SanDiegoXLR
Seasoned Member
Hi All,
Despite the Bulgari trim piece, the 2004-2008 gauge cluster looks rather cheap and dated.
I've had people get into my car and say "Wow- same gauges from a Chevy Cavalier!"
And sadly enough, I can see why they'd say that- the color of the gauge cluster lights are a dim, old looking greenish white from the 1980s; plus, the font isn't very expensive looking.
Pretty bad when a $10,000 Toyota Yaris or base model Hyundai has nicer gauges than our top of the line luxury roadster.
Has anyone done anything to update theirs?
Is the gauge cluster difficult to remove?
Looks like there are some replacement gauge faces for the C6 Vette
Corvette C6 Gauge Face Plate Speedo Replacements - Stainless Steel
C6 Gauge Faces - Available in 7 Colors
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-3878695338535_2240_176911139
However, these won't work because the tach and speedo dip down beyond where the XLR gauges stop. Also, the other gauges (fuel, oil pressure, etc) are round, and ours are not.
I'd imagine the XLR is too limited in production for anyone to have created aftermarket replacement gauge faces?
This website can make custom gauges- Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce
The owner claimed, "As long as they are flat, I can make them...."
Wanted to see if anyone else would be interested in doing a group by? Would potentially lower the cost if he made more than 1 set.
Alternatively, instead of replacing the gauge faces, has anyone simply replaced the gauge bulbs with white or blue LEDs?
Here's an example of where someone did that on a Chevy Tahoe: chevy tahoe L E D gauge conversion - YouTube
Shocked that you can still adjust the brightness of the panel with the dimmer?
It looks like the 2009 XLRs have a much nicer font, and possibly have optitron electroluminescent gauges? From the photos I've seen, the gauge lighting is much more of a brighter white than what we have in 2004-2008 models. I looked on gmpartsdirect, and it seems like the 2009 gauge cluster is about $500.
Thanks for any insights!
Mark
Despite the Bulgari trim piece, the 2004-2008 gauge cluster looks rather cheap and dated.
I've had people get into my car and say "Wow- same gauges from a Chevy Cavalier!"
And sadly enough, I can see why they'd say that- the color of the gauge cluster lights are a dim, old looking greenish white from the 1980s; plus, the font isn't very expensive looking.
Pretty bad when a $10,000 Toyota Yaris or base model Hyundai has nicer gauges than our top of the line luxury roadster.
Has anyone done anything to update theirs?
Is the gauge cluster difficult to remove?
Looks like there are some replacement gauge faces for the C6 Vette
Corvette C6 Gauge Face Plate Speedo Replacements - Stainless Steel
C6 Gauge Faces - Available in 7 Colors
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-3878695338535_2240_176911139
However, these won't work because the tach and speedo dip down beyond where the XLR gauges stop. Also, the other gauges (fuel, oil pressure, etc) are round, and ours are not.
I'd imagine the XLR is too limited in production for anyone to have created aftermarket replacement gauge faces?
This website can make custom gauges- Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce
The owner claimed, "As long as they are flat, I can make them...."
Wanted to see if anyone else would be interested in doing a group by? Would potentially lower the cost if he made more than 1 set.
Alternatively, instead of replacing the gauge faces, has anyone simply replaced the gauge bulbs with white or blue LEDs?
Here's an example of where someone did that on a Chevy Tahoe: chevy tahoe L E D gauge conversion - YouTube
Shocked that you can still adjust the brightness of the panel with the dimmer?
It looks like the 2009 XLRs have a much nicer font, and possibly have optitron electroluminescent gauges? From the photos I've seen, the gauge lighting is much more of a brighter white than what we have in 2004-2008 models. I looked on gmpartsdirect, and it seems like the 2009 gauge cluster is about $500.
Thanks for any insights!
Mark
