutely love my Autometer bezel (the dual pod one that sits around the factory gauge cluster). For a 3rd gauge mount I will probably go with the SubieGal pod.
I do believe I'm going with the autometer 3 gauge bezel in the center. For dimming, I figured I could just splice it in or what have you to the current gauge dimming switch on the wheel?
maddad is what ill probaly get if i dont get the omni ones cause im a stickler for everything has to match. and i need the green light and red needles
If I were buying gauges, they'd be the MadDad ones. Something else to look at are the Autometer Nexus (sp??) gauges. They work something like the Defi's but cheaper (I think)....
I've never seen those Maddad gauges, I really like the look of those. I'll have to wait for WRX green though. In regards to dimming, if they are like autometers the dimming circuit works off of varying voltage. The Subaru dimming system runs by altering the resistance. You can wire it up somehow and have the gauges dim oppositely of the rest of the gauges (all other gauges high center pod off, etc).
Bobby, WRX gauges should be out alrighty. pEd, the Nexus gauges are actually more if not the same price than the Defi's (depending on vendor). I thought about the clock, could do it easy. I'll have to see if it Dims in different levels or not though.
much better than the massive Defi pod imo and more visible than the monitor, sounds like a good choice buddy :bigthumb:
We'll see, ultimately, I'd love both to monitor more than 3 things. 3 easily visible in peripheral, and then 20 to check up on everything after runs or during play.
i just got 3 gauges installed while ago but they r not connected.. they r auto meter c2.. white face with blue light.. i think they r hot.. cost me abt 40% less then u could get from a retail and they r brand new..
okay, i take that back... Mine dims when the full lights are on, but its because of overall electrical load i think. Its not connected to the dimmer level knob at all...
Did anyone get the mad dad guages.... Just curious on how hard the install is of the EGT and Oil temp.
how hard was the install? i jsut got mine and i had a friend look at them and he said maybe i'm missing some stuff. like the egt how do you keep the bolts in. on the barb? who installed them?
If you have an STi, the MadDad gauges do not match in color. http://www.iwsti.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39073&page=7
Hey did you end up buying the maddad clarity gauges, and if so how do you like them? I totally missed the thread on the forum before emailing daddysscp for more info. When I was doing my own digging I determened I wanted pretty much the same gauge setup for my STI.. with the autometer gauge pod. I also want to take care of the ac lights, power window lights and such and tint them amber/red too. I was looking on the daddysscp site and it looks like they now have the "Clarity V2 Ti 3 Gauge Bundle" kit that does the diagnostic needle sweep on power-on. I am really interested in how visible these gauges are if they are used with a slimmer center gauge pod like autometer. The pic's I've seen are with the Defi ampetheater style pod which blocks out a lot of light.
I emailed daddysscp a list of questions about the new V2 Ti setup ( cost is $359.95 and first deliveries should be in the late may or early June timeframe. ) In their reponse ( see below) it appears that they have addressed the dimming issue, needle sweep, and gauge color. Below is the reponse i got from the maddad folks this afternoon. I have asked for follow-up regarding gauge color. If the color is a closer match I'm probably buying a set. Response from daddysscp below: ----snip------snip------ here you go: 1) Should not be an issue at all with the V2s. We just got new pre-production samples in with the updated lighting. Because we have a "dimming" feature built in now we were able to switch to higher contrast LEDS. With the fixed contrast using a higher contrast on the V1s would have made things just a tad too bright at night, but this is now a moot issue. The contrast is still lower in the day than at night but I've tested with the new sample with no visor placed on top of the dash with direct sunlight on the face and it was still quite readable. I would actually put the lighting on par with Defi or similiar at this point. Installing with the cluster bezel without any pod should be fine. We do have 52mm gauge caps though and they are still useful because they cut down on glare and do add a small bit to the full sunlight contrast as would be the case even with Defi's. 2) Yes, PSI. All gauges are PSI or Fahrenheit were applicable. No metric units on any MadDad gauges. 3) To be determined. The new samples are clearly more on the Amber side than the red. But are they too Amber...hahaha. I'm stopping by our tuning partner later this afternoon to sit in an STi again to compare directly(my car is a 2002 WRX). 4)Yes, a fixed "dim" is now built in when you turn on the headlights. 5)Yes, like the V1's they use a highly smoked lens for the complete black out. 6)Boost is electronic as are all the gauges. Of similiar interest the internal movement is now all electronic stepper motor controlled(like Defi, Omori, Autometer Nexus and most other premium brand gauges). Yes, the needle sweep is done by all gauges. 7)You get the "basic" single page install sheet which is generic. Although the gauge are catered for the STi look the install sheets are of the generic nature and are more about wiring than anything else. However, they gauges are no different than say Omori, Autometer, or any other electronic gauges that do not have control module requirements so other forum member install experience can be leveraged. EGT is install is simple. The biggest task is tapping the manifold for the sensor. 8)Some extra 18 gauge wire. Which is all you really need for an install. The sandwich adapter can be helpful for the oil pressure/oil temp gauges. 9)The initial price of $359.95 for Boost, EGT, and Oil Press. is going to be a short lived price. You'll see this popular trio run up to $399 after the first run of gauges are out the door to customers. Relative to the feature set and internal drive mechanism there really isn't anything out there right now anywhere near the price point we have set for the pre-order of $359.95 or even the $399 that they will be after the initial group-buy/pre-order is done. We all know what the Defi's cost(though they have some additional features) and Omori which doesn't offer the factory look would run $600+ as would Greddy or any other stepper motor based electronic gauges. The $359.95 is the lowest price we can offer these at. When the price jumps up to $399 I could perhaps work something to maintain the $359 for local organized group buys but really can't offer anything lower. Let me know if you have any futher questions.
Alex get the Defi's. I got the D series which were the older ones and it is hard to find some but searching Ebay you should. I got both my boost gauge and my EGT gauge for $200. The EGT does the sweep.
I've been emailing Rick at daddysscp.com and I'm still waiting wait for the Maddad Clarity V2's to come out ( cost is $359.00) for 52mm boost, egt, and user's choise of a third gauge with sending units). Rick at Daddy's is making another attempt to get the LED's a little closer in tint to the STi and Defi BF amber/red color. It is possible that they will run with the same LED tint as the current $299.00 Maddad clarity offering, if he cant get a closer match on this next test run. Maddad has worked out the issues with LED brightness and dimming of the gauges with the new series, and the new turbo gauge has the diag needle sweep like the other gauges. The timeframe for first deliveries of the new gauges is now slated for June/July.
I haven't posted pictures yet, but I just installed Defi Link gauges with that Autometer pod. 52mm metal trim, green led with red needles. I REALLY like them!