Interior 1st Gen Most liked posts in thread: Dash Dissasmbly How to?

It's not glass.

 

Do you have them, cause kelly stated they were glass.........

 

The material is not glass, although it could be mistaken for glass after installation. It is a high end plastic that is more optically transparent (and more expensive) than glass, and way more transparent than the OEM lenses which are made from a low grade, slightly cloudy plastic. Metalman is correct, it has a vapor deposition coating that is both anti-reflective and forms a hard, scratch resistant surface.

When I set out on this project, anti-reflection was my primary objective and it is what provides the greatest benefit. The extra clarity and scratch resistance are added bonuses. I was surprised to find that the lenses are not only a functional enhancement, but also give the gauges an overall higher quality appearance. The original lenses look like what they are (injection molded low grade plastic) and drag down the impression of quality for the entire gauge.

 

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, I have found a good method to remove the speedo or chrono trim ring.

For a 3 piece dash (2005+) no tools required and takes no more than a couple of minutes.

1. Open the glovebox door.
2. Pull the bottom of the passenger side dash panel trim away from the dash. The bottom of the panel will release from 3 clips. Leave the top of the panel attached.
3. Pull the bottom of the middle dash panel trim away from the dash. The bottom of the panel will release from clips. Leave the top of the panel attached.
4. Pull the bottom of the middle dash panel outwards 2-3 inches. This will lift the trim ring away from the gauge (speedo or chrono), creating a gap.
5. Curl your fingers underneath the inside edge of the ring, and pull it off. Alternatively, you could reach under the dash panel and push the ring out from back.
6. After the ring is removed, snap the bottoms of the dash panels back in place, then proceed with InvisiLens installation.

For the older 5 piece dash, the procedure is the same except that there 3 screws at the bottom of the passenger side panel and 1 screw at the bottom (right side) of the center panel. These screws need to be removed before pulling on the trim panels. I believe the screws are Torx T-20.

 

waiting for DR O to interject...


i prolly shoulda said GLASSY, but yeah GLOs

hmmm so many comments

there are spongey spaces that go between the lense and the oem gague ring so i'm guessing the lenses would flex before breaking

just how hard do you need to be hit to shatter the lenses in your gagues?

 

I'm not a mechanical engineer and don't understand these standards or how it compares with the OEM, but this is from the technical specs for the material:

Impact Strength – Izod Milled Notch ASTM D-256: 0.4 ft. lbs./in. of notch
Impact Strength – Gardner – falling weight ASTM 5420-04: 18.1 ft-lbs (6.0mm)
"significantly more impact-resistant than annealed glass and similar to that of tempered glass"
​

So basically think of it as having the impact strength of tempered glass. The OEM is probably similar but the material is thinner (about 2 mm, vs 3 mm for InvisiLens) and may break with less force. On impact, both will flex some amount before breaking.

 

This is definitely the method to use. I went by the instructions on the FES site and ended up with a nice gouge in the trim ring. Once I got the ring off using the above method, I could see that the tabs were tacked in place with silicone. The install went perfect after that.

My other suggestion is to install the auto up and invisilens at the same time. I am not adept at most automotive diy projects and the auto up installation had me worried. A few days after installing the invisilens I decided to tackle the auto up circuit. It is the same process to access the toggle panel and the speedometer. Once I realized that, it took about 10 minutes for the auto up to be in place and the dash put back together.

I love both products. Gauges are now fully visible in all light conditions and, though it may seem like a small thing, raising the windows with just one click makes life that much easier.