Best Aftermarket gauges?
 

Hey all, wanted to see if anybody had some experience with adding these guages. I would like to add a tach, temp and oil pressure guages instead of my stock 1st Gen idiot lights.
What brands have worked well/badly? Good selection? Reasonable price? etc? Any stories and advice would be appreciated... Thanks.

If you currently have 'idoit lights' then I think you will have to get new sending units for the new gauges. I believe they need different signals. I found some nice ones by Auto Meter Products, Inc. on Summit Racing

They have white face, carbon fiber, etc. Decent prices and they usually ship very fast...

The Tach shouldn't be too big of deal but will have to get incremental sensors for the rest, instead of the idiot light "on/off" sensor. Will probably try to match them to the stock look, not going for fashion statement. Thanks for the tips guys, if anyone has any other info please feel free to chime in!!

Where are you planning on putting the new guages? Are you gonna retro-fit them into the instrument cluster or just add the pods somewhere else convenient? Just curious...

I love my Dakota Digital gauges. Check them out in my pics. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.dakotadigital.com/

Matt

I'm gonna go with the analogs, not sure if I trust the digitals. Right now am thinkng abour mounting them so they are in the line of sight, but fill up the blank areas over the steering column and under the gauges. Might have to come up with a diagram to describe this...

hey matt, was it hard to hook up the gauges after you got them? I kinda want stuff like that but damn there's too much stuff to do!!!!!!!! Not enough time and money:mad:

dajabr, I just bought a 3 gauge pillar pod for my 89 Runner...it is cool!! You may want to consider that option, too. I kind of thought it would be in the line os site, but it is not at all.

I just got it the day before I left for work. I cannot wait to get back home to install it!! It is way coooolll!!!

AkBillyBow

Sorry, I meant to say "line of site".:dunno:

AkBillyBow:)

I would get GReddy if you want the most bang for the buck. They aren't too expensive, yet exceptional quality, and match the factory lighting very well. If I don't get TRD, then I will get GReddy. Now, if you have $$ to spend, look into Apex'i gauges, you have to go with 60mm, but I can tell you they are the absolute best gauges money can buy.(I had them in my TT supra) With features like "peak hold" and "warning" you really can't go wrong. They also can play back 30 seconds of use...if you don't want to watch them.:bounce:

i have a 91 yota non SR5, so i onli have theh speedo, gas, and temp gauges. i wanted to get a tach, so i went online to ebay. i won a VDO 0-6000rpm 2 1/16" tach. its nice! HERE!!

i got it for $50, and i saw them online going for about $114! woohoo!...

here is a lil SPOOF on the tach i got.

gotta love it!

The three gauge pillar pods are way cool, I may still go with that since it get's everything nicely out of the way, but I'd like to make them less visible to others and more visible to me, as close as possible to existing gauges. Will decide that later...
As far as I know there's only ne place to get those pillars, where'd you get yours?

So, the choices are Auto Meter, VDO, GReddy, Dakota, ISSPRO. Might check them all and see which will fit my application, my budget...

Here's a few pics of my Autometer "Phantom" boost and voltmeter:

http://groups.msn.com/2000SR5ToyotaT...oto&PhotoID=38

http://groups.msn.com/2000SR5ToyotaT...oto&PhotoID=39

http://groups.msn.com/2000SR5ToyotaT...oto&PhotoID=40

http://groups.msn.com/2000SR5ToyotaT...oto&PhotoID=41

dajabr,

I got my pillar pod from a guy online. I thought I got his name and info from this site, but cannot recall if it was here or another site. I have his info on my computer at home, but not on this laptop at work.

I get home from work on the 26th, I can post his info then off the other computer.

He had them manufactured for the 1st gen Runner, as he could not find any that fit properly.

Can't wait to get done with work and get home and install it. :bounce:

Later...AkBillyBow

I ran Autometer tach's and gauges in my Datsuns. They have a nice race look. Phil told me about ISSPRO and I really liked their marine line of white face/blue numbers. Nice quality and blue backlighting at night is great. Hey joshik, nice tach but it's small like a gauge...you gonna pod mount on the pillar?
:nerd: butnut
ISSPRO gauge