Gauges and Pods

IPD Turbo Boost Gauge installed. Overall with interruptions it took about 1hr 40
minutes. The directions were pretty good. We watched the video a couple times
while installing it as well as made a call to Lucky. The only thing we did differently
was we removed the airbox completely instead of what the IPD directions stated.
With the airbox removed, it was much simpler to see where to install the T-
connector. You can tell since most of the tubing is too thick in diameter. There is
only one that visualizing you can tell is the right one.

The gauge quality is excellent. It reacts super fast. My kit had all the parts I
needed. I got all the wires. Just needed a connector to splice into the wire behind
fuse #30 (04 S60R). No real problems with the pod sticking to the dash. I did
push it back towards the windshield and flush with the side pillar. The rubber strip
with the double sided tape that sticks to the pod was not the best. Really had to
play with it and cut it to fit properly. After cleaning the dash real well with rubbing
alcohol, attached the other double sided tape to the rubber seal of the pod and
stuck it to the dash. It stuck but you had to play around with it to see what the best
location was. For me it was pushed back against the windshield. One area of
concern for me was the white collar that fits to tighten the gauge to the pod was
not very well made and you had to be careful not to over tighten and strip the
thread.

Drove about 10 miles home on Maine’s frost heaved roads with no vibration. The
pod stuck where it was placed and the gauge remained where it should be. When
idling, or lifting off the accelerator the gauge read -20 then as you drive and
accelerate, it would reflect the boost the turbo generates. Under steady normal
acceleration, it read between 5 and 10 psi. I’m totally stock so even stomping on it
fairly hard the boost gauge read 10-13 psi. Not sure even if I put it in advance
mode that I could hit 15 psi.

The directions especially the IPD video was helpful and the overall install wasn’t too
bad with the exception of the two items that quality wise weren’t up to par with the
gauge itself. I would rate the overall installed product a definite 9 out of 10. I
would rate it 4.5 out of 5 on IPD's rating scale. It lights up bright and comes pretty
close to matching the interior dash lighting. Great investment and I really like it
overall.

The idea behind the concept was great, but the execution & quality is pretty poor.
I received my gauge 2 days ago and installed it today.
Here is what I noticed (positive & negative).
First the good:
-The gauge came with very everything you need to install it cleanly.
-The gauge matches up better than anything else available on the market to the R instruments.
The bad:
-The gauge is cheap. Sorry, but that's the impression I got.
-The face is off center from the housing
-Too bad we can see so much of the white plastic housing around the perimeter of the front lens. It takes away from the metal rim.
-the LED light that clips into the housing is really loose and the pins for the connectors are easily pushed in when connecting the wires
-the white plastic screw down to snug the gauge in place is too big and there is no way to tighten it properly. When you try, it just skips off the threads and becomes loose again.
-The attention to detail is just not there. The blue face doesn't match that of the R gauges. On close inspection it looks like a bad shiny blue paper, which it probably is.
-The center pivot for the needle is blue on the R gauges, not black like on this boost gauge.
-Glass is chipped around the edges, but conveniently hidden by the black plastic bezel.
The ugly:
-took close to a month to get the gauge. Sad to say, but there was a definite lack of transparency from IPD to keep us updated on the situation. They kept saying it had shipped when in fact it had not. Then they could not find the order. Pretty frustrating. It was easier & faster to get my Eikers mags than this boost gauge.
Bottom line is that this whole experience was really dissapointing. If the quality of the gauge had been there, I would have easily overlooked the poor service & many delays.
We buy this gauge because there is nothing out there that comes close to the instruments of our R's. But if there was, this gauge would easily be overshadowed.

Installation into the Pod was a breeze, but the included white 3M tape was not fun to work with. I'm thinking I got some old stock, as the glue was barely sticky and the backing tape practically took itself off. Then, even after several wipe-downs of the dash with alcohol wipes and a little heat from a blowdryer, the tape refused to stick. So I upgraded to the black/red heavy duty 3m doublesided tape, and seem to be having better luck.

Installation into the T was perfect- the clear tubing mated perfectly inside the white T, and the black strain relief fit nicely over that. I added a small ziptie just to be safe...

Wiring on the 04 R is different. The upper right connector in the fuse box is an ALWAYS ON, so i couldn't use that. Instead, I used the Top row, 2nd to the LEFT connector, which is ACC POWER, and that works fine. Otherwise, the video was an incredible help.

The gauge itself is great. During the day, its an almost perfect match for the dash gauges, iPd did a great job matching the color, font, trim ring hashes, etc. At night, while the color matches, it doesnt have the same polished aluminum reflection that the stock gauges have. A minor, minor issue, if one can even call it that. Also, the threaded ring that is supposed to tighten the gauge to the pod doesn't, it gets moderately tight and then slips off the threads. But thats OK, since the pod fits so tight around the gauge that I don't need the ring.

A few tips for others:
NY residents- our inspection sticker is blocked by the placement of the gauge, so you might want to move the sticker now OR risk having the pod damaged by the inspection tech who will try to remove it later.

Take a black sharpie marker and blacken the white case of the gauge. This will prevent light from escaping from both the gaps between the pod and dash (if you have any- my dash didn't perfectly match the contours of the pod) AND the slight gap where the gauge meets the pod.

When attaching the spade connectors, do so with the bulb OUT of the pod, while applying gentle pressure to the top of the bulb. my connectors were so tight that they actually pushed one of the blades INTO the bulb instead of slipping around it, even WITH some dielectric grease. It was easily fixed, no damage to the bulb.

Thats all. Love the gauge, love the placement. Yet another reason to bookmark IPDUSA.com.

Beautiful piece. Matches the R nicely with good fit and finish. I had a minor quality issue with the gauge, but as usual the crew at IPD jumped all over it and sent a fresh one.

Installation was exactly as described by IPD and took about an hour. The hardest part is fiddling with the 2 sided tape to attach the gasket and pod.

If you have an R or are performance tuning, don't wait to buy this. Volvo should offer R owners a free coupon for this - a part this functional and nice should have been stock!!!!

The gauge and pod work well overall and are a pleasure to look at both night and day. For some reason, the gauge itself sticks a bit in the lower vacuum registers. Boost indication is fine, however.

It is a little dicey adhering the pod to the dash. Installing the T-Connector onto the boost/vacuum line was a very tight fit and required a little extra line and some smaller clamps than those provided, easily obtainable from a local parts store.

For the electrical, I had to hunt around for a power source that was not constantly on. Using one of the position lights' power source worked fine.

The video is a great guide, but for an R, it seems one has to improvise.

This was for a 2004 V70 R.

I actually mounted mine a little neater then Lucky showed in his youtube video. I did everything he said except I took off the 3 10mm bolts off of the fender on the divers side, slid the fender off of the little clip on top next to the headlight housing, and slid the boost hose inside the fender, you can slide the hole hose in there and it will exit next to the drivers side light. Then connected it just like Lucky Showed. A little extra step for a super clean look.

Initial impression from the drivers seat is that you quickly realize that this gauge should have been there from day one. The position is great for line of sight, and clearly seeing boost and vacuum development. Despite being a mechanical gauge the needle sweeps smooth and steady and almost never jittery except a tiny, bit under full load. Fit and finish are beautiful to say the least. If you are taking the time to even consider looking at the gauge at reading this review let me help you by saying, just add this to your cart and make it part of your next order. Amazing job from IPD!!!