My bad. I should've started new paragraph with "This was the perfect spot", because what I meant was that the place I put it was perfect spot for me. The ashtray doesn't make sense because I'd like to watch the road, too, not look down. I've had boost fluctuations between a 500k band of RPM's that if I had a gauge sitting anywhere like down in the ashtray I'd have never known. Sitting where mine is, anything "weird" will catch your eye immediately because it is in your peripheral vision while driving. I like the spot where AWE puts their's, but putting it in an HVAC vent to me is ghetto.
Where mine is, the benefits are: I can see it while driving, it doesn't block an HVAC vent or take up space in a spot that Audi designed to be something else, it doesn't sit high enough on the pillar so as to block side defrost vent, I didn't cut a hole in anything so it can be removed for any reason, it can't be seen from someone outside of the car next to me, it doesn't block any other gauge on my dash, and it sits about 4 inches below where the airbag would break through the pillar if it went off. Other than putting an LED inside the rearview mirror (which is probably the coolest design I've seen), this was the best for everything I was looking for.
There are no pre-made pillar pods for the B6. There are a few places who will make them for you, but A.- They are pricey as they do a whole re-wrap of the pillar, and, 2.- They do put their pod high enough so that it IS in the way should you fire an airbag off, and C.- Since they re-wrap pillar, there is no gaurantee the air bag will work because it is designed to break through the pillar, and if you're wrapping it with something.... will it still work as designed?
Their benefit is that they do look OEM, but mine does now, too, as it is finished in same color as pillar. The above pic, as mentioned, was before install was done and was just a test fitting.
Go to a4mods.com if interested in what I did. Instead of doing it all from scratch, however, like Ryan did on that site, I used a readily available pod and cut/molded it in to same spot. Finishing was done the same way he did his on a4mods.com

Here's his pic:

 

Those are close to 300.00 I believe and you have to ship you pillar in.

 

i love to live in danger! i wouldnt mind getting smacked in the face .. i rather be able to see my guages w/o having to take my eyes off the road (unless its a really hot girl )

pics? (i am going to pa int match it tomorroww)





EDIT!!! i didnt notice "b6" lol my b5 is still l337 tho

 

WHere is your vent???

Josh

 

Yo discontained, of course your not gonna mind getting hit in the face because you'll be dead.
I think you shouldtry and find a clip of one exploding they are quite fierce!

 

hahahah i cant believe ppl put em there its common sense..

 

Not only does it look trashy but its ******* dangerous. Get a center vent gauge/pod.

 

just so you know if the airbag blows it dosnt split the piller it shoots the piller out of the way so no materwhere that guage is on the pillar if its not attached strong enough (basically integrated with the pillar) it will blow it off and there is no telling where it will go. Could kill your passanger!

 

I'll agree to disagree. It doesn't "split" the pillar, it blows out the bottom. The pillar has an indentation along the back side much like where it blows through a dash or steering wheel. But the bag doesn't split there, it blows out the bottom leaving the pillar intact where it was. The indentation helps let the pillar break out so the bag can deploy. The indentation extends from the top down to about 4" up from where my gauge sits. On the 2002 through October 2004 model B6's, the side airbag blows out from the bottom of the A pillar, and does absolutely nothing to the A pillar as far down and forward as where my pod is mounted. It would blow out the pods the other poster has that sit halfway up the pillar, though. However, chances are just as good that the steering wheel bag would kick it right back to where it sat and no harm would be done in his case, but who's to say? I don't like pods sitting up that far myself and tried to avoid any problems with bags from the get-go.
Pics and video of A pillars with bags deployed show that the A pillar is bolted firmly still at the top and the bag does not blow forward enough to even effect how mine is mounted in to the dash in the front-bottom portion. When fully deployed, the bag doesn't even make it to the front of the side window, let alone up to where my pod sits. And it only blows out the pillar up to that point. From end of bag at the front down to the dash and windshield remain intact.
I can't speak for a B5, but on a B6, the pillar is solid for a good four inches up from where my pod sits, even after a deployment. The bag blows right out of the bottom but comes no where near that far down; the pillar cover stays put that far forward.
And since the bottom of my pod is firmly mounted in to the dash itself on the bottom of the pod, I'll take my chances. If I ever have to get the gauge surgicaly removed from my cold dead head, you can give me an "I told you so". Until then, I think the center vent looks ghetto so to all the haters... oh well.

 

damn, dude put it all out there....sweet