Changing the colors of the dash lights?

[daklunk]

Does anyone sell those little plastic pieces that give our dashes that wonderful orange color in other colors, like blue or green? I'm going to be swapping out my dash, and while I'm at it I hope I can replace these little pieces...

Thanks

[Starmavin]

Nope, nobody makes them, it's not possible, since the color is built into the switches and dash buttons. The cluster lights don't have colored films they have full light bars colored amber.

[daklunk]

I meant the dash board center controls, they have those little clear orange plastic inserts, I was hoping maybe someone made them in blue or green, but it doesn't sound like it...

Does anyone make aftermarket guage faces, maybe white or electro-luminescent?

Thanks

[BMWJNKY]

Not many people realize this but BMW made the light the dark orange color for a reason. That reason is to make it easier on your eyes while driving at night. The human eye hardly reacts to the orange/red light at night so your eyes don't have to adjust from looking down the dark road to looking down at a white light gauge or vent controls then readjust back to the dark road.

But if you want to ricer up your dash with blue or green lights go for it but the BMW engineers didn't make the lights in their cars orange/red just cause they wanted it looked different than other cars.

[Starmavin]

Originally Posted by daklunk

Does anyone make aftermarket guage faces, maybe white or electro-luminescent?

Thanks

Yes, you can find them on ebay the 5k tach ones are cheap, but be advised, they are a pain to install and the power supply usually last for about 2 months then cut out.

I have installed several of them, I advise that you spray your needles black becasue the faceplates are white. At night the amber on the white face plates with blue, red numbers and letters looks cool. If you don't have an ebay account, I keep one of the 5k tachs on hand.

[gotKRAUT]

Originally Posted by BMWJNKY

Not many people realize this but BMW made the light the dark orange color for a reason. That reason is to make it easier on your eyes while driving at night. The human eye hardly reacts to the orange/red light at night so your eyes don't have to adjust from looking down the dark road to looking down at a white light gauge or vent controls then readjust back to the dark road.

But if you want to ricer up your dash with blue or green lights go for it but the BMW engineers didn't make the lights in their cars orange/red just cause they wanted it looked different than other cars.

*clapping* hands down the best explanation ever...couldn't have summed it up better

[daklunk]

@ BMWJNKY, KRAUT: Thanks, I didn't realize the story behind it. Not that I don't appreciate the idea behind it, I just don't like the color much at all. I don't know why, it just bugs me. We'll see...

@ Starmavin: Thanks, I will take a look at them...
EDIT: I've been looking for a while, I can't find it... Do you have a link to the vendor or the page?

Thanks guys...

[M3What?]

For gauge faces, needles, and dash lights. Visit this website, they even make custom gauges and do really good work. I know they have the gauges for the M3, but if you called them they can make it for any car.

Import Intelligence - Automotive Accessories for the Enthusiast - Gauge Faces for the Professional

[daklunk]

That's an interesting site, thanks for the link. They don't carry gauges for my application, but maybe down the road (after I've gotten it performing better) I could look into getting a custom set... CF would be nice.

Thanks

[M3What?]

No problem, their customer service is really good there. I just ordered custom gauges for my dsm. FYI, if you call them I'm almost positive they can make it for your car.

[PhatCat]

Personally, I really like the orange. And yes...it's WAY easier on the eyes on a dark raod, especially if you have been driving for quite some time.

[Starmavin]

Originally Posted by daklunk

@ Starmavin: Thanks, I will take a look at them...
EDIT: I've been looking for a while, I can't find it... Do you have a link to the vendor or the page?

Thanks guys...

For the 5k tach: eBay Motors: i208 85-91 BMW E30 318 325 WHITE FACE GLOW GAUGES (item 300060338092 end time Dec-15-06 20:15:05 PST)

For the 7k tach: eBay Motors: 1984-1991 BMW E-30 7000 K White Glow Gauges E30 #104 (item 230062552207 end time Dec-14-06 11:00:00 PST)

[daklunk]

Thanks! I like the looks of them... I have to ask though, is there a fix for the power supply problem?

[Starmavin]

They are still a pain-in-the-ass to install.

As far as a fix: Buy a good inverter.

[gotKRAUT]

i cant imagine for the life of me why you would want to do this, i have heard of people with other cars trying to get the amber look like BMW but never the other way around....you are crazy!