[johnnymu]

I like the location. What brand is it? what color is the light?

[j|rz44]

Looks good, if your not going to drill holes!

[rwalker]

The location looks to be the next best thing to a proper a-pillar mount. How's the angle from the driver's seat? Are you looking at the top of the gauge or right at the face? Maybe some enterprising person with access to plastic molding facilities can make a proper angled mount for that spot that matches the dash grain...

Until then, I'll likely wait for Renn-Art or Supreme Power Parts to step up with an OEM fabric-covered a-pillar mount.

Anxiously awaiting the DIY that'll no doubt result from your investigation,
Rob

[hotrod2448]

I think the line he is talking about is the hard plastic capillary line that most Autometer boost gauges come with. It's like hollow weed whacker string. It's really small in diameter which makes it easy to fish through the firewall but, also really brittle and if you kink it it will most likely crack. That stuff sucks.

I've never seen it in black. You could put some heat shrink over as long as you are really careful about not melting the line when shrinking it. No crack pipe torches for shrinking.

BTW, I don't really care for that location. I haven't seen one I like yet for these cars though so...

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by O-cha

Wait what are you trying to do here? some of those have short hard white lines off the back but you then connect those to rubber vacuum lines to route into your engine bay.

I have white; I want black.

[335iheLLraiseR]

Originally Posted by johnnymu

I like the location. What brand is it? what color is the light?

Looks like the STRI gauges, they are all over ebay and they come already with that pod.

Good job Mr. 5, I was waiting for my gauges to arrive to put in that same location, but you beat me too it.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by hotrod2448

I think the line he is talking about is the hard plastic capillary line that most Autometer boost gauges come with. It's like hollow weed whacker string. It's really small in diameter which makes it easy to fish through the firewall but, also really brittle and if you kink it it will most likely crack. That stuff sucks.

I've never seen it in black. You could put some heat shrink over as long as you are really careful about not melting the line when shrinking it. No crack pipe torches for shrinking.

BTW, I don't really care for that location. I haven't seen one I like yet for these cars though so...

A black line came with my VW steering wheel gauge pod.
It actually seemed not as hard as this white crap.

[Mr. 5]

This comes with a black line.

[hotrod2448]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

I have white; I want black.

Yeah that's the stuff. It's plastic not rubber like a vacuum line. I've never seen it in black until that pic above. You can't find vacuum hose that small?

[e90AW335i]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

I have white; I want black.

Looking at that picture it looks as if it is almost plastic water line. Similar to the kind you would use for an ice water line for your refrigerator. Depending on the diameter, you could get probably get black plastic water line at a local pluming supply.....

[johnnymu]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

This comes with a black line.

Cool, i'm also using the same vdo boost, just to match stock gauges

[veightkiller]

im planning to put my defi gauge on that spot...the only problem is i don't know where to get the wires to hook it up.

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by rwalker

The location looks to be the next best thing to a proper a-pillar mount. How's the angle from the driver's seat? Are you looking at the top of the gauge or right at the face? Maybe some enterprising person with access to plastic molding facilities can make a proper angled mount for that spot that matches the dash grain...

Until then, I'll likely wait for Renn-Art or Supreme Power Parts to step up with an OEM fabric-covered a-pillar mount.

Anxiously awaiting the DIY that'll no doubt result from your investigation,
Rob

"proper" A pillar mount? Personally I'm not one for every person that drives by me seeing my gauge, you cant in that spot, or at least not so easily as the A pillar mounts that scream "look at my gauges in all their blinding blue LED glory".




That looks like surgical tubing or something mr5 lol.

[rwalker]

Originally Posted by O-cha

"proper" A pillar mount? Personally I'm not one for every person that drives by me seeing my gauge, you cant in that spot, or at least not so easily as the A pillar mounts that scream "look at my gauges in all their blinding blue LED glory".

On "proper": I meant to contrast a fully-integrated, OEM fabric-covered pod with a modified (admirably hacked :-) ) surface-mount pod secured with double-sided tape.

An a-pillar-mounted boost gauge need not be blue, nor does it need to be much higher or more visible than the normal instrument cluster. The VW/Audi community has been doing a-pillar gauges tastefully for a long time, I'm surprised no one has yet (AFAIK) stepped up for the 335i.

-Rob

[BoostedBMW]

I put mine in almost the same spot, but I didn't want to drill into the dash or anything so I just mounted it on top of the vent. I like how your mount sits flush with the dash though. I have a CF autometer pod, but it doesn't look as good as that.



*edit*... I just saw that you modified the same mount that I have... it looks like I have a new DIY now.

[WOPALX]

Originally Posted by veightkiller

im planning to put my defi gauge on that spot...the only problem is i don't know where to get the wires to hook it up.

My DEFI is in that spot, controller is in the glove box.

Orange wire (12v ign on) is connected to the red wire on the cigarette lighter connector under the centre console bit. It has 3 wires on the connector; a brown, a solid red & red with stripe

White wire (illumination) is connected to the red striped (very thin gauge) wire in the same connector bit.

Red wire (12v battery) is connected to somewhere under the glove box, essentially I just tapped a wire that was always live (used a multi meter).


To get access to the lighter connections you need to remove the console. What I did;

1) Lifted the shifter boot up so it disconnects from the surround
2) Shifted into drive (AT means you need to have the car running)
3) Carefully lifted the trim up, while doing so you can twist the shifter boot plastic around so you can lay the trim out of the way. Be careful as the iDrive wire isn't too long
4) Shifted into park and turned off the engine.

To re-install the trim just do the opposite.

[335iheLLraiseR]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

The mount is called "Autometer mounting cup".
I took the ring that came with it, cut one side off, and bent the other side so it would fit flush with the dash.

I don't know what you call this cover (A pillar?), but it's the cover that you see on the side of the dash when you open the door.

i don't understand that part, if you removed the ring whats holding the pod in place? what did you cut and what did you bend?

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by 335iheLLraiseR

i don't understand that part, if you removed the ring whats holding the pod in place? what did you cut and what did you bend?

I cut the left side that bolts on to the stand.
The gauge just slips into the pod pretty snug.

[335boosted2Dmax]

i think the best place is in a center vent.........

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by 335boosted2Dmax

i think the best place is in a center vent.........

Yah but...

-A 52 mm gauge won't fit in the vent. (I tried to make it work)
-That picture is from an Audi/VW where the vents are larger.

[BoostedBMW]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Yah but...

-A 52 mm gauge won't fit in the vent. (I tried to make it work)
-That picture is from an Audi/VW where the vents are larger.

+1... I tried that also before I just went with a regular gauge pod on the dash. I bought the VDO boost gauge because it was smaller, and even that won't fit the AC vent.

[veightkiller]

Originally Posted by WOPALX

My DEFI is in that spot, controller is in the glove box.

Orange wire (12v ign on) is connected to the red wire on the cigarette lighter connector under the centre console bit. It has 3 wires on the connector; a brown, a solid red & red with stripe

White wire (illumination) is connected to the red striped (very thin gauge) wire in the same connector bit.

Red wire (12v battery) is connected to somewhere under the glove box, essentially I just tapped a wire that was always live (used a multi meter).


To get access to the lighter connections you need to remove the console. What I did;

1) Lifted the shifter boot up so it disconnects from the surround
2) Shifted into drive (AT means you need to have the car running)
3) Carefully lifted the trim up, while doing so you can twist the shifter boot plastic around so you can lay the trim out of the way. Be careful as the iDrive wire isn't too long
4) Shifted into park and turned off the engine.

To re-install the trim just do the opposite.

Now this is the answer i've been waiting for..i'll install mine tomorrow and i will post some pic's..thank you sir!