Exactly, but you guys are missing a bunch of considerations. Namely ergonomics.

The assumption is that your additional gauges are to compliment your existing ones, and that you'll be attempting to read everything while driving. In that case, you want your gauges to be the same distance from the driver's head so the driver doesn't have to refocus his eyes for every gauge. It also makes it easier to spot the other gauges in your peripheral vision. This is the idea behind mounting a single gauge on the dash hood about 6-8" back. It puts it about the same distance into the dash as the stock cluster.

The worst thing I've seen, function-wise, is the tripple a-pillar gauge. It puts the top gauge right next to your head, about 1/4 the distance as your cluster!

The less you're going to use a gauge, the farther away from the ideal it can be placed, uh ideally. Turbo timer, boost controller, fan controller in the console/dash, no problem. On top of the column, no biggie.

There's also the line of sight to consider. The farther away from your normal driving line of sight, the bigger a pain in the ass it's going to be to check the gauge. Yeah, the a-pillar might work great for all-left Nascar or right-hand drifts, but what about the other direction? They might as well be in your back seat! That's also my beef with boost gauges in the cigarette lighter hole. There's no way you can drive and stare down at 45* to read the gauge... ok, uh, there's no way that's safe, any ways.

Lastly, be honest here. Are you really going to read 45 gauges mid-drift/turn? Are you really worried about 45 different engine parameters failing on you mid-drift/turn? If you're really concerned about something, that gauge should have a warning tone/light. And if you're concerned about 45 things, consider building a more robust/reliable engine!

 

Sweet holder dealie for the ebc/tt

 

I tried to keep that in mind when I put my gauges together. My car is a dd and is never tracked. I'm def. going to do gauges on the dash in my s13 because the car will be abused quite a bit more and like you said earlier they need to be clearly visible. The one I worry about most on my ka-t car is oil pressure. My boost controller doubles as a boost gauge and records spikes and max boost and it is clearly visible on top of the steering column in giant digital blue numbers. So technically the A pillar boost gauge is only used for vacuum; I have thought about deleting it... The wideband is kind of in a shitty spot but I was def. not drilling holes in my perfect dash, sticking a holder on it or running a triple pod for that matter. I run an Enthalpy tune anyways so I don't even really have to look at it. It's more for peace of mind. K.I.S. (Keep it simple!)

 

people still run turbo timers? LOL

i don't mind a single or two gauges on the a-pillar. they're not for me to sit there and monitor 24/7, that's why you spring for some peak/warning gauges if you're really that concerned. i agree with epstein, i really doubt any of you people are in mid drift for so long that you need to check your gauges.

honestly, don't like the placement. i guess i'm a DD/stock sort of guy, i like all of my cars to look factory inside and out and i'm not going to make it a 4 foot reach to fiddle with my a/c.

i say either get a 3 gauge DIN face panel for the slot at the head unit, or just mount em on the dash. if you do it right it won't look shitty. boost controllers (and turbo timers) can stay in the glovebox. it's just one less thing Thiefy McStealsalot can see when he peers in your tricked out ride looking for goodies to rip out.

 

^ What's wrong with turbo timers..? lol

 

 

Definitely somthing I didnt think about. Now with all this enlightenment to these facts, I think I'm going to dash mount them.

Anybody have good links to a nice gauge pod or gauge mounts? (I haven't looked for them yet)

There has been alot of good info in this thread so far, and thank you all for keeping the BS comments out of the thread.

 

i do believe greddy makes pods/ holders for the dash

 

i like my buddy Arturo's setup, granted hes using different controllers, looks cleaner. i wouldnt go without vents myself, id mount them on the dash like pictured above. my friend brando had his defi gauges just like that. looks good and you can easily see them, PFC isnt easy to see, lol.

 

Locked hub! ANTI-THIEFT warrior!