Having seen a friends new blue QUBE Dash and because i detest the dim yellow rubbish that Honda saw fit to use. I'm going to be replacing stuff in the car over the next few months. I won't be going down the QUBE route primarily because of the cost of it but also because of the destruction you have to carry out on your instrment housing. Since finding out the mileage on this car is held on the clocks, I don't want to damage them.
That is the kit i'll be using, still deciding whether to source my own LEDS or just stump up for the kit with the correct filters. It works out about £120 for all the bits and bobs. Yes, i'm aware I can do it a LOT cheaper but I can't be bothered to mess about with 23 different types of LED and 15 different lenghts to see what fits and looks best.
THe thing i'll be paying attention to is light diffusion, I reckon with a bit of careful sandpapering on the leds I can counter the bright spots seen above.
edit:
Done a bit more reading about this and it's far less complex than I thought, originally I thought the leds were the things that lit up in sequence to create the effect of movement, I didn't realise that all they are is fancy backlighting!!!!! The only reason people get weird illumination with led bulbs is that the leds themselves are too directional which is why QUBE has that fancy looking led backing plate. I just don't see how this is nescessary.
By using something like the stuff below ( which is mega cheap) I'm sure the same effect can be achieved for not an awful lot at all!!! If there any worries about power consumption, it's dead easy to take a feed from the sidelights or from any other switched power source.
http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/flex-strip-yell...f7226774776d953
As far as i can see, the only thing I really need to source is the correct colour diffuser for the colour I want to use - in this case, white. I doubt the power consumption of all those LEDS is more than the original bulbs. The only real challenge that I can see is the brightness of the LEDS and getting a nice uniform backlight.
Had another good look at this tonight. I need my dash out, the existing light mask out ... template made. Afore mentioned friend has been kind enough to lend me her old dash mask so that I can see what Honda did with the construction of it.
1. 1 to 2mm thick sheet of white perspex. It has to be perspex as that diffuses light.
2. White / Opaque Acetate sheet 1 or 2mm thick for the base diffuser
3. Red Acetate / Acrylic film for the warning areas. Possibly for the trip / distance part of the display too.
4. Gently sand with very fine paper the area directly over where each bulb sits.
5. Change the dash bulbs for white LED bulbs. If the bulbs are still too directional and shine through, sand the surface of the LEDS too which will give more of a glow.
The
problem is that others are using film, the original stuff is a lot thicker than film as you can see below.