Show Us Ya Dash

[JimmyRickard]

Was looking into a variety of options for gauges and rev counters etc. and thought it would probably be cheaper just to get a dash that does everything. Found this puppy on eBay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Race-Technology-Programmable-Digital-Dash2-PI-AIM-Stack-/160690415217?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2569e52671

or there's the racepak from Haltech

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Racepak-IQ3-dash-EFI-interface-/370582798469#vi-content

what are you guys using? what do you recommend? I don't have a particular need for data logging, although it would be nice.

after buying the dash, what sort of costs are you looking at to get it installed?

I wanna see some photos too of them installed. show us ya dash!

[boxheadmr]

I have the race tech but I have found the most important question is what else are you planning on installing or have installed already. For example if you have a haltech you are better off getting there dash, same with if you have a motec.

The reason is that they work a lot better with their own equipment, when you mix and match in my experience you run into issues that might not be know.

Edited September 21, 2013 by boxheadmr

[frozenwaffles]

the dash2 pro looks awesome if you don't have a haltech ecu to use the racepak.

I have a platinum pro and racepak. so clean with no clutter in the car!

couldn't be happier

[JimmyRickard]

Anyone know much about the new Microtech LTC dashes? New ones apparently can link to any ecu, have colour screens and the the basic logger dash is about $800 with GPS.
Does anyone have any experience with them? Are they as capable as the iq3? Do they do full track mapping and timing etc? What software suite do they use?

They look like an excellent alternative for half the price, just hesitant as there is barely any information about them on their website

[260DET]

Watch out for the screen sizes, a lot of the cheaper ones are very small. I'm keen on the Microtech Pro dash which I'm told by an esteemed SAU person will work with my Haltech Elite. 

[Duncan]

lol I don't accept that remark....but it does appear to have the usual wire in to a CAN from the ECU, and they claim it supports Haltech. But who knows exactly what "support" means.

I think it looks good, the haltech one looks like it's 15 years old and hasn't been updated since.

Assuming you want logging, the software that comes with the dash is very important. I've used the motec and haltech one and the motec one is way easier to use.

[V28VX37]

I've never used an aftermarket dash but seeing videos of Racepaks/exotics/Android based setups, most of them seem to display digital readings, which I imagine at speed would surely take a few milliseconds longer by the brain to process than an analog gauge?

Call me old fashioned but seeing the general direction of a needle at a glance is much more important than knowing that your oil temp is exactly 117.6 degrees Celcius...

Anyhow I've gone full boy racer with some old school Defis:

I like them but they still didn't prevent me from blowing the engine. Also in the scheme of things, a modern integrated single solution like Defi ZD or Racepak is probably cheaper to set up from scratch, too.

[JimmyRickard]

In all honesty all I'm looking for is a simple dash that will flash warnings for oil/water etc, has the shift lights and can do logging/live timing. If the small microtech can do all that then it's a bargain.

Who sells these things though? There is a real lack of info on their website. Are they Aussie based?

[JimmyRickard]

Thought I'd contact Microtech direct and ask about their lap timing software and got the following response:

"Our Dash units do lap timing not track mapping."

I then asked about the function of the GPS hub and was told:

•    Road speed display via GPS 
•    Circuit racing GPS lap timer 
•    Drag racing ¼ mile ET & MPH timer 
 

Which sounds like basically the same thing my Qstarz unit does.

All in all, for the small dash it's half the price of the iq3 and is missing some features but still appears to be good value.

As for the bigger Microtech dash, I'd trade a colour dash for the IQ3 with track mapping considering they are virtually the same cost.

[260DET]

Same here, the big Microtech Pro colour dash is going to be much more readable out on the track and besides it's more pleasant to look at.

[260DET]

This AEM one seems pretty good but CANBUS input only and most American dashes are overpriced compared with the Aussie ones.

http://aemelectronics.com/?q=products/cd-7-super-bright-sunlight-readable-full-color-dash-displays

[260DET]

So what happened here, anything of interest? As well as the Microtech dash I'm considering the AIM (not AEM) MXS Strada which seems to tick lots of boxes http://aimsports.com/eng/products-car/mxs-strada/index.htm  If anyone knows how one would be connected to a Haltech Elite ECU that would be great, am going to ask AIM about that too.

[260DET]

AIM have got back to me saying that the Strada and Haltech Elite will do happy talk together and that no extras are required. AIM now have a larger sized Strada  so that looks to be a good choice. Any links or tips on hooking these sorts of systems up would be appreciated, I have no idea.

[JimmyRickard]

What are these worth from AIM? Still haven't got one yet

[260DET]

AIM Australia sell them on line, think I'll go with the Haltech dash for $1100 including GPS. It's not very pretty but it is big and plug 'n play and cheaper than the alternatives.

[260DET]

Wow, so much advice, I'm overwhelmed lol.

Anyway from what I've learnt the Haltech dash will only read from the ECU, no outside inputs. Which would be fine for a lot of users but not my older car with an unusual feature. So what else? After googling around  Racepak came up, they are sold by Haltech here which is handy. For my unusual purpose the Ultradash Extreme Replay at around $1450  seems the go, much more readable on the fly plus it has a 10 minute replay feature which could be handy. It's stand alone and works off the usual sensors and is not ECU dependant. And it is not ugly.

[260DET]

Have ordered one of these Reveltronics Utcomp Pro programmable dashes https://www.reveltronics.com/en/products/universal-trip-computer-utcomp which will be connected to the required sensors rather than the Elite. The idea is to highlight speed and revs for the track car , the supporting info like temps will be scrollable. A oil pressure alarm is required, might do this separately or through a Ecliptech 2 shift light system which has that feature.

Physically it will all be set up above the steering column with a shift light like the Ecliptech sitting on top of the Utcomp Pro. 

[JimmyRickard]

On 11/27/2017 at 7:46 PM, 260DET said:

AIM Australia sell them on line, think I'll go with the Haltech dash for $1100 including GPS. It's not very pretty but it is big and plug 'n play and cheaper than the alternatives.

where did you find the IQ3 for $1100?

[Leroy Peterson]

I've got a Race Technology DASH2 from the UK. Nothing too fancy and I haven't actually installed it yet, but talks to my autronic and came at under $900AUD shipped. I'll be making my own comms lead though, they wanted 150 quid for that, bullshit.

[260DET]

8 hours ago, JimmyRickard said:

where did you find the IQ3 for $1100?

Just did some googling, Haltech list the IQ3 street dash for $1,199.