Within no less than a week of being installed the left pod has melted and is no longer circular, the left side has become noticeably flat. For such an expensive piece I was expecting something of quality.. I just did a search and see I'm not the only one that it has happened to.. so just a heads up if you live in a warm climate beware they may or may not melt on you.

 

I bought one too and wasn't happy with it. I ended up selling the pod unused at a loss. I wasn't able to use it with my Defi D gauges with the bezels on because of the staggered design. Threw away $40 on the deal. Oh well...

 

Next time, get the quality center channel gauge pod....Franks! He is flyrx7 on the forum -- check him out.

http://hometown.aol.com/flyrx7/Rx7-Gauge-Pod.html

 

I hear ya. Unfortunately, no one makes the perfect one. I have tried the tripower and Franks pod and went with the tripower. Franks are made better but they aim the gauges at your chest, not at your eyes. Every time I looked at the gauges I felt like I needed to scrunch down in the seat. Haven't heard of the tripower melting though. What kind of heat are you in?

 

I'm in cali weather.. the summers are hot but definetaly not as hot as other areas. The car is always garaged and the only time it does see extended amounts of heat is when I'm driving around.. I did notice how thin the plastic was, I just didn't think they would ever melt.. let alone in less then a week.

 

My tri-power dual pod has sunk a little and is no longer circular. Only took two weeks in a TX summer to do that to mine.

 

Damn. I've had mine 6 months now in NY heat and had none of the issues you did. Why don't you contact Tripower directly and let them know. They recently switched manufacturers. Maybe that caused a problem.

 

I have one that is a couple years old now and haven't ever had any problems.

 

Same here

 

I have one as well, and here in Florida with 8-hours in the 100+F sun, no melting. Sounds like a supplier problem . . .

Good luck,
:-) neil

 

I've had mine for over a year and through two southern california summers and it has held up perfectly. Did you have it installed but with only one or no gauges in it? Maybe having gauges in it helps support it or something. You should contact them.

 

Hmm, they are at a perfect height for me......maybe it's b/c I am a short lil sumbitch ?

 

I'm pretty short too (5'8"), but think about it. The top of the dash slopes down. In addition, unless your about 4 ft tall, your head is above the dash. Franks pods are angled horizontally, but not vertically (at least in the pod I got). The face of the gauge is perpendicular to the top of the dash which is angled slightly downward. The gauges are aimed at your chest.

The tripower pod has about a ten degree up angle. Gauges are meant to be viewed as straight on as possible. That is why I felt like scrunching down in my seat to view the gauges - drove me crazy.

The build quality of Franks pods are great, and he gave me a refund even after my kid dropped it and put a chip in the finish. But for 125 ++ dollars the thing should be aimed correctly. It would be an easy fix, just cut the macaroni's at a slight angle at the base but I don't think he is interested. I guess he sells plenty just the way they are.

 

Mine has been BAKING in Florida heat, no problems whatsoever. I think there may have been a run that had plastic that wasn't up to the heat.

I'd get up with them and see if you can swap it out for a new one. For that price, I'd expect good customer support and a good product.

From everything I've seen, both pods are similar in quality, fit, and finish. You can't go wrong either way.

BTW, I've had MANY compliments on my gauge pod - it's so nice to have something aftermarket that looks so stock!

Dale

 

My Tripower has deformed as well. It's worst around the left side but there is some around the right too where the plastic has obviously melted and caved in slightly. I've had mine a few years I believe.

 

I have the ATI (Auto-Tech Interiors) center speaker dual pod in both my FD's, and I love them. They hold both 52 and 60mm gauges, so you can throw the Defi BF series in them as well. They swivel in all directions and then you can lock them into place for the ideal viewing angle. And they don't block any vision at all (I'm a 5'4" female, so if my vision's not blocked, yours won't be either, lol). Take a look...

There's a bunch more pics on my website as well.

 

I've had my tri-power for about 6 months, and it has been totally destroyed by the sun. It got to the point where it wouldn't hold either gauge in place during spirited driving and it was deforming around the edges where it clips in. I've taken it out at this point and am driving gauge-less. (Please note that its my daily driver and it gets up to 110F here in Tucson.)

Has anyone tried sending theirs back to get a replacement, if there was indeed a bad batch? I guess I would also need to know for sure that it wouldn't happen again, if I did send it back. Otherwise I'll guess I'll try the ATI pod.

 

Mine was fine for about 2 years in the sun, sold it "like new" when I upgraded.

 

I live in the Palm Springs, CA area and its been up to 120+ this summer. My Tripower pod has deformed at the base, on the passenger side of the pod. Only took it maybe a month. So far its just been a cosmetic thing...the gauges haven't started popping out or anything. Damn evil desert heat.

 

Wow so there seem to be a lot more of you then I thought.. it sounds more like a bad design entirely rather than a bad batch.. maybe if you put some sort of brace inside the pod to match the circular shape it could reinforce the area preventing it from becoming flat.

 

How long did it take them to ship your pod? I have placed an order back on 8/2/05 and the website says it takes 3-5 business day for delivery and I still have not yet receive it. As in my other thread said, I tried to email them but message was rejected back and there is no phone number to call to track the shipment....Anyone knows how to reach them?

 

I have Frank's "FlyRX7" tripple gauge pod with Defi Link 60mm gauges. Had them for a couple years now i believe. Great quality, its looks and works like brand new! Only problem is the bezel on the Defi's touch the dash and over time have worn little marks into the dash, but I'm sure i could fix it if I ever wanted to take them out. I highly reccomend him. Customer service as well is excellent.!

 

Heres the best shot I could get showing the flat spot.. I'm sure it doesn't look as bad as described in words but it's still unacceptable. If it should be acceptable then tripower should add in their advertisement "Winner in every 1 in 4"





The reason it probably didn't deform even more was because the back of the gauge stopped it.

 

^ Looks about like mine from what I can see in the pic.

 

hmmm....ive had my tripower pod in the car (VA) for about three years with no issues whatsoever...sorry to hear about bad lukc some of you are having....