I am buying a 97 CX that is pretty much a bare-bones car (for my son). The roll up windows aren't so bad, but not having a tach in a 5-speed car is a bit irritating (to me, anyway). Has anyone installed an aftermarket tach? If so, where did you place it?

 

just buy a gauge cluster with the tach built in, most of the ex gauge clusters have them, just go by a junk yard and look for one. Just make sure you get a cluster from a manual car and the install is all plug-n-play.

Try something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-00...QQcmdZViewItem

 

Thanks! I wonder what the dealership charges for the cluster. and how difficult it is to remove the OEM one.

 

the dealership would charge you an arm and a leg, and no taking the oem one is fairly easy

 

install is easy, and don't go to the dealership, just try some junkyards, and all you need is a short,medium sized phillips screw driver to remove the black plastic piece that covers the cluster (careful, there are also two clips that hold it in place), and then there are four screws that hold the actual cluster in the dash. after that, there should be two plugs; one blue and one yellow (i think) and all of the clusters have the same type of plug-ins (manual that is). I have done this install myself and it works seemlessly, it's a lot cleaner looking than some aftermarket tach that isn't really necessary. The only downside to this route is that the mileage won't be accurate because the new odometer will be off from your mileage. You can probably find a tech who knows how to change the mileage to match the mileage of your vehicle (just make sure that the cluster works before you do anything with it).

Here's a picture of my cluster installed:



[IMG]local://upfiles/9164/4B1AB66EC0774704AB2988E539C9C356.jpg[/IMG]

 

Thanks for the tips! I called a local dealership and the parts guy said that there may be lighting issues after installing the EX cluster. After being intimidated by that statement, I ordered a piller pod from Summit racing. The pod and tachometer cost about $110 and seems to look fairly unobtrusive compared to bolting on a tach somewhere else. Still, if I don't like the way that turns out, I can always visit the junkyard.

Here are the part numbers for the A-pillar pod and tach:

Pod: ATM-20431 http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Tach: ATM-2698 http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku


Thanks again.

Dave

 

Update: Since my CX has a light gray interior trim, I'm swapping the black single pod for a full length gray dual-pod. The extra gauge hole will come in handy for a digital clock (for now), since the stereo doesn't show the time. The tach arrived and looks okay - a bit small at 2.06, but it will be positioned fairly close, so visibility shouldn't be an issue. I'll post pics when everything is installed.

Dave

 

sounds good, waiting for the pics.....