PDA

View Full Version : Losing the Orange, gauge face change



SnakeyesTx
05-21-2008, 11:35 AM
Just curious if anyone's done these or used them before (or now that you see them... want to do this). I'd like to de-orange my E39 a little bit since there's just so much of it in there. I was planning on the gauges and since the headunit is coming out a lot of orange will vanish there. I think the only remaining orange will be the a/c controls and the overhead led's that illuminate the shifter which is fine with me to have a little contrast and balance.

So have any of you tried these? How difficult was the teardown and reassemble? I've tried taking my E39 gauges apart a bit and got about halfway through and hit a roadblock with separating the back with the needle's motors, to the front with the clear plastic.


http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/14808218/aview/bmw_gauge.jpg

repenttokyo
05-21-2008, 12:12 PM
personally, the font used on those gauges is about 30 years older than is appropriate for your e39...

BMWDriver
05-21-2008, 03:26 PM
What's the word I'm looking for... hmmm... bling ! Yeah that's it: bling !

These look pretty agressive to me.

I ain't no help here, but taking out the cluster is always a bit of a delicate thing to do - mind you I only know of the e34. The less I do it, the better I feel.

SnakeyesTx
05-21-2008, 05:02 PM
Ideally I would have like to find similar to stock gauges with the later model VW colors (purple numbers/red needles) but I figure to have something a little different than the plain boring orange I've been looking at for 3 years, on bimmers and a few years on pontiac's and 1 on a jeep, that it'd be a refreshing change with the polished rings around their borders.

t.wak
05-21-2008, 05:40 PM
Never knew honda made an E34 Civic. Sweeeet

Qube
05-21-2008, 10:30 PM
Ugh. Forget that! Do THIS:

http://www.speedofixer.co.uk/images/BMW_LED_WHITE2_S.JPG

See here: http://www.speedofixer.co.uk/bmw_led_e39.htm

bimmerd00d
05-21-2008, 10:46 PM
well this looks like an Escalade.

http://www.newtruckstuff.com/shop/image.php?productid=20106

dauchande
05-21-2008, 11:03 PM
What's the word I'm looking for... hmmm... bling ! Yeah that's it: bling !

These look pretty agressive to me.

I ain't no help here, but taking out the cluster is always a bit of a delicate thing to do - mind you I only know of the e34. The less I do it, the better I feel.
Huh, I was thinking of the word, Gaudy...

Now a heads up display would be worth the trouble to install, especially one with the Mach 5's infared mode.

attack eagle
05-22-2008, 12:09 AM
Those luminescent gauges are el crappo and a real pain to install.
everyone I know who is over 20 has taken them back out as soon as the novelty wore off... or has had to buy a second cluster after breaking the first during disassembly during install or removal.

Omega
05-22-2008, 05:20 AM
Looks like a '90s T'Bird dash. Awful choice of font.... Don't do it!!!

GoldenOne
05-22-2008, 08:27 AM
Ugh. Forget that! Do THIS:

http://www.speedofixer.co.uk/images/BMW_LED_WHITE2_S.JPG

See here: http://www.speedofixer.co.uk/bmw_led_e39.htm

Looks like somebody might be overheating lol

Ross
05-22-2008, 08:44 AM
Me thinks this will be a lot of work for what is likely inferior stuff. And since everyone else has mentioned it, inappropriate for the car.

Morgenster
05-22-2008, 10:59 AM
Not only inapropriate. IRC the reason BMW sticks to the 'orange-red' gauges is because it's much easier on the eyes, especially in darkness. In any other car I noticed that looking at the gauges in white or purple or blue or whatever color was indeed not as easy. I got a headache just fromlooking at the ones in the OP on my computer screen.

repenttokyo
05-22-2008, 11:59 AM
Not only inapropriate. IRC the reason BMW sticks to the 'orange-red' gauges is because it's much easier on the eyes, especially in darkness. In any other car I noticed that looking at the gauges in white or purple or blue or whatever color was indeed not as easy. I got a headache just fromlooking at the ones in the OP on my computer screen.


i've never had problems with any other car colors, because i think as you said, manufacturers research the lights before they put them in. But the aftermarket doesn't have that kind of budget, so be wary I guess.

BMWDriver
05-22-2008, 04:40 PM
Not only inapropriate. IRC the reason BMW sticks to the 'orange-red' gauges is because it's much easier on the eyes, especially in darkness. In any other car I noticed that looking at the gauges in white or purple or blue or whatever color was indeed not as easy. I got a headache just fromlooking at the ones in the OP on my computer screen.

True, now that it's mentionned, the e92 and consort have still the orange lighting. And the cars are really nice and inviting to sit in.

Just imagine though how it's gonna look mixed with the rest of the buttons and lighting. It's not gonna match. When a cluster is designed blue, the rest of the controls follow suit.

Ferret
05-23-2008, 03:53 AM
True, now that it's mentionned, the e92 and consort have still the orange lighting. And the cars are really nice and inviting to sit in.

Just imagine though how it's gonna look mixed with the rest of the buttons and lighting. It's not gonna match. When a cluster is designed blue, the rest of the controls follow suit.

A friend of mine put a similar set of these into his fraud escort - took them out a week later because they were too bright and it was impossible to drive at night with them!