Digital Dash?

[leemarkadams]

Hello all, as the winter is now looming 'upgradeitis' has bagun to settle in with me and have already managed to fend some of it off with fitting the smaller removable steering wheel, however the symptoms are still there.........

The engine/gearbox and suspension on the car are spot on for me (could always do with more power mind but that is a BIG project and to be honest I would just change the car).

So, 'upgreaditis' has chosen to affect the interior, and it may require me to revamp the interior of the Westie, as in redo the dash and switches and go for a digital dash. So, the 2 main options digital dash wise I am thinking are of:

DASH 2:

http://www.race-technology.com/dash2_2_31.html

or

DIGIDASH LITE:

http://www.etbinstruments.com/DD2_lite.htm

So, the questions are:

1. Which is easiest to fit and requires the least 'messing about' to get it to work (am assuming it will be the digidash lite)

2. Which is better (am assuming it will be the dash 2) but it also costs a bit more?

So, opinons pse....

Mind you , I may be able to recover from this bout of 'upgraditis' with some other type of therapy!

Lee

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

The Dash2 is a fantastic piece of kit; but it's not "plug 'n play", how close the Car-makers, like Westfield, have got to this now I don't know. Ultimately, it's very strength - pretty open ended flexibility, is also it's biggest drawback for the unprepared! It's learning curve can be steep, and require abilities across a wide range of areas if you're needing to fit sensors, wire them, set it up etc.

I installed mine a few years before it became a factory option, so had to do everything, including calculating resistor values for Voltage Divider circuits! Now, there are sub looms available from Westfield, and the work has been done for commonly used sensors. There's also an excellent article on here in the FAQ section from Frosty. Race Technology have an excellent forum too.

The thing you have to ask though, is will you need the extra functionality it offers, (The Digidash lite certainly isn't underspec'd BTW)

Not been on the RT site for a little while, but I suspect there may be a new version of the Dash 2 coming soon.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

Hmm, DASH2 Pro being worked on with an integrated logger, but taking longer than expected - no announcement of when it will be released.

[Dommo]

With Westfield's loom and setup files it should be reasonably plug and play for a 'standard' car. The setup program can be visually daunting but in reality isn't that difficult to work. The inner geek is looking forward to exploiting the dash further!

[dombanks]

digidash lite is very easy to install and wire in but i did mine when i was wiring the car anyway so i have no idea how easy it is for an already installed loom etc.

the reason i chose it over other digital dashes/smiths instruments etc was it come complete with all the sensors i needed for the engine and all the dash lights were part of the unit (be aware the main beam LED is megga bright). the only extra lights you will need on your dash ish the one for your alternator.

If all you want is a little digital board then i strongly recomend it. programming wise the only issue i had was getting the speedo right. but this was no real problem when i putt he numbers into configuration program correct.

[AdamR]

(be aware the main beam LED is megga bright)

If all you want is a little digital board then i strongly recomend it. programming wise the only issue i had was getting the speedo right. but this was no real problem when i putt he numbers into configuration program correct.

Haha - yes it is! I need to do something about that on mine asap...

Regarding the speedo calc - I didn't have the program, so I took my car out with a sat nav and just played around til it was correct.

Very happy with my DigiDash Lite. I didn't install it, but did wire in an oil temp sensor. Very easy job, and I hate electronics! Literally just one spade connector and one wire. Having everything included in the kit makes a lot of sense to me, it seems very 'plug and play'.