The Guide to Gauge Face Kits
Unless you live in Montana, where the posted daytime speed limit is "reasonable and prudent," chances are you give your speedometer quite a bit of attention while you are driving around town. In fact, you depend on all of your instruments for such important information as when to shift gears, when to fill up your gas tank and even when it's time to head over to the mechanic for your 30,000 mile tune-up.
Unfortunately, auto manufacturers tend to give the style of the gauge face little to no creative thought. Rather than putting up with staring at humdrum gauge faces, make the switch to one of our exciting overlays.
Just as the dashboard veneer kits stick directly over the stock trim, so too do gauge face kits fasten directly on top of your factory-installed instrument panel. Each gauge overlay is incredibly thin, so they do not get in the way of your needles. Plus, these laser-cut overlays are custom-fitted to mount exactly onto your specific year, make and model vehicle without obstructing the panel's backlighting.
Gauge face kits are available in two material types, each of which have their own special traits.
For gauges that are both tough and sophisticated, stainless steel is the material for you. All of these overlays are crafted using premium, corrosion-resistant stainless steel. They are cut to a precise .005" thick by state-of-the-art lasers, and polished to a shimmering gloss finish which will add luster to any instrument panel.
If you want an instrument panel that matches or accents your paintjob, then check out our colored gauge face overlays. These overlays are crafted from .015" thick slats of strong, light and pliable polycarbonate, which is the same material that your stock instrument cluster is made of. Best of all, there are about half a dozen colors for you to pick and choose from.
Not only are you able to personalize how your gauge overlay looks, you can even push the customization to the next level by altering the color of both the backlight and the needles. With a complete gauge face kit, you'll have your choice of either the mellow blue or fierce red illumination and needles. And, for the H2 owners, there is also a third option: icy white.
Installing a gauge face kit is a more involved process than sticking on a dash kit. You will have to disassemble your dashboard and remove the instrument cluster in order to mount the new overlay. Nevertheless, your kit will include in depth instructions with photographs to guide you through the entire makeover, from the first screw to the completed product. Expect to spend a few hours installing your new gauge face kit.
Once the instrument cluster is out of your vehicle and on your work bench, installing the new gauge face kit is really straightforward. Around the perimeter of your instrument panel are a series of factory-installed stems sticking up like pylons. Your overlay has holes drilled into it that match these posts, so all you have to do is match the holes with the stems. Just like dash trim, the gauge overlays use pieces of automotive-grade 3M adhesive.
We hope you have found our Gauge Faces Research Guide Center a good guide in helping you choose the best Gauge Faces for your vehicle. It is AutoAnything's goal to provide the most information on the Internet and through our Auto Accessory Specialists on every product we sell. If you have any information that you think could help improve this section, please email us at researchcenter@autoanything.com.