Removing vent for smart tire display?

[Got Venom]

I had Eibach springs installed on my car, and today am getting the car aligned and having new tires and the digital "Smart Tire" system installed, and I was thinking of installing the display in the center air vent, or removing the vent and machining an aluminum piece that would hold the display and mount flush with the dash in the spot where the center vent is. My question is, is it easy to remove the air vent? Thanks

 

[Randy]

Dennis - I mounted a SmartTire display in the center vent on my old Gen I - I guess you never saw it. You'll probably want to remove the dash to get it just right and route the wires properly, but the dash comes out easily also (snaps across the top, something like 8 screws elsewhere). The vents pop out easily, and its easy to see how to do it when you have the dash out.

 

[Woody]

You could probably PM AB, as I saw that he has his A/F meter installed in his left vent. Good clean install. By the way, what is a smart tire display? Please be gentle with your response

 

[Randy]

SmartTire is a remote tire pressure and temperature monitoring system, with a fairly nice alert system and display - it knows that the pressure should go up with temperature and you can set the alert thresholds, etc. It requires the installation of sensors on the inside of the wheels, which requires the removal of the tires. TireRack sells them, as do many local tire stores.

 

[Ron]

I mounted mine where the driver's sun visor mounted. Not bad and does allow full A/C airflow.

 

[Randy]

I mounted mine where the driver's sun visor mounted. Not bad and does allow full A/C airflow.

I'm picturing the upper left corner of the windshield. Is that what you meant?

As I'm going to be installing the system in my Gen II when I replace tires soon, I'm interested in alternative mounting locations just so my options are open, although the placement of the upper A/C vents is a good one from a visibility standpoint, and replacing any one of the vents with a display doesn't seem to noticably affect airflow (its not like the two remaining vents can't handle the airflow). Other options I considered were to replace the ashtray with the unit (haven't test-fitted it recently to verify size, and the viewing angle is less than ideal, but its not a display you have to look at that often).

 

[Got Venom]

I will look tomorrow and see if a machined bracket somewhere else is more practical. If it is, I will make a few extra. Randy , you can have one of the first "extra" brackets. If I don't see an alternative, I guess it will go in the vent like everybody else???

 

[Ron]

Here's how I did it: (used sunvisor mount screw so completely and cleanly reversable)

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.

But another idea could be:

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Of course, the best solution would be to dismantle the entire remote display and integrate the components in a way that minimized the depth. Haven't gotten around to that yet.

 

[Randy]

Here's how I did it: (used sunvisor mount screw so completely and cleanly reversable)

Ah, cool. Thanks for the pics and work to show it!

Personally, and mostly because I have an RT/10, I'm tending toward the dash area or lower. If I had a GTS, though, that'd be a option.

 

[98viperGTS]

I had the old school one and I mounted the lighter plug to the unit, so that they became one. then just plug and play. No one even knew that the lighter outlet was under it. Unless they had a Viper. It was great in case I needed to move it or return to stock.

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[Got Venom]

I like that lighter one, but then what to do with the V1?
My V1 is in the lighter . If I did not have the air bag, I could probably machine something to go right in the cl of your steering wheel.

 

[Randy]

I like that lighter one, but then what to do with the V1?
My V1 is in the lighter . If I did not have the air bag, I could probably machine something to go right in the cl of your steering wheel.

I like the lighter plug one, also. You should wire your Valentine in and run the wire around the inside of the windshield so you can mount the V-1 above the rear-view mirror, anyway.