Pics of 996 Carerra cluster into Boxster

[porsche986spyder]

Originally Posted by bmwm750

I would hardly call a gauge pod "factory" but thats just my opinion. As far as the instrumentation goes, the 996 cluster IS oil pressure, not temp. As for Air/Fuel, its only useful if you have a way to adjust it, i.e. a tuned turbo car running a Utech for example. Unless you're going to ditch the factory ECU for a standalone management system, an Air/Fuel gauge isnt going to do you much good at all. If you are running a boosted car, of course, a boost gauge is nice.

All in all, I still contend this is a very worthwhile mod.

Patrick

Gauges are mainly for monitoring purposes. When I had a Jackson Racing Supercharger installed in my last car, I had an oil pressure gauge, an air/fuel ratio gauge and a volt meter gauge. It came with a piggyback ECU that I wasn't able to modify. So YES, they are good for a stand alone fuel system but at the same time they are just there for watching and keeping an eye on the engine to make sure everything is working properly. But just like the air/fuel ratio gauge, you CAN'T adjust your oil pressure on your new instrument cluster, so it's basicaly no different than for monitoring purposes only. Most people do it for looks and monitoring the engine. I plan on adding a chip or modified ECU to my boxster, so I wanted to watch the air/fuel ratio and make sure it will not run to lean. Again I won't be able to adjust it, nor the oil pressure. Just be able to watch it.

[Thumper]

[porsche986spyder]

Thumper, I have to admit that looks dam good! Did you buy the outer instrument shroud too and paint it silver? Or did you just cut your existing one? What color are your gauge faces? It's kind of hard to tell, white, silver or black? It looks awsome!

[Thumper]

The Carrera gauge pod is a leather one from a 996TT. The cluster surround was already painted silver. The gauge faces are grey. Super hard to find. The only problem is that the cluster ended up being from a 996TT (I was assured that it was from a C2), so the oil level indicator doesn't work as the TT uses a dry sump system. I will ultimately change it out for a C2 cluster, but I can save the grey gauge faces by just swapping out the motherboard between the two clusters. Although I really like the black face gauges. The pics don't show it, but the OBC dot matrix display is ultra cool as you toggle thru the various screens. Graphical images and color too!

[porsche986spyder]

Okay, now I'm jealous. I want one with the white faces. What year is your Boxster?

By the way, be carefull when changing the faces of the gauges because it usually requires the needles/pointers to be pulled off first before you can put the different color gauge faces back on and can ALSO result in the reading being off. I had some Indiglow guages I put on my last car and it was hard as hell to get the needle to fall in the exact same place as before. Almost imposible unless the Porsche uses a different method. I found out the best way to get the needles to read correctly was to connect everything first and have the gas tank at half full so the needle is exactly in the midle. All the other needles usaully can rest on the small stoppers when the car is turned off.

[Thumper]

Mine is a 2001. The gauge needles can be a real bear to get off. I take a pic of the gauges before disassembly and then refer to it when I put the needles back on. I haven't had any trouble getting them to line back up just like they were when I removed them, but I could have just been lucky.

Try to find a cluster than you can verify is good. The first cluster I got looked perfect, but something was fried in it, as when I hooked it up I did not get any lights to work and I could hear a relay or two down by the fuse box just a-clickin. I couldn't get it disconnected fast enough. When I plugged in my second cluster, it worked like a champ.

[porsche986spyder]

Originally Posted by Thumper

Mine is a 2001. The gauge needles can be a real bear to get off. I take a pic of the gauges before disassembly and then refer to it when I put the needles back on. I haven't had any trouble getting them to line back up just like they were when I removed them, but I could have just been lucky.

Try to find a cluster than you can verify is good. The first cluster I got looked perfect, but something was fried in it, as when I hooked it up I did not get any lights to work and I could hear a relay or two down by the fuse box just a-clickin. I couldn't get it disconnected fast enough. When I plugged in my second cluster, it worked like a champ.

Please send me the part number if you decide to get a new cluster of one that has a working oil level built into it. I want to do this mod, but want to buy the correct cluster and I don't want to loose my oil level indicator. Mine is a 2001 also.