[s-cars] s-cars] Good Boost Gauge

[Wayne Dohnal]

I installed a VDO Vision series boost gauge in my S4.  The gauge itself is
fairly cheap, I think under $40.  It's a black-faced gauge and has red
backlighting, but the quality of the backlighting isn't as good as the rest
of the instruments.  The gauge itself seems to work well.

I agonized for at least a month over where to place it.  I wanted it in a
place that's easy to read while driving, which ruled out putting it under
the climate controls.  I also didn't want it prominently sticking out,
ruling out the A-pillar or on top of the dash.  I ended up placing it in the
blank dashboard space to the left of the steering wheel, just under the wood
trim.  It's risky, because drilling the hole is difficult and there's not
much leeway in its placement to avoid the gauge hitting something behind the
panel.  And if you butcher up the panel covering you could be sorry (I did
this a little, but fortunately I had some black RTV silicone that's a pretty
good color match for the black panel).  There's no room behind the panel in
this area for any mounting hardware.  I addressed  this my making the hole
so the gauge is a nice tight friction fit in the panel.

The end result is definitely a compromise between a good viewing angle and
the gauge not looking like an obvious add-on.  My wife says that it looks
like it came with the car.  I think it would look like an add-on if the
panel bottom wasn't black to match the gauge.

Wayne Dohnal
1994 S4



>I have a chipped 95 S6 and have been thinking about
>installing a boost gauge in it. Problem is, I'm really
>not that creative, so it's been agony trying to come
>up with a good gauge that can be put somewhere where
>it doesn't look tacky or just plain bad. Does anyone
>have any suggestions and btdt on installing a good
>looking boost gauge on the S6? Thanks.
>
>Matt Molyneux
>95 S6 MTM 1+ w/ brand new Hyperboost Bypass valve
>(new valve definately recommended)