hardate

Looking for some answers to some questions regarding the Bros Maxtrim gauges available on K-spec for a 2001 tib. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

How long does it take to install these?

Will my current bezel trim pieces work with these since they are notched to line up for the OEM MPH gauge face and the faces that come with the Maxtrims are KPH?

Anyone have pictures of the Maxtrim gauge faces without the bezel trim pieces? I've discovered I can use the bezel from a 98-99 tib and eliminate the need for those trim pieces...its a perfect fit.

Anyone thought about or tried putting a tinted filter or film between the gauge face and the EL sheet to change the color of the light?

I've done a search for Maxtrim in the forum and read through the posts, but see that these questions have been asked...if they have, sorry about the duplication. Also, I hope these questions aren't found to be dumb...I've only got a few (simple) mods under my belt so I'm stilll a newby.

Thanks in advance for any input or answers.

DTN

It will take you 2 hours. You can click on my signature for a DIY of how to remove the dashboard.

You can get a tinted filter from partsexpress.com look at stage lighting. The rd1/rd2 bezel swap works well, but it will cause the tickmarks to be larger then normal.

REDZMAN

DTN, how the hell would you know? Have you ever installed the Maxtrim?

Only person on this site that has them that I know of is SOCKS. I'm pretty sure it's longer than 2 hours.

DTN

I would know because gauges is gauges and I've worked on more then a dozen for members of this site. I did not answer anything I was not sure of. Those maxtrims are the same as any other EL gauge, but they do not print the gauges on the EL sheet, they have the sheet separated.

I may be underestimating the time required. It would take me 1 1/2 hour to replace the EL sheets by way of dash removal, popping off the needles, removing the gauge faces, sliding the two sheets in place over each gauge, recalibrating the needles, then dash reassembly. That's the method I perfer. But you can cut your stock faces up if you'd like.

I was telling him where he could get the parts needed. If you take a white light source and filter the light, it will be dimmer, but still colored none-the-less.

I also acknowledged the tick marks will not line up... commonly known fact. You need to remove the trim rings. The trim rings will leave the tick marks about 2x the size they are with the trim rings in place. The RD1 bezels will fit perfectly.

Stage lighting filters are what should be used for this application. They come in sheets of 1ft by 1ft. and are easily cut to any dimension. They cost $10 each from parts express.

nate704

it takes 5 mins to take the whole dashborard and gauge cluster for me.

LOL laugh.gif

DTN

^^ You should try out for a part in The Matrix.

hardate

Thanks for the responses thus far.

As far as getting access to the gauges via the dash and removing the needles and current faces...this is not a problem...already done this a couple of times while working with Blackcat Customs on some custom gauges. I like these custom gauges, however the fishished product has lacked the quality i expected (gotten 2 sets of these from Blackcat and both had lines which didn't get coated very well in the printing process and therefore these areas allow light to come through...very frustrating). The main problem with these has been the eveness of the light...plain and simple...it sucks, and I've tried everything except for installing a ton of LEDs within the cluster (kind of beyond me...at least at this point).

In my question about the time, I probably should of been more specific and asked how long or challenging is it to install the EL sheet, primarily the connection for it.

I believe all the questions I asked have been answered, however one answer does pose a follow up question. If installing a kph gauge face doesn't allow you to use the bezel trim and not using these trim peices on a 2001 tib increases the size of the tick marks...what do people commonly do...live with the larger tick marks or is there another option?

DTN

If you've installed gauges before, it should not be a problem for you to do these.

You can get the ring bezels from a KPH vehicle. Check E-Bay for a cluster. I do not know if you can order the rings separate.

hardate

Hey Redzman - are the KPH bezels something that I could order from K-spec along with the Maxtrims?

REDZMAN

^^^
Good question. You probably can pick them up, but I'd advise ANYONE against ordering from Kspec.

Best thing to do is ask the RD2 folks that HAVE KPH gauges installed here in the US, how they line up. SOCKS is one of them, Javageek is another.



I've worked on at least 5 sets of gauges, and the Maxtrims are nowhere near the same as any of them.

At all.

There are like 3 different layers of material, and you have to fit some flat wires into connectors on the gauge cluster, not to mention other things. Not the same at all.

http://english.bros.co.kr/bros/install.php

There is a short example on the GK. Note that the GK has ONE piece, and they have simplified the install here.

The point is, you can't say how easy they are to install, if you haven't installed that set.



WTF would you use that? Expensive, hard to find, and way too much material. Go get some Taillight repair tape. You can get a kit with 3 different colors in it for less than $5 at about any auto store. And it sticks.