Posted this on AZ but I also wanted to post it for the folks here.
So a while back, I was PM’d about a new gauge system by a fellow AZ member that would be displayed inside the centre cluster display.
I already have the Zada-Tech gauges as most already know but I really liked the idea of having various readings displayed in the centre cluster (I don’t want big gauges sticking out of my steering wheel or in my A pillar or even my side air vents). So I expressed interest and to get back to me when they were ready.
A couple weeks ago, they did get back to me and asked me if I wanted to beta test them (for a discounted price) and I said absolutely!
Well I just installed them yesterday and thought I’d give a little review.
Installation was extremely simple. You remove the fuse cover with a flat head screw driver, you remove the cover under the steering wheel (three 8mm bolts) and you remove the cluster (two T25 torx screws).
You then unplug the two cables going into the cluster and you plug them into their black box. You then plug two new cables (provided) from the black box into the cluster. And that’s it (unless you also want a boost readout, in which case it’s a little more involved. I didn’t get around to that yet). You may also need a VAGCOM to change a parameter in the Instrument cluster settings. I plugged mine in to make the change but the setting was already there so I didn’t actually need to make any VAGCOM changes.
The entire installation (not including boost but most people here don’t have forced induction anyway) took less than 30 minutes. They have their own installation thread here.
Once it’s installed, it’s really simple to use and it just works.
The different displays are controlled by the same stack that controls the mpg, gas remaining, etc. stack on the right side of the steering wheel.
Here are some photos:
Oil Temp and Coolant Temp (everything is pulled from OBD2):
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-1.jpg
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-2.jpg
Intake air temp (and I’m assuming battery voltage. Not sure why it’s showing 0.0v in the first pic and 8.1v in the second pic). I’ll have to ask them about it.:
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-3.jpg
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-5.jpg
AFR and Boost (Boost not currently connected) (there’s also a boost recall screen that I didn’t take a pic of because I didn’t install the boost line)
It also has a built in MAP sensor capable of reading vacuum and up to 44 PSI of boost:
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-7.jpg
Plus a little need feature, it’ll use your OBD2 to calculate acceleration times. There’s 0-60mph, 60-90mph and 60-130mph. I haven’t tested it out yet as I don’t really have anywhere to test this other than a highway on-ramp at 3am (for the 0-60mph one). I’ll try and do one soon. Basically, you go to this screen and start your run. You let off the gas once you’ve hit your targetted speed (so just above 60mph if you’re doing the 0-60mph test) and it’ll display your time once it’s done. I have a feeling that for the higher speeds it might not be as accurate as a GPS based unit simply because it uses the inherent speedo in your car but the 0-60 should be fairly accurate (we all know that the higher you go in speed, the less accurate your speedo gets).
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/STE_PPD_Gauge-4.jpg
And finally, one of the whole cockpit:
http://www.gauntlet.net/audi/Audi_S4_Cockpit.jpg
As you can see, the setup is completely seamless and super clean.
In conclusion, for anyone interested in having their oil temp (and other readings) displayed in their cluster, this is the perfect solution. It just works. Nothing much to it.
They have metric and non-metric versions. Although I would have preferred to see my temps in Celsius and my boost in PSI because I’m in Canada and we’re screwed up that way (we’re officially metric but half of our stuff is non-metric), I chose the non-metric version as my Zada-Tech gauges are already in celsius.
My wish list for future revisions:
- Ability to pick and choose which readings get displayed on which screens. There’s usually 2 readings per screen and I would have liked to have oil temp and intake temp on one screen
- Ability to pick a combo of metric and non-metric readings (celsius for my temps, psi for my boost).
And that’s about it for my wish list. Everything else is pretty much exactly how I wanted (and expected) it to be.
As for customer service, they were very reachable and helpful throughout the process. The package was well put together, sent by USPS with tracking and their black box and two cables supplied seem to be well built and sturdy. I mounted the box with velcro as they suggested in their installation thread.
Feel free to ask me any questions about the setup and use.
Overall highly recommended. You can also contact them directly by email at: sales@getste.com