speedofsound

Mike,

Just a quick update from me...

I actually held your shipment until today (it is now in FedEx's hands), and am sending you two new panels instead of one. I have cut the gauge openings to different dimensions, and I'd like you to choose the one you feel best works for you. One is little more "snug" than the other. When you get the time to do the swap, drop me a line and let me know which one you picked.

Sorry I didn't get it out quicker, but wanted to be sure all was correct in favor of a rush job.

Doogie

In following this thread, it is refreshing to see vendors like SOS (along with many others on this forum) who really care about there customers and do what ever it takes to make things right. I have worked in the customer service industry my entire career and it is amazing to see how some businesses just don't get it. If you keep 'em happy, they (along with many others) will remain loyal.

I just received my Aeroforce gauges from Tom281's "sale" and will definitely be getting my SOS dual pillar pod from SOS!

Got Oatz

No problem Alan, will do. If it is not here this week, it will probably wait until the following weekend, as the current plan is to have the Vortech installed next week, with any luck and delivery of the head unit....
I will let you know, and then we can arrange return of the other panels....

Thanks again Alan, truly above and beyond customer service.....

Mike

speedofsound

I've never thought this was rocket surgery.

No rush on this end, Mike. Take your time, and do the swap when YOUR schedule permits.

Gotta chalk some of this up to luck, BTW. If I hadn't been bored to tears on New Years day, I may have never found this thread. No one tipped me off to your thread, although it turns out a local friend did reply in your other thread on this subject (different subforum). I love to prowl the forums and see/read what chatter is going on, but it's pretty hard to be everywhere, all the time, in addition to running a business. Got lucky this time, but as a golfer, I often say I'd rather be lucky than good!

Got Oatz

Thanks Alan,

Tracking shows delivery this Friday, so, It might just go in this weekend after all...I would like to have it done before turning the car over to my mechanic...I will obviously keep you up to speed......of sound..........


Mike

speedofsound

Sounds good; just remember there's no pressure for you to hurry on my account.

While I was working on your parts, I considered making a few changes to the design which may minimize/eliminate the chance of those stress cracks in the future. When I get some spare time (), I plan to experiment in the shop.

Got Oatz

So,
As promised, Alan at Speed of Sound sent out not one, but two new dash panels for me to test and decide upon, as a correction to the minor problem I had with my original. They both arrived on Thursday, so I did the swap out today...Here are some pics of the results....

This is the old panel that came out. You can see in the pic the stress areas in question, which I believe were probably caused by a variance in the size of the gauges...




As Alan had said in a previous post, he actually sent me two panels, with two different size holes milled out. The only way I could think of demonstrating the size difference, was to just set the gauges in, until they stopped on thier own....Here are some pics of the first replacement panel..







As you can see, two of the three gauges slid all the way in on thier own, and one protruded. HOWEVER, when the protruding gauge was swapped to another panel location, it did the same thing, i.e. protruded. And the gauge that was swapped to this position then slid all the way in on it's own....CONCLUSION...To Alan's point, gauges vary widely in thier true diameter, which is something that Speed of Sound has no way of compensating for.

Now, on to panel two. The gauges all stopped short of going all the way it. And, you can easily see the one gauge that when fitted in panel one, protruded beyond the others...






I opted to use panel number 2, as the fit was a bit snugger. The gauges slipped right into place on panel two, no muss no fuss....Now, as far as the stereo cage, it was still a very tight fit for the cage. However, after some careful corner to corner work, I did get the cage to go in WITHOUT ANY MODS TO THE PANEL, AS WAS NECESSARY WITH THE FIRST PANEL. This pic shows the pressure that is on the stereo cage...




HOWEVER, with that said, once the radio is installed into the cage, the head unit slips in with no pressure, and no muss.....It makes for a very clean install...










Now, contrary to Alan's advice, I did go ahead and use the factory supplied brackets on the back of the gauges. I had already modified them to work when installing the first panel. I just barely snugged the jam nuts, with no undo pressure on them. They are there only to assure the gauge cannot walk out, which i doubt they would but, I had em so why not....




On a side note to Alan, perhaps you could look at a "C" type bracket for the back, that would go over the 6 gauge studs, but put the pressure on the thick side pieces of the panel. Obviously, to be offered at an additional charge...Just a thought....

So, here are a scad of pics of the new finished product....






















Also Alan, I followed your advice and installed the two spacers in the bottom two holes of the radio panel. It does add to an already good looking fit and finish. The only problem I had was the fact that after adding the spacers, my factory screws were not long enough to thread. No biggie, I grabbed a couple of screws out of my tool box, replaced them, and done deal.....

THE BOTTOM LINE.....

The bad news is, that it is obvious gauge diameter varies widely, even within the same brand and model of gauges. Unfortunately, I got some gauges that were obviously on the large size of the tolerance range.....
That, coupled with the fact the the first Speed of Sound panel was machined to a very good tolerance, led to the earlier problems I experienced.
The good news is, Alan at Speed of Sound happened upon this thread, and showed us all the meaning of customer service. I did not solicit his input, nor panel replacement. Alan however, made the very smart decision to champion this cause as the company "El Jefe".
As far as I'm concerned, Speed of Sound just added their name to my personal hall of fame of vendors. They rank right up there with the MGW's, and Brenspeed's of the world, in my opinion.

Thanks Alan, I appreciate all your efforts.....

Mike

Vicadell

where I can buy that gauge pod

Vicadell

where I can buy that gauge pod