A-Pillar Gauge Pod Group Buy Pictures

[Ogimoj]

I recieved the mock-up from Lo-Tek and installed it so that I could check for clearance of the auto-retracting seatbelt and for the angles of the pods, etc. I am posting three pictures here to show the a-pillar as installed - please ignore the dirty interior .
<p>First of all, I wanted to demonstrte where the next picture was taken from. This is a shot of my seat - so that you can tell how far it is reclined. I took the picture from eye-level. I'm 5'9" tall.<p><p>Here's the a-pillar as viewed by me. The angles seem pretty good. The top pod seems to be angled ever-so-slightly higher than the lower two - I have already let Lo-Tek know this (though it's barely noticeable). Keep in mind that this is just a mock-up - it's an original piece with pods glued on to it. The final product will not have the over-hanging edges between the pods and the pillar.<p><p>And finally, a shot from the passenger side - this gives you another look at the angles of the pods. From here you can also see where the seam will be (you'll have to cut your original a-pillar as previously mentioned)<p>I've posted this topic in the general Mazda MX-3 forum, so that I can get feedback/comments - please feel free to do so. BTW: There are no interference issues with the seatbelt motion.<p>[ December 30, 2002: Message edited by: Custommx3 ]</p>

[marshmallow15]

just an opinion, but they would really look a LOT better if those pods were closer together...the way lo-tek set it up, it looks like 3 single pods modified to fit the stock pillar.

[Buff1110]

the angle looks good but as mentioned before from the side view there is to much space between pillars. i think they should be closer together.

[Ogimoj]

Due to the low angle of the pillar, if they are much closer together, then they would overlap too much. If you look at the "eye-level" shot I took, you'll see what I mean - don't want the top pod to block your view of the center one, and likewise the center from blocking the lower...<p>Once this is all molded together into one piece, I imagine it will all be a smooth countour so that it won't look like 3 pods attached to a plastic piece.

[Ogimoj]

I drove around a bit yesterday, with the mock-up installed - just to get an idea of how they're gonna affect the feel of the ****pit.
As expected, they do reduce visibility just a bit on that side - I found myself moving my head to look around them. You get used to the extra little blind spot pretty quick, though. I like the placement - I'll be able to glance at the gauges w/o taking my eyes far from the road.

[marshmallow15]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Ogimoj:
Due to the low angle of the pillar, if they are much closer together, then they would overlap too much. If you look at the "eye-level" shot I took, you'll see what I mean - don't want the top pod to block your view of the center one, and likewise the center from blocking the lower...
<hr></blockquote><p>yea i see what you mean...but you can always ask lo-tek to angle the pods a little bit downward to fix that. it might help them double their sales for this product. plus i dont think people pay THAT much attention to the part of the gauge that'll be covered a bit.

[Rick Johnson]

Guys, the spacing is perfect, the reason why it looks like 3 single pods is cause thats what it is right now. When the final version is complete, it will be a molded one piece, with nice curves in between the pods. If you look at the first pic, they can't space them any closer toghether or you will get to much overlap.

[marshmallow15]

yes im aware of that....but if you look at the side view it has WAYY too much gap between the pods.

[cashmoneyspeed]

Do you have a time frame on when they'll be selling these? Will they be in the stock colors?

[marshmallow15]

im pretty sure you'll have to paint them yourself.

[Custommx3]

I think they will be painted for us. As in buying them, that'll probably be awhile. Many of us went in on a group buy last year to have these made. We're just waiting on them to be produced. I dunno if they will sell them after this. If you have non auto seatbelts, u can get them @ gaugepods.com

[Ogimoj]

They'll be available in gray or un-painted black (upon request). Since nobody has told me that they have the tan/beige interior, there has been no attempt at getting Lo-Tek a piece to color sample from.