[Mk2] [Turbo] Na cluster in a turbo

[Truzo]

I would like to know if i can "plug and play" a set of NA clocks into my rev 2 turbo ?

I know the NA's have a volt meter and to be honest i would rather have that than a useless boost gauge

Cheers
Joe

[Bear87]

I have seen this done but kept the original gauge cluster and just removed the boost gauge and replaced with volt meter. Simple to wire up as only needs ignition voltage. Much easier than trying to change speedo milage etc.

[Pauln]

I would like to know if i can "plug and play" a set of NA clocks into my rev 2 turbo ?

I know the NA's have a volt meter and to be honest i would rather have that than a useless boost gauge

Cheers
Joe

Yes, as has been said, provided you retain the turbo cluster "shell" you can replace any or all of the gauges with gauges taken from a JDM n/a cluster. A small mod to the turbo cluster is however required if you wish to swap the stock boost gauge for an n/a voltmeter.

Here's a link to the guide I used:

replacing stock boost gauge with a voltmeter

In that guide they solder a bridging wire between two points on the small additional boost gauge circuit board. Instead of soldering that wire in place you could instead simply use crimp connectors held under the screws, which is what I chose to do when I fitted a full set of n/a gauges to my own turbo cluster.

One small point, if you have a KMP to MPH converter fitted and you fit a speedo gauge from a UK n/a, this will read in MPH automatically - no converter is required.

Paul

[Truzo]

Okay the link you posted is pretty much exactly what I'm after.

I want a stock looking cluster and a NA voltmeter,

The previous owner of my two put in some hideous faces

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-MR2-16 ... OSwn51UY5a~

[Pauln]

Yes I can see why you want to get rid of those.
I like white Plasma dials, but I couldn't live with dials like that - they really are ugly.

I fitted the more restrained Speedhut version.



Paul

[Truzo]

My clocks go to 180mph, would i need 180mph clocks or could i put anything into my shell and it would work fine ?

cheers joe.

[Pauln]

JDM turbos usually start life with a 180kph clock fitted.

UK owners usually convert these to read in mph. There are a number of ways to do this.

You can simply fit a new clock face overlay going up to the equivalent speed in mph, ie 110mph. The speedometer mechanism is therefore unchanged, which means the odometer will continue to show the km traveled not the miles.

Alternatively you can fit a converter to electronically modify the speedo so that what was 180kph now becomes 180 mph, and simply put a mph sticker over the kph sticker on the speedo face. In this case the odometer will now read in miles. Converters are usually fitted to the rear of the speedo cluster. Either bolted on, or attached by wires.

If your current 180mph speedo is reading your speed correctly, it almost certainly has a converter fitted, and it's probably easier just to replace this with another 180mph or 180kph speedo. If the converter is bolted to the rear of the cluster like this (please ignore all the extra black wires used for testing), just remember to swap it across.



If you decide to fit a 160mph speedo from a na UK car, you must remove the converter to get the correct speed reading.

Most folks like me seem to prefer the 180mph clock and the wishful thinking that goes with it

Paul

[Truzo]

Quick update for you...

So i pulled off those nasty clock faces. They were stuck on with glue and have destroyed the stock black ones

I went to visit a mr2 breakers in Sheffield and pick up a spare set of NA import clocks.
I spent the morning picking and swapping the clocks and faces to make one good set
I also used the voltmeter and wired it in as per the MR2oc guide. (Except i bridged the pins with some wire and little rings from the back side)

Now I'm looking into some chrome rings to go around the faces and possible some white or red led's to replace the stock bulbs not sure tho.

Cheers
Joe.

[Pauln]

I did change the four backlight bulbs for white led types on my cluster. But because I was using Speedhut "plasma" dials these are only used to illuminate the needles and the trip and odometer rather than back illuminate the dials as well, I bought a small selection of leds in the end because I found I needed smaller leds in the fuel and temp gauges to even things out.

This type of flat faced led usually gives the most even coverage, but they are fairly bright.

4-SMD-LED-XENON-WHITE-QUAD-501-T10

When I first bought the car the previous owner had fitted blue leds, which meant the needles were practically invisible at night. Red may be a bit better, but if you want to introduce colour, the best results I've seen posted have been when people use white lamps and use coloured filter :

The speedhut look for a fraction of the cost.

If you really want to go mad you can also change all the warning lights for led types - all except the fuel warning level light, as this needs the resistance of a std bulb to work correctly.

Paul

PS I just used the "chrome rings" off ebay