White Instrument Cluster Dial Group Purchase

Evening Spike,

That is a brilliant find which has been there all along. I’m sure @DJ 190 will be very pleased with your link.

I personally wouldn’t have opted for the U shaped trim that David may have chosen to try and also not sure I’d actually contemplate chrome rings around the dials... But after watching this YouTube clip it is something I might well do. It’s a cheap enough stamp of individuality.

Great find thank you again.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
I would be interested in a tdi set in grey as per the modern Audi design

Paul


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Grey sounds good fo me, TDI please
(something like S2 dials with logo?


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Thanks for that! I've ordered then (of course! :) ) They are a bit less from Ebay Poland, here : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-a2-...098292?hash=item34223379f4:g:rN0AAOSwWxxdvXk1

O.K. Spike. You've solved that one and thanks! So that just leaves the release cap on the end of the hand-brake arm. I'd like that to be chrome, too. I have a model-making friend who could have probably made something in alloy. Then I could have give it a very good polish. However, you've helped with the dials, so maybe you've got some ideas for this, too? ;)

David
 
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Looks like there's an even greater saving to be made on these rings! By going directly to the didotuning site, http://www.didotuning.pl/ they are for sale for a lowly 80 PLN ! Further, all facilities are available to purchase, including Paypal. I've contacted them and asked if they can revise the cost to myself. Otherwise I should be able to just cancel my purchase through Ebay. I am rather impulsive, I suppose .... But that IS quite a saving!

David
 
Looks like there's an even greater saving to be made on these rings!
If Dido Tuning sell through eBay, they have to give a cut of their sale price to eBay, hence the £6 difference in price. By adjusting the price, Dido Tuning still have to give the cut to eBay, meaning they'll lose a slice of their own profit margin. As such, cancelling the order via eBay and placing it instead directly with Dido Tuning is likely to be their preferred option.

Cheers,

Tom
 
cancelling the order via eBay and placing it instead directly with Dido Tuning is likely to be their preferred option.
Yes, a direct purchase is the best way to purchase these rings, as I've found out. However, the 80 PLN cost is net, so there's 24% tax to be added. That still comes out at 98.4 PLN. I've got to calm down a bit with this virus lock-down. It's still continuing here in Wales for another 2 weeks!

David
 
Thanks for that! I've ordered then (of course! :) ) They are a bit less from Ebay Poland, here : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-a2-...098292?hash=item34223379f4:g:rN0AAOSwWxxdvXk1

O.K. Spike. You've solved that one and thanks! So that just leaves the release cap on the end of the hand-brake arm. I'd like that to be chrome, too. I have a model-making friend who could have probably made something in alloy. Then I could have give it a very good polish. However, you've helped with the dials, so maybe you've got some ideas for this, too? ;)

David

I vaguely recalled the German Forum working on a CNC machined billet handbrake button a few years ago but when I checked back Bret indicated it came to nothing (too complicated / expensive)
Never saw a photograph but think someone carefully rubbed down a 'tatty' button to remove the scratches and anodising then repolished it.

Wonder if Paul (Depronman) could provide his 3D printed version with an alloy sleeve machined to the basic shape for hand finishing by the purchaser. An hour or two starting with a Dremel to smooth the basic contours followed by hand sanding and polishing should produce an acceptable replacement

Cheers Spike
 
someone carefully rubbed down a 'tatty' button to remove the scratches and anodising then repolished it.
Wonder if Paul (Depronman) could provide his 3D printed version with an alloy sleeve machined to the basic shape
I'm not sure what would be gained by having Paul make a 3D version which would then have an alloy sleeve, if that is what the button is now .... an alloy shell? So maybe the existing button can be very highly polished? A spare would be handy. I'm sure I've got one SOMEWHERE ...... I'm sure that I could find it in a few hours! Is it pure alloy? In Wales we're still in semi lock-down, so plenty of time to do this!

David
 
Evening all,

The supply of a group buy white dial kit has not stopped. I am still waiting for prices and designs to come back.

As I wanted something bespoke by having the club logo on the right hand side, which is no longer an option, I have asked to have for designs with:

1. Type 8Z in Audi font.
2. Audi Space Frame logo

Not both designs together, separate designs with only option 1 and another design with option 2. I supplied them with a google image of the ASF badge to see what they can come up with.

Any other thoughts to make it just a little different are very welcome.

I’ll show you all the designs once I get them back along with prices etcetera.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Whilst I wait for designs to come back from the companies I have approached, I have also been chatting the eBay seller that produces much cheaper priced whit dial kits. He has said that he doesn’t currently make a kit for the A2 but would look at doing a kit for us.

So a big ask here is... Can someone send me (from a beyond repair) TDI and FSI dials. I have 1.4 Petrol dials here already which j can send the eBay seller. Once he has all variations of our dials he would then start to supply us. There will probably be no need for a group buy as his prices are cheap enough but I’ll certainly ask.

I’m happy to pay your postage costs. Please someone send me the dials you have as this could well be the most economical option versus a £50 group buy from either Lockwoods or K-Tec. I’m sure the eBay seller will be able to add something a little different on the speedometer side of the kits for us.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
I'd probably be up for a set @2work Tom :)

Evening Jeremy,

Hope all is well up the road.

If you have any spare/damaged dials/clusters they could well help our cause. The eBay seller wants original dials sent to him to make the kits for us. I have a spare 1.4 petrol cluster here but could do with FSI, TDI75 and TDI90 as I understand these all have different rev ranges and there is variations in the TDI displays.

I you have anything available I can of course collect.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
If someone was to buy a second-hand A2 with its needles out of calibration, and thus ran out of fuel, needlessly replaced the thermostat/temp sensor, got a speeding fine, etc, I would empathise with their irritation. The 'buyer beware' principle would protect any private seller, but traders could find themselves in a really difficult position, with no understanding of the source of the problem or how to fix it.

Five days ago, an A2 rolled up at Timmus Towers for some electrical diagnostic work. The owner had bought the car only a few weeks ago. The issue was reported to me as follows: "My engine never gets up to temperature and the fuel gauge never reads full, even after filling the tank to the brim. I've had the thermostat, the temperature sensor and the fuel level sensor changed, but it's not made any difference. The garage are totally confused and have given up on the issue."

Given my words of caution earlier in this thread, we all know why I'm making this post in this thread.

In the photo below...
I'm asking the rev' counter to show me 3000rpm. OK, that's not too bad. I've seen worse calibrations from factory.
I'm asking the temperature gauge to show me 90 degrees. That's not good; it's 9 degrees out of calibration.
I'm asking the fuel gauge to show me half a tank. That's not good; it's 8 litres out of calibration.
I'm asking the speedo to show me 62mph. That's not good; it's 6mph out of calibration.

106552294_584821245796558_8058167549017575673_n.jpg


It didn't take me long to find the cause of the problems, but the immediate question was "why has this been meddled with!?"
I removed the instrument cluster and found that all the warning LEDs had been snapped off the instrument cluster motherboard. Although I see this regularly on FSI clusters, this is the first time I'd ever seen a TDI cluster having been vandalised in this way. Of course, to remove the warning LEDs, the needles and scales had to be removed. Whoever did this clearly didn't have the ability to recalibrate the needles, so just stuck them back on and hoped for the best.

The fuel gauge is out of calibration in the 'safe' direction. The driver will believe the car is about to run out of fuel long before the fuel tank is empty. However, the temperature gauge and the speedo are out of calibration in the 'unsafe' direction. The owner of the car drove to my place via the M6, sitting nicely at 70mph ...except they were actually doing 76mph. They had wondered why they were going so much faster than the rest of the motorway traffic. Had the temperature gauge ever reached 90 degrees, the owner may have concluded that the underlying issue had finally resolved itself ...except the engine would actually have been overheating.

Potential speeding tickets and cooked engines aside, the owner had needlessly spent a considerable amount of money trying to resolve these issues. It highlights that correct calibration of the needles is vital.

To be honest, I was amazed by the sheer coincidence of what was in front of me. Only days earlier, this issue had been discussed on A2OC.

Of course, I repaired the motherboard, recalibrated the needles and everything was back to normal. Cruise control was also added, but that's a more regular occurrence.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Not wanting to add fuel to this but I really do believe any one wanting the replacement dials or repair to the cluster MUST send it to Tom ( sorry mate know you are already busy ) but this will ensure not only will the new parts be fitted correctly but your gauges will be calibrated accurately not only for piece of mind but safety and security will not be compromised. Also note the original idea has morphed into several custom versions and may now be too customised for many. I know @2work has invested a lot of time with this and would be a shame for his "babby" to be taken away. Not having a go here only expressing MY opinion.
 
Hi,

having bought my white dials a few years ago and fitting it myself, I can confirm that Tom is correct.
After fitting mine I saw that the needles were no longer accurate, no surprise really since it is hit and miss, unless you have something like Tom’s amazing “box of tricks” and believe me it really is amazing (another display of his abilities and attention to detail)

I took a picture of the pointer positions at rest before removing them (they don’t just drop to the pins on the cluster).
That way I had a starting point. But I then had to check my speedo against a gps speedo app. because it was way out.
But I managed to get that near enough after several attempts. The temperature needle was not too tricky, I just waited until it was up to temperature and pushed the pointer in at 90, Fuel was not so easy and probably remained inaccurate.
BUT ******* this involved a LOT of attempts with me removing the pointers and refitting them MANY times. The pointers need a lot of force to remove them and an equal amount of force to refit them. The mechanism is very delicate and so it is mega easy to destroy or damage the very costly cluster, so the above process is not recommended.

Tom’s process/kit means that the needles are taken off correctly and refitted once only and accurately. So it really isn’t something that is a DIY job.

Just a reminder about the pointers, they DO need the underside of the pointers to be painted to stop the “light bleed”. This is not a problem on the standard black because that does not reflect, but on a lighter fascia it WILL reflect and believe me, it does ruin the great new look of the white dials.

A final comment, please can we try to have an option of having a reasonably standard version available as well as some of the more customised ones being discussed. Some of us just want a white version of the standard one (or at the most a reduction of the KPH characters. I would prefer no KPH characters at all but I believe that it is mandatory.)

Looking forward to these becoming available soon.

Thanks for the efforts being taken to get these and get them right.

Steve B
 
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Tom add me in for a 1.4Tdi AMF.
How about going modern with mixed black n white per image?
7dcba9e273076482881e9775c526d8ad.jpg


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Very nice, but I've never understood why rpm is shown in hundreds rather than thousands - for instance we never say twenty hundred rpm, always two thousand, so why show 20 and not 2?
 
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