DIY: ATI 60mm Vent Pod Install With Defi Gauge
 

First always check to make sure you have everything you need. With the ATi Vent, there is one piece, so just make sure it is in good condition.

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And since we also have the Defi gauge, we want to make sure everything is there and in good condition.

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Popping the factory vent out is easy, but does take a bit of force. I found that once you get one corner to pop free, the rest of the vent will come right out.

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With the vent out, you will see the outer ring attached to the main body of the vent. Gently pry the tabs away from the main body of the vent and it should come right off.

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With the outer ring off, we now have access to the inner ring. The process is the same as the outer ring in which you simply pry the tabs away from the main body, and it will pop right off.

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Here you can see the stock outer ring and the ATi ring side by side.

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I test fit the ATi ring and gauge in the pod just to make sure everything sat correctly and looked good. Everything was perfect, so I removed the ATi ring so I could prepare the Defi 60mm gauge to sit in the pod.

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Use the supplied foam band around the backside of the gauge. You will want to make sure the foam sits snugly against the ATi ring.

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Now you can put on the ATi vent ring into the stock vent pod with the gauge attached.
*Note, make sure you can spin the gauge in the pod, but you do want it to have resistance.

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Now for the fun part, Wiring the Gauge in!

I wanted to do a hidden install, so I removed the lower and side dash panels to access the wires I would be tapping into.
The side dash panel comes off easily by pulling out and up from the bottom.

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You will see one screw behind the panel which you will want to remove.

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Also remove the single screw in the lower right hand side of the lower dash panel.

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Once the screws are out, the lower panel should pop out with a bit of force. Remember to disconnect the harnesses going to the headlight level switch and cluster dim switch.

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I was able to find the wires I wanted using a multimeter. Remember we need a 12V constant, 12V with ignition on, 12V when dash lights are on, and a ground.

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For the illumination I used the solid purple wire going to the dimmer switch, this will connect to the white wire from the Defi gauge.

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Unwrap the factory harness loom to access the wire you need.

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We used vampire taps, but you could also splice and solder the wires in.

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Next I wanted to find the 12V constant. In the fuse box harness, locate the solid light green wire and tap into that. You will use the Red wire from the Defi gauge.

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And for 12V with ignition on, I used the Red/Blue wire from the fuse box harness, which will be attached to the Orange wire from the Defi gauge.

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And for the Ground I used the factory bolt going into the dash beam just above the fuse box.

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When I tried to install the pod and gauge, I did not like the way it pinched the gauge harnesses between the vent and the internal ducts, so I decided to drill two small holes and run the harnesses through that. You do not have to do this, but I think it makes for a clean install.

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I wanted the hole to be small enough to not allow air to escape, which means that it is smaller than the harness clip, so I had to de-pin the harness. *Note, make sure you take a picture of the orientation of the wires for reference.
With the pins out, you should have enough room to slide the harness through the hole, it should be a tight squeeze.

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Push the harness up through the hole.

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Now re-pin the connector.

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For the Boost sensor I first routed the harness through the firewall grommet on the driver side and up into the dash.

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Repeat the same process for the boost sensor harness as you used for the main gauge harness. Although I did use a smaller bit as the sensor's harness was a bit smaller.

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Plug in the connectors in the back of the gauge to verify everything is correct and working properly before you finalize the install.

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Now push the vent pod back into the dash, use a bit of force to make sure it seats down all the way. It will only go in one way, I noticed the larger portion of the vent went towards the passenger side of the car.

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Now clean up the wiring harness. I like to re-use the factory covers to get as close to an OEM look as possible.

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Use electrical tape and zip ties to cover and secure the harness.

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Plug in the harness to the dimmer/headlight panel, install the lower and side dash panels, hook up the boost sensor to a boost/vacuum source and secure the sensor. Double check that everything looks good and Enjoy your new gauge pod and boost gauge!

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For more information on the ATi Vent Pod, please click here!


Now you might be wondering why we need a boost gauge.... well, stay tuned ;)


Thanks,
Rick

any 60mm gauge will fit right?

any 60MM will fit, there is another DIY about doing a vented gauge.

I love this DIY. But Defi is so expensive

Correct, the factory vent pod offers quite a bit of depth so you should not have any problem mounting any 60mm gauge. And Defi is a bit pricey, but with the quality and attention to detail I do think it is worth it. Also Nippon Seki, who is Defi's parent company also makes the factory gauges for Subaru among many other OEM's. I am a bit biased towards OEM parts, so Defi has always been my go-to gauge. :)

Thanks!
Rick

I loved my Defi gauges in my WRX and my STI. I had Prosport gauges before the Defis and an AEM gauge before the Prosports. The AEM was a bare bones gauge - it did what you needed it to do, but didn't look good doing it. The Prosports never worked right from the day I installed them to the day I sold them. Senders kept failing every other month and the LEDs didn't match each other, much less the car's lights.

Defi is worth the money.

Does this gauge holder work in either side?

Does this affect the heating/cooling system in the car?

This X1000! :)

I would imagine it would work on either side without a problem as the internals to the vents should be identical left to right. I would want to confirm fitment before saying that for sure though. :)

The vent is still functional, however you do loose the ability to control the direction that the air blows as you do remove the internal "vanes", they look like this.
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Thanks,
Rick

It's very nice!

Defi gauges are very expensive... I didn't read the whole steps, but if anyone can use 52mm gauge, I'd recommend Podi's gauge. I used to run them in my A4 and it was very pleasing to look at. I'm pretty sure their red/white color gauge matches our speedometers.

Great install thread!

I'm all over this if they make a 52mm vent pod. Any idea?

I think ATI sells 60mm to 52mm adapter rings for their other gauge pods. Might wanna look into that as a solution?

Edit: First hit on google is rallysportdirect.com: http://www.rallysportdirect.com/ATI-...to-52mm-3-Pack

Yeah ATi makes the 60mm to 52mm rings, and it might actually look really good as well.

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Thanks,
Rick

Edit double post :)

Thanks,
Rick

Thanks! Rick do you want me to order direct on the website or contact you through PM? Any discounts for forum members here?