The_Honda_Guy

I did some searching and it seems that any EK cluster will swap into any EK trim level and be a plug and play. I want to put a cluster into the girlfriend's car that has a tachometer since the DX doesn't come with one. I know that the mileage will be different, but it's not a big deal. Can any EK cluster be swapped in or does this rule only apply to USDM clusters?

HaNgTiZZy

should be plug and play ... i had a ctr and it fit fine

The_Honda_Guy

That's what I was thinking. I thought I read that someone had put in a EUDM cluster and that it was also plug and play but wanted to make sure. I have a friend with a cluster from a 98 EX that he would sell me for cheap and figured I might go with it.

The_Honda_Guy

So, another quick question here. Since the cluster is going into the girlfriend's 97 DX I want a cluster that will read an approximate 6800 RPM redline since the D16Y7 only went that high. Also, IIRC the HX uses the same cluster as the EX, so if I did swap to a VTEC-E setup I would be fine using the same cluster. Also, I want a cluster that will read in MPH. I know that any EK 96-00 cluster will be a direct swap in. Are there any other clusters out there that will fit directly in without much modification?

HaNgTiZZy

dont do a vtec e swap ... just do a mini me swap ... i dont really get what your trying to say but the ex and hx clusters are identical

The_Honda_Guy

I would be doing the VTEC-E swap for the gas mileage, not the power. This is the girlfriend's car and I'm building it to be the best on gas mileage and reliability and not fast. She doesn't want it to be fast, she's more concerned about gas mileage. Also, I think it would be unique to deck out the car as a gas mileage car instead of power like everyone else and do a few unique VTEC-E styled parts like a valve cover and wire up some sort of light in the cluster to indicate when you're in VTEC-E and other things. It would be cool to build something different rather than just striving for power.

HaNgTiZZy

if this helps i drove from northern santa barabara to LAX and back roughly 350+ mile round trip and only took half a tank i was shocked

The_Honda_Guy

In what car? Right now we get about 38 MPG mixed city and highway driving, almost all of it being city. Best we've seen so far was 41 MPG straight interstate during the summer with the A/C on the entire time doing 75. I would love to see more with a HX setup.

HaNgTiZZy

is a bone stock 96 hx 225,XXX miles still running clean and strong ... just make sure to do regular matienence oil change, sparks that nature

silentone

iTrader: (1)

you can swap the speedometers within the clusters also so you can keep the same mileage on the odometer. but since its not a big deal its up to you.

MrRabbit87

iTrader: (1)

damn my ex barely gets 32 mpg ... maybe i should unload all that random parts i have in my trunk... haha

The_Honda_Guy

Yea, that's the kind of mileage I'd love to see. I'm leaning towards the HX setup more and more. Most likely it's something that I'll build the parts up and do the swap on a free weekend.

So anyways, back to the clusters. From what I can tell only the EK clusters will be a direct swap in without modification. All the other clusters will require some trimming and fitting to get them to sit flush and without gaps. Also, since I want the cluster to read in MPH all the JDM and UDM clusters are out since I believe they only read in KPH. I don't really want to have to fit any custom parts onto this car since it's supposed to be as practical and daily driveable as needed with being able to easily replace things.

The_Honda_Guy

Well, I put in the 96 EX cluster tonight and it was a true plug and play item. Trying to decide if I'm going to stick with this cluster or do a different one. I've seen lots of different ones swapped in, but the question is how well do most of them fit and work? I'm looking for something that's not going to have to be a custom job and can be replaced relatively easy. Also, do all the clusters besides the USDM clusters read in KPH?

R666_EK

Like silentone said you should exchange the speedometer portion to retain your exact mileage. Just pop the plastic cover off and pull the screws in the back and the 2 in the front and voila! You retain your mileage still. Im pretty sure any EK cluster is plug n play. Just depends on whether or not you will be getting mph or kph.

The_Honda_Guy

Yea, I'll swap the speedometer portions between the clusters so that I can keep the original mileage from the DX cluster.

As far as using other clusters goes I've seen some that looked good with a decent amount of modification to the cluster surround and having to build a custom surround, which is not what I'm going for. What I'll probably end up doing is just customizing the EX cluster with an overlay and doing something with the faces to spice it up a bit.The problem is that I don't want a cluster that uses KPH since the girlfriend wants it in MPH and other people need to drive this car also, so practical is my friend. That means I'm stuck with a USDM cluster from the 96-00 Civic. I was thinking of a Si cluster, but the redline is different not to mention I'd feel like I was doing the car wrong.

I guess I'll just go with the EX cluster unless I fall in love with something else.

94EG8

CR-V cluster, plug and play and fits perfectly. It looks the same as an EX cluster except its got orange accents and backlighting.

The_Honda_Guy

Thanks for the info! I'll have to look at the CR-V cluster. What year(s) CR-V can you get the cluster from?

boost and bass

integra clusters from 94-01 fit just gotta repin the harness take 20 mins i have a gsr cluter in my ek looks great

dmotoguy

most crv clusters are auto... but you can use electrical tape to cover it up so it wont be noticeable at all...

The_Honda_Guy

From seeing the pictures of the Integra clusters they will fit, but the surround has to be modified quite a bit fill in the gaps around the cluster. It may fit better in an EG but they fit fit all that well in an EK.

Yea, I was thinking about that topic with the CR-V yesterday. Most of them were automatics, not a lot of manual ones really. They do look exactly like the EX cluster, just that it has amber accents instead of white and blue ones. I have a feeling that I'll most likely just keep the EX cluster and customize it some.

Now, I know you can get different overlays and gauge faces but are there any other aftermarket pieces you can buy for the clusters?

Kista20

97 hx w/ 179k and still gets 40+ mpg. I think the only difference between the ex and hx clusters is that the ex has a light for the cruise to let you know it's on and the hx has the shift up indicator, both are located in the same spot at the bottom of the tach.

The_Honda_Guy

Yea, I forgot about the HX cluster being different and having that shift up indicator. IIRC the HX didn't come with cruise control which is kinda retarded, but it had other nice things.

Kista20

yep no cruise for hx and I agree that it is retarded... I mean come on it gets 40 mpg it's great on long road trips so why not have at least optioned it.

The_Honda_Guy

I wonder how hard it really would be to install cruise onto a car that didn't have it. I'm sure it'd probably be a pain in the *** to do unfortunately. The wiring is what would kill ya.

I took apart the EX and DX clusters today and swapped the speedo assemblies. To set the mileage I just simply turned the first digit on the odometer until I got to the correct mileage. It seems like it's working correctly. The only problem I have now is that the speedometer reads off, but that's probably due to not putting the needle back on correctly. I've also gotta replace one of the bulbs that's burnt out on the top too.

I'm going to end up just sticking with the 96-00 EX cluster. The CR-V one is nice, but no sense in spending the time looking for a manual one or the money when I can easily customize the EX one to be just as nice. Also, I like that I don't have to modify the surround or cluster wiring to make it fit. I'll probably just buy some new faces and re-do the overlay and paint the needles to make it nice.

94EG8

'96 - '01

Definately doable. Easiest way would be to take the underdash harness from an EX.

Why? I don't get it. All you have to do is swap the speedometer head to retain your mileage.

They really shouldn't be that hard to find, sure theres a lot more automatic CR-Vs out there, but it shouldn't be that hard to find a manual.