Fellow forum goers,

Purchased an FD a few months back and now tackling some more in depth issues with the winter months upon us. Currently tearing apart the dash and interior for fixing and maintenance and would like some feedback or advice with the current gauge setup. Previous owner or owners had 4 Defi gauges set up stuck to the dash, no pod system (Water temp, boost, fuel pressure, and oil pressure) basically wired in a daisy chain setup (see first two photos).









I asked the previous owner what the controller (third photo) was for and he said he had no idea. Upon further investigation, it appears to control the Defi gauges somehow. At this site link they provide a description on how the Defi gauge system works: https://www.defi-shop.com/products/list/





Now I haven't taken the dash out yet to see if there is a central CPU located back there or not. Basically my questions to the forums are: has anyone used this setup style before and were they happy with it? The gauges were all working before, except the fuel pressure gauge (previous owner said it never worked) and I haven't checked where that gauge is tapped at yet. Ideally I would like to go to the center gauge pod setup since I am 6'2" and do not want a-pillar gauges in my teeth. I measured the guages without the outer housing on (see below photos) and they are 2 3/8" or 60 mm. From my understanding, pretty much the Pro Sport Guages center speaker pod housing is the gold standard: Mazda RX7 gauge pod-3rd generation 93'-95' center gauge pod -3 hole 2-1/16". However, it states that it will fit 52 mm gauges and the Pro Sport 60 mm gauges, but not any others.








Has anyone had any luck getting Defi or any other branded 60 mm gauges in the Pro Sport Guages center speaker pod setup? Would prefer to keep the gauges if they work properly, rather than shell out some coin for something that already works. If not, does anyone have any fabrication molds they have used for 60 mm gauges in that location or any contacts for individuals who have made any?

Thanks for any and all input.

-milly

 

Yep I run those gauges and love them:

 

Whatever you decide to do with them they are top quality and very expensive,

English instructions in the pictures below:

 

 

 

Any other questions let me know. If they are set up correctly about the only thing you will want to check/change are the alarm settings.

 

Feed,

Thanks for the response and manuals, very much appreciated. Looks like I’ll be keeping them. They worked great and even dimmed with the headlight switch.

Have you seen anyone put them in gauge pods at all? May try to fabricate something if I have to...looking for a clean dash layout.

Do you use for that button system at all or keep it hidden and what alarm issues have you ran into?

-milly

 

Hey,

I have not yet seen anyone squeeze them into a pod...I like the fighter jet style on the dash so I haven't looked into it much.

My controller is hidden in the ashtray/armrest.

Tom

 

I think you get that the Defi gauges are a very good thing. Not sure they make them anymore? They are either the best gauges or close to that. Great that you got these with the car.

 

Guess I spoke too soon, look what Drakes is up to:


Good guy, I have bought parts from him before with zero issues

 

I wish I had a better picture, but I have 3 Defi gauges in a center speaker triple gauge pod I bought off the forum many years ago. I also have a Defi Boost gauge on the A-Pillar. I had to use a rotary tool and gently widen the hole, but was able to shove the gauge in there. I have a different gauge controller though. My controller has the buttons on the "brain" so it is rather large. I guess I have an earlier version. PM me if you want more pictures or have any questions.

This is a still shot taken from a video of when I got the car running again after a 6 year nap

 

I also have the Defi Link gauges, in red as above, although Imperial units. They have been a good setup for me and were highly regarded back when I bought them. There are some neat features such as flashing light/audio warning, peak reading storage and playback/record functionality.

As I understand it, the central computer box only works with the same series of gauges it belongs to -- there are two generations, maybe more(?). Since you have the remote ("switch unit"), I believe you're in the later series and the instruction book posted should be a match. To be clear, you need the central unit for the gauges to work.

The gauge pod in R1chard's post is a "flyrx7" gauge pod in the forum's terminology (the user name of the person who made it). He made a variety of 52mm and 60mm pods, with 3 and 4 slots plus RHD/LHD variants. Mine was purchased in 2008 and unfortunately I don't know about the current status; might be something you need to find used. Unlike above, I have a 1 + 3 setup with my boost gauge at the bottom of the A pillar and water/oil/exhaust in the middle. The single pod is the one available from RX7Store, but I assume it was drilled out a bit when the shop installed it.

The original packages came with the little cup/metal things that FEED AFFLUX v5's car is using and I'm sure you could find some spares on eBay or croooober. I have seen central boxes for both versions on croooober, too.

 

Thanks for the feedback fellas. I just stumbled across Drakes’s products a few days ago. Contacted him and he responded ASAP. Said the 60 mm Defi gauges will fit no problem. He also said the 3 pod gauge setup (without the controller mount) is a newer design and sits lower than the original pictures.

Most likely going to purchase one from him and give it a whirl.

-milly

 

Thank you so much for posting this. I now know how to use this thing properly!!!

 

I'm running CRs in the fc. They're very responsive and even though you can't log data(iirc), you can record up to 3 minutes I believe, which can be very useful.
They also match the orange quite well and look badass at night.

They also have an opening ceremony that's sure to impress anyone sitting in the passenger seat.

I did speak to Defi -asking if we could expect an afr gauge. They said it was unlikely in the forseeable future.

I searched for months for the right gauge. All the American gauges simply don't look good in a Japanese car -to me anyway. When I seen the Defi line up my jaw literally dropped. I had to have them.

 

I have the Defi A1's good gauges, oil and boost here.

Easy install.