Changing the dashboard of Lada Kalina
As you know, the Kalina instrument panel looks unattractive in comparison with imported cars.
Most owners of VAZ cars try to improve the appearance of an outdated instrument panel. Young car enthusiasts want to add brighter colors to a monochromatic car showroom and improve the functionality of some parts. Domestic cars lend themselves well to tuning. The salon can be changed beyond recognition, giving it a fresher and more attractive look.
Almost all owners of VAZ cars agree that the instrument panel of their vehicles has dim lighting. Lada Kalina was no exception. How to make the desired changes to the dashboard of a Russian car? The issue of lighting and various tuning methods are discussed in detail below.
Installing a sports steering wheel and sports seats
The appearance of the Lada Kalina car can be changed by tuning the Lada Kalina interior.
It's definitely worth installing a sports steering wheel. It will increase the ease of driving and improve the appearance of the interior. Next, when tuning the interior of the Lada Kalina, you should install new seats or upholster the old ones.
The sports seats look impressive. They have a fixed fit, which will be beneficial for the spine. But a comfortable seat for the driver helps better concentration, as well as health.
Tuning instrument panel lighting
The brightness of the shield can be increased by installing special light diodes. If you want to make it more fashionable, you can easily change the lighting color of some details. To do this, just seal the necessary elements on the back side with pieces of a plastic bag, having previously selected the desired color. However, it is worth taking into account some installation features.
Dashboard lighting
First of all, you will need to dismantle the instrument panel frame. It has 2 fasteners covered with rivets. They need to be carefully removed and the frame pulled towards you. In this case, it will rest against bent fastening elements that will need to be loosened. Only after this can the frame be removed.
Now you need to turn off the power to the shield. To do this, simply disconnect the wires located behind the panel. It is necessary to decide in which places the diodes will be installed, since the instrument panel of the Lada Kalina looks very unique. There are several possible options for additional lighting.
- A complete lighting upgrade will enhance the brightness of all areas of the panel, but you need to choose light colors that are not too noticeable.
- The top lighting can be brighter, since this part of the shield is made in the form of an arc, that is, most of the panel will be well illuminated.
- The lower illumination allows the eyes to rest during long trips; it has a calming effect on vision without straining it.
You need to place the cellophane pieces very carefully, adjusting the glass of the shield. Make sure there are no folds or bulges, otherwise the panel will be difficult to secure.
After this, you need to connect the wires from the diodes to the car's power supply. This is done from the back side of the shield: you need to drill a small hole in the casing and insert the wires through it. When connecting, make sure that there are no twisted or strongly bent parts in the wiring. Otherwise, the lighting will short out, especially in the cold season.
Upon completion of the lighting installation, be sure to check the functionality of the diodes and only then assemble the panel.
Changing the color of the shield
Original design of the Kalina panel
Not all Kalina owners like the Lada dashboard. Some car enthusiasts are unhappy that it is gradually losing its prestigious appearance. Others believe that the cheapness of the plastic spoils the interior. Still others are simply tired of plain cladding and want to complement it with bright inserts of a different color. All of the above problems can be solved by simply repainting the dashboard. The shield needs to be repainted in darker colors, otherwise its alteration will be very noticeable.
First, you need to completely disassemble the panel so as not to spoil its appearance, and then paint over it with high quality. After dismantling, remove the dial, buttons and arrows, as there is a possibility of staining small parts.
Installation of additional sound insulation
When tuning the interior of the Lada Kalina, additional sound insulation should be installed. As you know, the comfort of a car is commensurate with the noise level of the car. For sound insulation, materials such as bombs, vibroplast and modelin are used. After applying soundproofing materials, you need to leave them for a while so that they are well strengthened.
The dashboard of Granta or Kalina can be called modern. This can be confirmed not only by its appearance, but also by the use of LEDs, rather than lamps, to highlight readings and indicators. Let's look at how you can change the standard green color of the instrument panel backlight.
Materials for tuning
Tuning the instrument panel will require the purchase of materials such as spray paint, varnish, primer and solvent. All these materials can be found in any auto parts store for VAZ. It is worth considering that the first 3 substances must be intended for working with plastic, and the solvent can be ordinary.
Before applying paint, it is necessary to degrease the coating, having previously cleaned it of contaminants. After this, a two-layer primer is applied. If you have set yourself the task of updating the entire interior, you will need to paint the plastic trim in the desired places in the same way.
After allowing the primer to dry thoroughly, you need to apply paint in 2 layers. This will help improve the overall appearance of the interior by hiding unsightly and worn-out plastics under layers. To protect the instrument panel from cracks and damage, the painted surface should be treated with clear varnish.
After waiting for the varnish to dry completely, you can begin assembling and installing the instrument panel. All work is done carefully and carefully, since there is a possibility of damaging the painted surface. Upon completion, you can evaluate your efforts; now you won’t need to update the panel for several years. Tuning is complete!
Alternative options for the Kalina instrument panel
Tuning does not always mean remodeling and improving appearance and functionality. If you don't like the simple gauges, speedometer and tachometer look, you can easily replace the entire dashboard. Auto parts stores for VAZ cars sell many different options from which you can choose the most suitable one that meets your requirements. Here are a few types of alternative panels that are worth considering.
Gamma GF-851 is a seductive panel option with excellent lighting and convenient placement of sensors and indicators. Thanks to the compact placement of all elements, you can easily navigate the indicators. The only drawback is the high cost ($380).
We dismantle the device ourselves
To remove the dashboard in Kalina-2, first dismantle the plastic cladding. The part is held in place by three self-tapping screws, two of which are immediately visible. Look at the tidy below and you will find them. The third screw, in turn, is located in the fuse compartment.
The fuse compartment will be covered with a cover.
In the figure, the required element is indicated by the number “3”.
In the absence of cladding, it is easy to find 4 screws holding the tidy in place. By unscrewing them, the block can be completely dismantled. But don’t rush: when dismantling, you will need to disconnect the connector. This means that even before performing all operations, the battery terminals are disconnected.
Usually only the negative terminal is disconnected. The part is held in place by one nut, and to unscrew it you need a 10mm wrench.
External tuning of Kalina
It is quite difficult to make a car look beautiful; you need to take into account all the trends of modern requirements for car tuning so that the car looks strict and without unnecessary “collective farm” tunings.
Installing a lip under the bumper of Kalina will give a stylish look and a slightly sporty look to the car. There are many different bumper lips, but the most popular and reliable is the samurai lip. This part is inexpensive and is made of rubber, which is very good for its durability.
The cost of this lip starts from 600 rubles.
Alloy wheels
Wheels are 50% of a car's appearance. After all, a car on boring, inconspicuous rims is unlikely to catch the eye, but if you install beautiful, stylish rims with a larger radius, you will undoubtedly gather crowds of onlookers with smartphones.
On the Lada Kalina, wheels up to R17 are installed without any modifications. But it should be remembered that beauty requires sacrifice. When installing large-radius discs, the rubber profile becomes minimal, which greatly affects ride comfort; the car becomes stiffer, but noticeably more maneuverable.
Spoiler
The spoiler on fast cars such as Formula 1 or Bugatti Veyron serves as an aerodynamic wing. It pushes the car to the ground or helps it brake when it accelerates to unimaginable speeds.
As for the Lada Kalina, here it only plays the role of external tuning of the car. Spoilers are quite different, both in appearance and type of installation. The most popular lip spoiler in modern times. When installing it, there is no need to drill holes in the car body, which spoils the paintwork. The lip spoiler is attached with double-sided tape.
Its cost depends on the region, the starting price is from 600 rubles.
As you know, Lada cars are available in several trim levels, ranging from standard to luxury. In the luxury configuration, the car received painted mirrors with turn signals, PTF, heated seats and much more. If your car has a standard configuration, do not despair, as it is quite easy to give it the appearance of a Luxury car.
Replacing the turn signal repeaters with those installed in the side mirror. And in place of the old repeaters, SE plugs are installed, which indicates the luxury equipment of the car.
It is recommended to install mirrors from the restyled grant. They have a more modern look.
Antishildik
Nowadays, you can notice that a large number of cars are driving without nameplates. Indeed, this decision introduces some nice changes to the car, allowing it to stand out from the crowd.
The nameplates are quite easy to remove; you just need to heat them with a hairdryer and remove them, as they are installed with double-sided tape.
Armchairs
The seats in a car are the first thing everyone who gets into it pays attention to. And tuning the interior of the Lada Kalina will be incomplete if the seats are not modernized or replaced. A short bottom cushion and lack of lateral support are the main disadvantages of the seats installed in Kalina. To correct these shortcomings, you can contact a specialized studio and reshape the existing seats or select a suitable option from another car. The latter option is more acceptable due to the amount of funds spent on its implementation. Specialized studios charge a lot of money for their services, and if you are lucky enough to find chairs that suit you, you can redo the fastenings yourself.
Interior tuning
External tuning is of course good, but you still need to take care of yourself. Tuning the interior is also huge and great, because the exterior is made for others, and the interior is for yourself. It is necessary to approach modifications to the interior in such a way as not to sacrifice the comfort of the car.
Cases
Stylish covers help you choose any pleasant color for the interior, if you don’t like the standard colors in the Kalina’s interior. The covers also protect the seats quite well from dirt and retain their original appearance much longer.
The cost of good covers starts from 5,000 rubles.
Salon Suite
Luxury Lada cars differ from the norm not only externally, but also in the interior. The luxury version of the viburnum includes heated seats, full power accessories, a touch screen and much more.
Adding a digital scale
For those who have experience working with plastic, the following tuning option is recommended.
Did your child smear ice cream on your car seat? Or did your friends spill their coffee? Now this is absolutely no problem! Car interior dry cleaning from DTL Expert offers all types and types of safe cleanliness in the interior.
In the instrument panel, under any of the two scales, you can cut out a window in which a standard indicator is fixed. We are talking about a digital indicator consisting of two or three separate segments.
The plane of the tidy is cut through, an indicator is attached to the window
When the modification is completed, the dashboard looks like this:
3-segment indicator installed and secured
If there are glares, use a simple solution: cover the inside of the glass with a matte tint film. Good luck.
Technical part
Improvements on the technical side involve tuning the engine and transmission, which allows for more power and dynamics. Below is a list of modifications that will make your car drive much faster.
Chip, Firmware
Car firmware is done with a special device used by specially trained technicians. The computer connects to the car via the OBD connector and changes the factory firmware of the electronic control unit to a tuned one. Chip tuning allows you to increase power by several horsepower, which is noticeable immediately after the firmware.
The cost of firmware from a good specialist starts from 2000 rubles.
Exhaust
The exhaust on Kalina is equipped with a catalyst from the factory, which during tuning can affect the increase in power. In faster cars that have already undergone a large number of modifications, the catalyst is removed. This allows the internal combustion engine to more easily release exhaust gases without unnecessary resistance.
The catalyst is also removed when the car has a high mileage; when the catalyst becomes clogged, it begins to poorly pass exhaust gases, thereby “choking” the car.
It is not advisable to replace it with a new one, since it is quite expensive, so many people replace it with a spider insert from.
The sound with such an insert is more bassy and pleasant, and the car dynamics feel much more pleasant.
Camshafts
Sports camshafts will help achieve better vehicle dynamics. Installation of such shafts should be carried out at trusted service stations, followed by tuning of the ECU and its firmware.
Flywheel
A lightweight flywheel is installed for a sharper increase in speed. This flywheel allows the motor to spin much easier and faster. Reviews about this modification are only positive, but it was noted that starting from a standstill after installation required higher speeds than with a conventional flywheel.
Blocking
The self-locking differential allows you to block the wheels during a sharp start with slipping. This modification allows you to achieve a clearer and sharper start in drag racing competitions. On a standard differential, when slipping, only one wheel spins, but on this differential, both wheels are locked and the car jumps off the start much more efficiently.
Brakes
When finalizing the technical part, do not forget about the brakes, because they must always be in good working order and effective. It is recommended to install disc brakes on the rear axle instead of drum brakes. And also replace the front brake discs with perforated ones. This will allow for better brake cooling. Cold brakes are much more effective than overheated ones.
Head optics: how to improve them?
In many ways, the exterior style is determined by the installed head optics and rear lights. The design options available at the factory cannot be called attractive, since they are still manufactured using old technologies and are of low quality.
The features of such tuning include the following points:
- You can upgrade the existing structure or purchase a new one. Some tuning salons provide the opportunity to buy new optics and lights that are ideal for the car.
- There are quite a large number of ways to modernize an already installed structure. An example is recommendations related to replacing a standard light source with a diode one.
Why are diode light sources so popular today? There are quite a few reasons:
- Low cost. Diode light sources are among the cheapest, which allows you to save on tuning and further maintenance.
- Attractive view. Diode strips have long been used in tuning many cars.
- Low power consumption. Due to this, the load on the installed generator is reduced and the amount of fuel consumed is reduced, and when the engine is off, the battery is less discharged.
- High reliability. The service life of high-quality diodes is quite long, since they are not negatively affected by high humidity and other influences.
- Compact sizes. Due to this, a larger number of light sources are placed in a small area.
- Long service life.
If you pay attention to new cars from almost all manufacturers, head optics and rear lights are made using diode technology. In addition, the following types of tuning of optics and flashlights are carried out:
- Protective glass is tinted.
- The surface of the protective glass is polished.
- Install various eyelashes and extensions.
When performing tuning, you should remember that headlights and taillights perform an important function and are not a decorative part of the body. That is why all changes must be thoughtful.
Improvements at the factory
The manufacturer cannot always make what will actually be effective under different operating conditions. Therefore, car enthusiasts often modify their cars on their own.
Rear shelf
In viburnum, the rear shelf is made of low-quality material, which soon leads to it being skewed. Also, if you install a speaker system in your car, then a standard shelf will not allow you to achieve good sound.
An alternative to all these problems is an acoustic shelf made of thicker materials and covered with carpet.
How the “non-ITELMA” dashboard works, video example
The interior of a car is a place where the driver and his passengers spend a lot of time. Modern cars have become not just a means of transportation, but also a place where you can escape from the bustle of the city. And if in expensive cars engineers have calculated and installed a standard set of options that will suit a large number of people, then in budget classes you need to independently select and install those improvements that suit your preferences.
