Fully Digital Dashboard... Discuss

[Monkey_beast_182]

Had this idea for converting the dashboard on the clio into a fully digital one using OLED technology - could have a "standard" display similar to the one that is on the Clio now, but then you could change it so that it could display whatever you wanted - oil temp/pressure, boost pressure, air:fuel mix etc - similar to that of a computer screen.

A company does a similar software for Subaru's, and to be honest it looks a bit pants, but it gets across the idea I'm thinking of. http://www.ecutek.com/products/incardash/

I'm thinking OLED because you can display full colour, and it'd be visable in daylight, but would be backlit at night. normal TFT would give you too much agro with reflection etc.

Obviously, it's only an idea, and I'd need a software guy to see if it was feasable - i'm sure using a car computer hooked up to the diagnostic port you can get most of the basic outputs on the car (speed, rpm, etc), plus a few you don't normally see (air-fuel mix from Lamda sensor, etc).

What's everyone think? Hopelessly overcomplicated, or flash and techy?

And before you ask, yes when I was a kid, I did watch Knight Rider, and yes i did want a car like KITT :rasp:

 

[Timmay]

sounds like a cool idea to me

 

[JimmyMac81]

In theory its great and if its cheapish and can be done DiY with no major hassle's i'd say go for it.

A couple of mates who have put big engines in their small cars have had new digital displays installed and i have to say they look quality, especially at night.

 

[Monkey_beast_182]

Cool, so it's just a case of getting the "crew" together to make it happen now... anyone know anyone who's a programmer or does electronics?

 

[JimmyMac81]

Taken from the website. Not 100% sure if this will help but its a start i guess :-

Instruments & Controls

My original plan was to go for classic white dials but by the time I'd priced these up with all of the required senders, it was going to be simpler and more cost effective to fit a Digidash

from ETB Instruments

, like Richard

did. This provides a neat and SVA compliant solution with data logging. The Digidash is made by Custom Autotech

and there is loads of useful calibration and installation data on their web site. It is not cheap but it does all I need and the data logging is a very useful diagnostics tool. It also comes with all the required sensors. Another advantage is that it is very compact and light-weight.

The Digidash has built in shift lights and is SVA compliant with the exception of the outer edges of the casing. If the DigiDash is mounted outside the diameter of the steering wheel (+127mm) then the radius of the case edges would not pass the internal projection test.

A new version, Digidash2 is now available. The spec is the same but this version has G sensors built in and a CAN bus connecting the display unit to the logger unit, which is now separate. It costs a little bit more but has a clearer and better display and looks superb.
Two magnets mounted at 180° on the propshaft interact with the sensor to the Digidash. Richard

glued his on a cleaned propshaft with Araldite. The resulting pulses go to the digidash unit which can be programmed with a conversion factor, to convert this into the correct speed readout. The speedo is obviously only correct if there is no wheel spin though. The magnets are also mounted on the propshaft between the gearbox and the torque resilient tube section of the propshaft, to minimise the effects of the TRT and the differential slack.
RPM is measured either off a coil or the tacho feed from the Cdi unit. There is an input for the neutral switch too. If no switch is present or the rpm is out of range for any gear it knows of, it simply displays "C" for coast.
For SVA the digital speedo must show the maximum possible speed reading (to ensure it does this for the speed range of the car). For the Digidash, ETB have a standard FAX to send if required by the test centre. This states what the maximum display speed is. The next build of the digidash software (V3.20) will state this on power up to overcome this problem. For the DD2, this is not a problem as it is designed to state this on power up.
The Digidash comes with its own oil pressure sensor. This basically connects via the earth and if you short it directly to earth, a reading of 140psi should be obtained. Digidash Settings

These are the various configuration files I've uploaded to the Digidash in the later stages of development:
8th July 2007 Switched the alarms on. Water temp is set to 110°C and oil temp to 120°C. Oil pressure is 20 above 3000rpm. Fuel level is 3%. Shift lights peak at 11,500rpm with a 300rpm delta. Speedo calibration factor is 5822.
11th July 2007 Oil temp alarm lowered to 100°C. Fuel level alarm changed to 5%. Shift lights delta changed to 200rpm. Speed warning at 100mph. I'm assuming that I will need a different configuration for track days. The shift lights will be much closer together and I won't want a speed warning coming on at 100mph!



Couple of websites :-

http://www.etbinstruments.com/

 

[Monkey_beast_182]

That's quite cool, and could be a start. I'm thinking of taking it the next level though - virtual dials! So there aren't any physical things there, it's all fully CG!
Picture this; Completely black screen on startup, but at the touch of a button you can flick between different "modes". a standard mode which emulates the same display as on the clio, or a track mode, which does away with the speedo dial and displays a huge rev dial, with shift lights, and a digital readout of your speed in the bottom of the display.

Then you can have things like a "diagnostic" mode which shows you all your engine parameters and stuff. Think it'd be pretty flash!

 

[Omid]

monkey that is abit like the reventon on top gear?

 

[Rob's172]

great idea, the dash really bug me at the min, coz its the same as my gf's 1.2

if the price is good, not hard to fit, reliable then i'm sure it will be a winner

 

[edde]

display whatever you wanted -
oil temp The Clio diagnostics don't show this. It could be added but thats stand alone
oil pressure The Clio diagnostics don't show this. It could be added but thats stand alone
boost pressure Only the dci have this it is a direct feed though.
air:fuel mix The Clio diagnostics don't show this. It could be added but thats stand alone or by taking a feed of the lambedas.


Its possible and can be done I've got something like it when I plug my diagnostics into my car but the system is a bit slow to respond somtimes which could be annoying.

There a load of websites dedicated to this type of stuff in car PC etc.

To make it selable is uneconomical realy its a one of job more.

 

[Monkey_beast_182]

monkey that is abit like the reventon on top gear?

give the man a beer! :drunk:

I had the idea ages ago, but then when I saw the Reventon I thought... hmmm, it does actually look really good! (mine won't have a plane mode though!)