Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Custom 370Z Instrument Cluster Colored Faces

370z1 · 01-08-2016, 05:54 PM

Hello Nixin,
sorry buddy maybe this will be more helpful. I did provide a picture and the web address (White Face Gauges - Custom Gauges - Your Auto Gauge Specialist) in my post but if you are not logged in, any "URL type" images when inserted into a post DO NOT show up, I should have made note of that so folks knew to log in. If you were logged in sometimes the browser settings can also prevent some data from being passed through. If anyone else has trouble viewing the pictures and they are logged in just let me know, I will attach the image rather than inserting it.

Here is another picture but if you have any issues viewing it after being logged in or try a secondary browser ie: IE Explorer, Mozzila Firefox, Google Chrome etc, that usually fixes it, if not let me know and I will send it to you via Private Message.

WhiteGauges.net offer many colors, just call or e-mail them to get a sample color, so far I have tried both Red & White which both looked good IMHO, BUT I am picky and for me it was hard to get the overlay sticker to be 100% perfectly applied so that ALL underlying numbers illuminated without a ghosting affect meaning the original face and the see through parts got partially covered up ever so slightly by the sticker. I mean like 1-3 millimeters which was enough to make it look weird and it bothered me at night BUT I also have brighter L.E.D's which now have a dimmer attached.

The trick is to use their solution or water with a half drop of dish soap so the sticker moves freely for about 30 seconds until you can position the sticker without forcing it before the solution dry's up and it stays. It was my experience that if you do place the sticker down and it becomes too tacky to move freely you can just pull off gently and reapply solution, I was able to do that several times 4-5 times and it did not lose the adhesive. It was hard because the tolerance of the see through areas is so tight you have to be so accurate otherwise it will not look right. Anybody interested in having their Instrument Cluster Faces changed to another color just send your (3) Plastic gauge Faces to them, it is not too difficult and you do NOT need to send them the entire cluster, just the black thin plastic faces which will fit in a medium envelope. Their turn around time for me was about 4 days, but I would call them to verify.

Another post that may be helpful is this one, it is a DIY L.E.D change project. My portion is on page 5. If you are logged in the inserted pictures will show and you can have a better idea of how the instrument cluster is disassembled and the 3 faces you need to send to whitegauges.net.

DIY: Interior LED Color Change

Hoped that helped, if anybody has questions feel free to post or send me a PM. I will do my best to assist you and give you my phone number too if that would be easier....

Taking your Instrument Cluster out of the vehicle took me about 20-30 minutes.

Taking the cluster itself apart to get the faces out took about 10 minutes.

I sent them my faces by UPS 2nd day delivery and they had them for 4 days and returned to me 2nd day delivery.

The only thing I would stress is to lay an eyeglass clooth down when prying the needles off and when it comes time to putting the needles back on use the tachometer setting to set it so that the blinking light on your cluster turns on at 2,000 RPM's. This way BEFORE you button it back together you can ensure the needle's are at their proper position. Here is what got me the first time I did this. After to put the needles on and they look correct turn the car off and watch them closely, after about 50-60 seconds they will automatically re-adjust themselves (when car is off) and this action could move them and become incorrect. Then after you learn the distance they travel 60 seconds after car has been turned off you will then be able to use much better estimate to move the needle again. For me I used the tachometer indicator light to ensure the tach needle was climbing correctly and equal to my actual rpm's. As for the speedometer I have 3 ways to verify this, first was a gauge which plugs into the ODBII post and gives me a digital readout of the speed. I bought mine on Amazon, the model is "ecometer 9105" and is made by AutoMeter. This gauge has 4 readouts which are very accurate. This is the method I prefer and trust for ensuring the needles are where they should be.

A) Instantaneous MPG
B) Average MPG
C) Engine RPM
D) Engine Speed

If you don't want to install a gauge then my second step was to use my speedometer on my Kenwood stereo from the GPS Navigation settings. Third my Radar Detector Escort Max 360 also has GPS and shows the speed. This is pretty common feature, MOST all GPS devices used for automotive applications will offer this. For example my Garmin Navi unit also showed the speed PLUS your smartphone too. Just get the app you like turn on GPS. It isn't exact so if you make a check list prior to removing your cluster it will help you a lot. Meaning as you pass through 1st & 2nd gear make note of your speed at the specific gear and RPM. Recording several data points will ensure you have a guide to fall back on when it comes time to putting the needles back on. This post was not intended as a DIY instruction but the other link I inserted is. But these points I made are the only things that bit me all else went very smoothly.

PS: Thank You D.Rock for inserting the link as opposed to me just typing it in, that was helpful brother.

01-08-2016, 05:54 PM	#45 (permalink)
370z1 Base Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: San Diego CA Posts: 105 Drives: 2011 370Z Stillen SC Rep Power: 74	Hello Nixin, sorry buddy maybe this will be more helpful. I did provide a picture and the web address (White Face Gauges - Custom Gauges - Your Auto Gauge Specialist) in my post but if you are not logged in, any "URL type" images when inserted into a post DO NOT show up, I should have made note of that so folks knew to log in. If you were logged in sometimes the browser settings can also prevent some data from being passed through. If anyone else has trouble viewing the pictures and they are logged in just let me know, I will attach the image rather than inserting it. Here is another picture but if you have any issues viewing it after being logged in or try a secondary browser ie: IE Explorer, Mozzila Firefox, Google Chrome etc, that usually fixes it, if not let me know and I will send it to you via Private Message. WhiteGauges.net offer many colors, just call or e-mail them to get a sample color, so far I have tried both Red & White which both looked good IMHO, BUT I am picky and for me it was hard to get the overlay sticker to be 100% perfectly applied so that ALL underlying numbers illuminated without a ghosting affect meaning the original face and the see through parts got partially covered up ever so slightly by the sticker. I mean like 1-3 millimeters which was enough to make it look weird and it bothered me at night BUT I also have brighter L.E.D's which now have a dimmer attached. The trick is to use their solution or water with a half drop of dish soap so the sticker moves freely for about 30 seconds until you can position the sticker without forcing it before the solution dry's up and it stays. It was my experience that if you do place the sticker down and it becomes too tacky to move freely you can just pull off gently and reapply solution, I was able to do that several times 4-5 times and it did not lose the adhesive. It was hard because the tolerance of the see through areas is so tight you have to be so accurate otherwise it will not look right. Anybody interested in having their Instrument Cluster Faces changed to another color just send your (3) Plastic gauge Faces to them, it is not too difficult and you do NOT need to send them the entire cluster, just the black thin plastic faces which will fit in a medium envelope. Their turn around time for me was about 4 days, but I would call them to verify. Another post that may be helpful is this one, it is a DIY L.E.D change project. My portion is on page 5. If you are logged in the inserted pictures will show and you can have a better idea of how the instrument cluster is disassembled and the 3 faces you need to send to whitegauges.net. DIY: Interior LED Color Change Hoped that helped, if anybody has questions feel free to post or send me a PM. I will do my best to assist you and give you my phone number too if that would be easier.... Taking your Instrument Cluster out of the vehicle took me about 20-30 minutes. Taking the cluster itself apart to get the faces out took about 10 minutes. I sent them my faces by UPS 2nd day delivery and they had them for 4 days and returned to me 2nd day delivery. The only thing I would stress is to lay an eyeglass clooth down when prying the needles off and when it comes time to putting the needles back on use the tachometer setting to set it so that the blinking light on your cluster turns on at 2,000 RPM's. This way BEFORE you button it back together you can ensure the needle's are at their proper position. Here is what got me the first time I did this. After to put the needles on and they look correct turn the car off and watch them closely, after about 50-60 seconds they will automatically re-adjust themselves (when car is off) and this action could move them and become incorrect. Then after you learn the distance they travel 60 seconds after car has been turned off you will then be able to use much better estimate to move the needle again. For me I used the tachometer indicator light to ensure the tach needle was climbing correctly and equal to my actual rpm's. As for the speedometer I have 3 ways to verify this, first was a gauge which plugs into the ODBII post and gives me a digital readout of the speed. I bought mine on Amazon, the model is "ecometer 9105" and is made by AutoMeter. This gauge has 4 readouts which are very accurate. This is the method I prefer and trust for ensuring the needles are where they should be. A) Instantaneous MPG B) Average MPG C) Engine RPM D) Engine Speed If you don't want to install a gauge then my second step was to use my speedometer on my Kenwood stereo from the GPS Navigation settings. Third my Radar Detector Escort Max 360 also has GPS and shows the speed. This is pretty common feature, MOST all GPS devices used for automotive applications will offer this. For example my Garmin Navi unit also showed the speed PLUS your smartphone too. Just get the app you like turn on GPS. It isn't exact so if you make a check list prior to removing your cluster it will help you a lot. Meaning as you pass through 1st & 2nd gear make note of your speed at the specific gear and RPM. Recording several data points will ensure you have a guide to fall back on when it comes time to putting the needles back on. This post was not intended as a DIY instruction but the other link I inserted is. But these points I made are the only things that bit me all else went very smoothly. PS: Thank You D.Rock for inserting the link as opposed to me just typing it in, that was helpful brother.