Weekend custom gauge mod...

[B6 Dude]

Actually, this started on July 4th weekend and went into a bit of overtime. I've got vac-boost (left side with the bargraph), oil pressure (sensor not yet installed), and wideband AFR.

I'll take some better pics/video later.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[dirtybrd]

Very nice! Any close up pics?

[fitch303]

wtf, you better have a parts list and write up. That is cool as hell.

[Capt. Obvious]

Cool!

More info stat!

[B6 Dude]

I have this for now, but I really gotta run some errands now, so I'll post more later tonight.

BTW, I've been driving around with this for some weeks now in Florida's heat and have not noticed any loss of cooling. But I think with passengers in the back seat (very rare in my car), there would be a flexibility issue with being able to point a vent to them.

[GO-GOTEKNO]

clean as all hell

[golgo13]

That looks very similar to: http://racediagnostics.com/cms/

great work BTW

[golgo13]

BTW is that a sting ray in front of your B6????/

[ngng]

looks like two gauges behind a window?

[manhertm]

Hell, I wouldn't lose a vent for the AWE gauge, but I'd definitely lose it for this set-up NICE!

[manhertm]

That looks very similar to: http://racediagnostics.com/cms/

great work BTW

That's fucking awesome gauge, it looks like the screen from a GT-R.

[OneBadAudi]

Very nice work....love the look..

[got boost.]

Thats clean.

[FourRings80]

Looking great!

[kwimberly]

Very nice!! I might give up the driver's side vent, but I could never give up that one - not in Orlando. So, will you be selling the podi now!?

Looks great!

[vc1492a]

very nice!!! You better have some more pics coming soon with some parts and stuff. That just looks awesome.

[dirtybrd]

Please PM me the a parts list and basic how too, I have a great idea after seeing this!

[golgo13]

Please PM me the a parts list and basic how too, I have a great idea after seeing this!

What? putting it where the ash tray is???? Only way I would do it because I need my A/c as Im sure you do since you live in FL

[dirtybrd]

If I do it I'll let you guys know, money's real tight right now.

[dirtybrd]

BTW is that a sting ray in front of your B6????/

Looks like a Cobra rep.

[B6 Dude]

Damn you folks have been busy while I was out. I know that one size does not fit all, so I'm happily surprised by the many positive responses. Thanks!

Some general answers first...
- That's a Shelby Cobra replica.
- I have other plans for the Podi, for something else I'm working on.
- These are VEI gauges, but "customized".... details later.

I did this because I need to have a bunch of gauges for testing/development, and unlike my previous B5, I did not want some gauges on the pillar, a couple sitting loosely in front of the gear shift, and occasionally some more on the passenger seat. So I invested the time in doing something cleaner and very configurable.

I like the location of vent gauges, but my general peeve about them are that they stick out way too much and that makes them look odd. For analog gauges btw, they should also be pointed towards the driver to eliminate the parallax error. And getting partial air around many of these gauges is not realistic because of thermal issues -- temp will change accuracy and can cause condensation.

I was concerned about losing some A/C capacity, but as I mentioned previously, I really don't feel the difference ... and I'm in South Florida.

Anyway, I will go upload some photos after this so I can explain the how of this project, but I will warn you that there are some significantly customized components. On the plus side, if there's enough interest, I can run a small batch of these and get these to you'll through Podi or AA, etc. There are some things I would tweak first though.

I'll be back...

Cheers,
-Neil.

[B6 Dude]

Alrighty some details...

I first started this as a "quick" thought of mounting 2 regular gauges in the vent like this. I also wanted it to be completely reversible, so there are only 2 holes drilled (not visible when installed), and all vent louvers are completely replaceable.





But for various reasons (heat, configurability, perfect positioning), I ended up laying out everything on a custom PCB, with a switching regulator on board. This is effectively a VEI single gauge with bargraph on one side and a VEI dual gauge on the other side.





The supports and filter look generally like this (first iteration)...





I modified the supports though, so they have a thinner front profile. These are CNC-machined btw...





The way I engineered it, the right side support is mounted with regular thin scotch double-sided tape, then the filter slipped in with the left side support and held in place with one #4 screw...





BTW, to save time/hassle on trying to perfectly align/drill the front filter for the switches for the programmable features of the gauge, I mounted the switches remotely on a separate PCB. Only 2 switches are used for the gauges, and the third (with the LED) is for configuring the LC-1 wideband controller...





Not sure what else I should put here, since it's not really a DIY, but feel free to ask.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[Overboostin]

damn

[absolutegtr]

How did you mount the PCB?

[B6 Dude]

Single screw at the top, since the bottom edge butts up against the base of the vent. But I drilled a hole in the top (one of the two invisible holes I drilled), and if I did it again, I would take advantage of the existing holes...

[kwimberly]

You created that custom PCB? Soldering, etc? Wow. You should market it.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

That looks fantastic, but in this heat i'd never lose a vent.

[downhillracer]

Do a DIY on this!!

[junkie1.8TQ]

Freaking looks awesome...

[dirtybrd]

Did you do the board or have it built? What did it run you?

[F16HTON]

Hell, you have gotten so far with this now, you might as well center it and have vents on either side.

Quite possibly the perfect solution.

[B6 Dude]

So here's the deal -- I designed the original VEI gauges (the digital ones the Podi sells currently), so to re-lay this out was relatively easy for me. I am not an AZ advertiser so I don't want to sell anything here, and for proprietary reasons I can't give out schematics/code/etc, but I am working with Winston/Podi to make this a product ... so stay tuned.

But if anyone has any other questions in the meanwhile, LMK.

Cheers,
-Neil.

[AudiA4_20T]

your the man B6 dude

[aaronz]

That would be a fun gauge to drive into the dealership for warrenty work with.

Excuse me sir.......the computer screen you put in your airvent caused the sludge problem you have, we are going to have to deny your warrenty!

Lol, job well done Neil.

[jackyaudi]

Hell, you have gotten so far with this now, you might as well center it and have vents on either side.

Quite possibly the perfect solution.

I totally agree. It its centered among the 2 vents, it will look much more appealing and professional. I guess it depends whats the weather is like in his area as well.

[jackyaudi]

That would be a fun gauge to drive into the dealership for warrenty work with.

Excuse me sir.......the computer screen you put in your airvent caused the sludge problem you have, we are going to have to deny your warrenty!

Lol, job well done Neil.

lol, that or they gonna ask him: are you chipped as well?

[dsq]

looks really good. i hope this makes production before summer 2009.

[k0mpresd]

i have one of your gauges in my car. and we sell them. i never knew you had an audi.

[B6 Dude]

i have one of your gauges in my car. and we sell them. i never knew you had an audi.

So you're Ian? Wasn't aware that you were on here either.

BTW, everybody who is anybody, drives an Audi

Cheers,
-Neil.

[B6 Dude]

That would be a fun gauge to drive into the dealership for warrenty work with. ...

Well if you're looking for entertainment -- I was doing a custom cluster for a lowrider truck and we came up with a brilliant idea to expose the posers who worked at certain auto shops. So we created a special instrument cluster logo to represent "headlight fluid", and a printer offered to modify/print/bind a custom owner's manual with the extra section on it, stating that any regular auto shop can refill it. The intention was to secretly mount a video camera in the truck, hit up some local shops, act ignorant, show them the manual and get some good youtube footage. Hmmm... I should really finish that...