Digital Dash

[Quarrycars]

Just wondering if anyone uses or has considered a digital dash and what their opinions of them are.
Cheerz, JT

[Richard]

There are a few around, I'm reusing the BMW one for ease and low cost as my donor had it in.

There are a few things for IVA you need to be aware of on digi dashes, e.g. speed must be displayed so toggling on a button on digital would fail, you'd need a fix for the test.

['The Gaffer']

I use one of these, it does a lot of stuff. http://bristolkitcarclub.co.uk/smf2/index.php?action=pages;sa=6

Not sure how it stands as far as IVA.

[Daley Down Under]

Mine got through IVA with Digidash 2 Pro (previous owner).  Great bit of kit but in my view a bit expensive at £695 + VAT )albeit with datalogger - which I must work out how to use).  I understand there are lots of cheaper options which do nearly as many functions. 

[Furore Phil]

With my car it's recommended to use an Acewell. It's an all included LCD style with an optional surround with warning lights.

They come in lots of styles etc, most are suitable for bikes or quads, but they do have car versions.

http://www.acewell-meter.co.uk/

[gingerpaul]

I've got one of the half moon shaped ETB Digidashes. I got mine ina group buy direct from them a few years ago. I think 10 dashes were required but we got them pretty cheap. They were something like £320 including sensors. IT's also worth noting that ETB's support is second to none so from a technical point of view they're excellent too. If you have a problem you can give them a call and talk to the bloke who designed it. I have even had one of their CAD drawings emailed over so I could make a new cable up for the speedo. Actually they supplied the parts for me to make it up too.

My only criticism is that they don't look like a production car. It would be nice if there was a way to get one trimmed and fitted into a car so it looked like it was meant to be there. This is true of all aftermarket digital dashboards though.

[paintman]

I had a great digital dash on my Honda Prelude 2.2 vtec.   The engine was very good as well but 4 wheel steering was a bit over kill!!

[Furore Phil]

I've got one of the half moon shaped ETB Digidashes. I got mine ina group buy direct from them a few years ago. I think 10 dashes were required but we got them pretty cheap. They were something like £320 including sensors. IT's also worth noting that ETB's support is second to none so from a technical point of view they're excellent too. If you have a problem you can give them a call and talk to the bloke who designed it. I have even had one of their CAD drawings emailed over so I could make a new cable up for the speedo. Actually they supplied the parts for me to make it up too.

My only criticism is that they don't look like a production car. It would be nice if there was a way to get one trimmed and fitted into a car so it looked like it was meant to be there. This is true of all aftermarket digital dashboards though.

It should be easy enough to cut an approprate shaped hole in a dash. Add a bit of padding material, it should look excellent. If you do an image search on google, there are quite a few cars out there that have one fitted, even an ultima with a curved sun cowl.

[gingerpaul]

This is what mine currently looks like.



It's not as bad as a lot of them are but there is definite scope for improvement. If I did anything I'd go behind the wheel and have a sun cowl. The trouble is that means major surgery to the scuttle as there's no space back there!

[Furore Phil]

Ahh - I see your problem now. The ones I have seen are usually mounted right behind the wheel, so fit perfectly because of their shape.

Problem is of course, you don't have the room. I guess the only way would be a sun cowl. Shiny steel cowl over the top ? would mean lots of scuttle surgery though as you say.

[Quarrycars]

Thanks for the feedback, it looks like the Acewell provides basic dash functions and the Digi Dash has some neat datalogging features. I think these units are designed for motorbikes and I am wondering if the displays are big/bright enough for a car?

[gingerpaul]

Had to take some pictures of the car for the insurance and got a better one of the dashboard. I thought it might be of use.



The brightness can be varied but different areas are better than others by the nature of the technology used.

The satnav is very hard to read in bright light as they are colour LCD screens. Just as a phone with a colour screen is hard to use so too the satnav.

Anything using LEDs is better but still not perfect. The 7 segment displays used to show either speed, RPM or gear are hard to read, as are the LED shift lights and auxillary lights such as indicators.

The best are the simple black and white displays as they do not need to be back lit like a colour LCD (although they are so you can use them at night) and don't shine light out like an LED in order for them to work. Sunlight helps them rather hand hinders them. You can read them in the brightest sunlight with no problems at all. I believe the Acewell dashes use this type of display.

[Quarrycars]

Good point about LCDs being more visible in sunlight, OE LCDs usualy have a sensor that changes the backlighting according to the ambient light.
By the way the car looks great, I notice you are using push buttons instead of toggle switches are they 'Smart Modules'?

[gingerpaul]

The black switches are toggle switches. The ignition and starter are push buttons though. It all goes through the security system. It has an alarm and immobiliser and does remote starting, anti carjacking etc all with the "keys" in my pocket.

[Martin Higgs]

How does Anti Car jacking system work ?

['The Gaffer']

How does Anti Car jacking system work ?

I have one of these on mine

['Mendip Wurzel']

Looks a hot choice to me ...

[gingerpaul]

My side exhausts do that anyway.   

The whole thing is keyless and has two remote methods of turning the engine off. The first acts like you have just turned the car off with a key and activated the immobiliser. The second does the same but waits about 10 seconds and also sets the alarm off. It should mean that your car ends up broken down in the middle of a street or somewhere obvious with the alarm going off and lights flashing rather than simply sitting where it was taken from you. Hopefully this prevents your car getting damaged whilst also keeping you safe from violence.

I didn't go out of the way to get this feature. It just happened to come on the alarm I bought.

[Furore Phil]

Got this link from a friend. Ok it's not a kitcar, it's a 1955 Austin A30, but it has to have one of the coolest digital dash's short of Kit from Knight Rider...

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show-off-your-project/141274-1955-austin-a30-classic-car-install.html

['The Gaffer']

Sweet car, nice dash