Mounting gauges in A-pillar

[ALBERTAN]

Just getting around to mounting a few gauges in the cockpit. I was planning on using a dual gauge A-pillar pod for my boost and knock gauges. I bought one from Ramchargers, I believe its a Lotek pod, and IMHO it fits like crap. There is no lip to wrap around the A-pillar on the Lotek, leaving it completely exposed when you open the door. Very unprofessional looking and not something I want on my car. A pic with the stocker on top and the Lotek/Ramchargers unit below is here...

Also, here is a picture of the Lotek unit in place with the wires for the astroroof evident with the door open...GAH!

My question is whether or not everyone else's looks like this and if its something you have just learned to live with. Or if I am doing something wrong. Guess I'll have to look for another solution for mounting the gauges and see if I can return it to Ramchargers. Wish me luck.

 

[toofastforyou]

reply to Dean...

Dean, I put a dual gauge holder in my car, but I bought it from Kirban. It installs over the stock moulding, but gives a better overall appearance ( I think). It is not the first time that I hear about guys not being happy with the Lotek unit. I can e-mail you a pic or two if you want...Just let me know...
P.S: by the way, where in Alberta are you located? My ex-girlfriend left me for a guy living in Leduc...

'Bye, Claude.

 

[turbojimmy]

All of the replacement a-pillar pods are like that. Lotek, for some reason, couldn't manufacture the "lip" in a cost-effective manner.

The only way to avoid it, like toofast mentioned, is with the kind that goes over top of your existing a-pillar molding. This requires that you drill a hole in your stock molding for the wires.

What I also found with the replacement-type a-pillar gauge holder was that the middle screw (between the two "pods") winds up crushing the wires between the a-pillar and the gauge holder/molding. I put a thick plastic washer between the pillar and gauge holder to prevent that.

Jim

 

[salvageV6]

The last thing I look at with my door open is the seam for the Lotek.

Put it on and try it. I am sure you will forget about the side profile and concentrate on the front direct view in no time.

Can't see it while driving....

 

[tom h]

would the Lo-Tek pillar unit fit OVER the stock A-Pillar? ?

drill new holes in the LoTek to match up with the stock pillar, & use longer screws to hold them both in??

 

[OneQuikV6]

Also, here is a picture of the Lotek unit in place with the wires for the astroroof evident with the door open...GAH!

[/B]

I bought one of these too. I was VEEEERRRRYYY disappointed in the fit and overall quality of the Lotek. It just simply does not fit. I ended up using it but am not at all happy with it. I may eventually go back to the stocker and a screw on dual thing again. I'm very picky about the look and fit and finish of things which is why I bought the full pillar. Guess that was a mistake

 

[turboaddict2]

Same here. the top part of the holder doesn't fit flush and I also ended up scratching it a little.

 

[Carolinaturbot6]

I almost bought one recently myself. The FULL a-pillar that is. I already have an extra Lotek pod here, but because I used one on my Turbo T & didn't care for it, I thought I'd try the full pillar style. I called & spoke to someone at Lotek, & naturally he told me that they had NEVER had ANY complaints on the fit or quality whatsoever. I find this hard to believe.

I did a "search" on lotek in the archives. The results of that search were not very encouraging.

The word "sucks" seemed to be used quite a bit.

I ordered an AutoMeter pod through Summit & it arrived today. I held it up to the lotek pod & compared the two. The AutoMeter one is a little different, & looks better anyway.

I'm going to put this AutoMeter pod in the GN, & see what happens. Due to other obligations, it'll probably have to wait until next weekend though.

 

[rastaz]

I bought a couple from Kirban years ago and they have perfect fit and color, nothing like the new lotek junk. So I guess the question is if Kirban still carries the same ones he had years ago?

 

[SilverSleeper]

I bought my full pillar pod from Jack Cotton about a year ago. Not sure who makes it, but it is a nice piece. Color is a good match, and it fits over the stock piece. Really, I guess as far as looks go, thats about the best you can get. You do have to be careful about the wires though. Frankly, I think it is designed to go over the factory piece, just because it fits well that way.

 

[turbojoe]

guys, i work at a chevy dealer and was in the parts department getting parts when my back counterman said he had someone who needed to talk to me. he has a customer who works for auto meter/ gauge works. his customer bought some a-pillar trim pieces from him and wanted to use my GN to sit in and get the gauge angles down. he said they were working on a full a-pillar pod for the buicks. i'm not shure if anyone else makes a full one yet but i'll keep you posted on this if you want

 

[Yedi]

Yes I agree, the Lotek is not that good.

The gap can be filled with some tool box liner ( black mat) I did that on mine and nobody has ever noticed, it blends right in with the weatherstripping. I just dont understand how a company can sell such ****! I mean I had to drill new holes cuz the holes for the lotek unit werent even close........

 

[strikeeagle]

Lotek is POS spelled backwards. I love how these guys swear no one has ever complained about their pillar. Similarly, I love the guys on this board who swear it fits and looks just fine. Yeah, and Enron's solvent, too.

I talked to Autometer about making a replacement pillar for our cars months ago, even wrote 'em a nice, long letter. Maybe they're getting to it???

 

[TheDoughboy]

Well I won't say I love it and it looks fine, I think it looks "ok". I didn't spend hours cutting, sanding and filing to make it perfect, because it just won't. I slipped it over the stock pillar and pushed down to mark the cut, cut it and thats that. I did touch up the cut with sem interior paint. If you don't know what "cut" I'm talking about, I have t-tops and had to cut to fit.

I have some pics of the "not perfect" install. If Autometer does come out with a 1 piece unit that fits and looks better, I'll Toss Out the Locrap and buy the Autometer. I prefer the locrap's 1 piece smooth look over the dual stick on pods.

Just my .02

Ron

Hope I link the pics right, first time doing it on this site

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/ronsg...om/bc/ronsgn/lst?&.dir=/Buick&.src=bc&.view=l

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/ronsg...om/bc/ronsgn/lst?&.dir=/Buick&.src=bc&.view=l

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/ronsg...om/bc/ronsgn/lst?&.dir=/Buick&.src=bc&.view=l

 

[subtlt]

I used the Lotek unit as a cover for the exising pillar trim. Scrounged one out of the yard and painted both the lotek and the replacement at the same time (saved my original).

Here's the end result (sorry about the not so hot photos, but you get the idea).

HTTP://www.falconhobbies.com/pics/lotekppinside.jpg
http://www.falconhobbies.com/pics/lotekppside.jpg

It did take a couple hours of fitting to get it right.