Race Dash (racepak, Aim, race tech etc)

[jay_rich]

I was wondering what people are using. I though of the tablet route but then realized I would rather have something that when I turn the key on I can go. Not wait for it to boot up etc.

Ive decided on MS3x for my 5.3L LS Turbo 3rd Gen Camaro and pretty well narrowed it down to liking these 3 but not all support MS3.

Aim MXL Strada. Amazing Customer support. I have been emailing back and forth and have it all clear of what I would need to do etc. Super Simple CAN BUS -/+ hookup. But after further review you can only View input 6 channels, you cant customize the dash as much as a racepak as in replacing LAP or ODOMETER with an input, or moving the GEAR Display for something else ETC which would basically limit me to Boost, AFR, Coolant Temp, Trans Temp, Oil Pressure and Fuel Pressure then the std RPM/MPH. I would like to view as much as possible when buying a dash for this purpose. Im looking at around $1300 complete making my own harness and wiring my own sensors. (it will read VDO sensors which are cheap at like $40 each)

RacePak- From what I have read they do support MS3 now Via a $375 module. I take it they still hook up through Serial and not CAN BUS? What channels on the MS3 can it read? The Data Link software seems complex to set the dash up. If I were to have Megasquirt Log oil and Fuel pressure view spare inputs, would the racepak see this? I only ask bc racepak is $250 PER sensor. Looks like around $1000 for the dash and module then any added sensors which worry me. Also since MS3 has both serial and USB would I be able to leave the dash connected through serial at all times then use the USB for tuning/logging.

Race-Technoligy DASH2 - They have never got back to me on if it will work on MS3 or not. seems to be hard to find info on this and most stuff seams to be in Europe. Sensors were also price coming in around $190 each. Pretty well same boat as the racepak but a little cheaper on sensors.


Thanks for any info!

Jay

[jsmcortina]

I have some experience on this.

The RaceTechnology DASH2 works. I have used it with Megasquirt-3 on a customers car. You need the latest firmware in their ECU adapter and the current MS3 firmware release.
Downside - it uses the serial port on the Megasquirt. So if you want to tune you have to unplug it. (USB and serial cannot be used concurrently.)

From what I understand, RaceTechnology offer higher end dashes that use CAN and are customisable. These could work with the latest development (1.4.x) MS3 firmware that supports CAN broadcasting. I have not tested this yet, but their tech guys said it ought to work fine.

RacePak. The interface is serial only and only supports a sub-set of data channels.
We (Megasquirt devs) have tried to contact their tech guys for updated information but not been able to make contact. Their "VNET" system looks to be a regular CAN system, but on a quick look through their software, I wasn't able to find a way to add custom channels to read directly from Megasquirt.

AIM MXL Strada. I gave tech info through a customer and helped them get their CAN implementation working. However, from what I understand it only supports a sub-set of the data and is not customisable.

Looking ahead - any dash/logger that supports customisable CAN data should be able to work with MS3 1.4.x and read any of the data available. In this case, you would be able to connect sensors to the Megasquirt and pick and choose which to display on the dash.

If you can get good contacts with any of the dash suppliers, please put them in touch with me for enhanced Megasquirt support: james@nscc.info

James

[jay_rich]

Wow awesome! Thank you for all of the input. I was pretty well set on the racepak until your said the serial and usb cant be used together . I have a while before this becomes an issue anyways since I will be starting my swap in the next month and don't plan on having it up and running until next spring. Hopefully by then some stuff gets sorted.

I will continue to do some digging! So far the only good customer support was AiM. But then again the downfall of only viewing 6 inputs sucks.

Thanks

Jay

[jay_rich]

So I went back on race tech's site. If you go to the DASH2 PRO monitor it gives you options at the bottom which looks promising. Now to find out if it will correspond with the MS3 CAN correct.

I will fire off another email to them in hopes of a response to this.

Jay

dash2.JPG

[jay_rich]

Well I guess another cheaper option for me would be to not use the MS3 at all an an output.

Racepak IQ3 - $625-$650
USM (universal Sensor module) (4 sensor inputs) $190-$200EACH (buy 2 of these)
Terminator cap....
V-net cables ?

It appears this would be the cheapest route but I would loose some of the nice functions/displays MS could send like Spark, injector pmw, knock, tps etc.



With the 8 total USM available ports available.

1.VSS sensor from 4l80e
2.Boost
3.Oil Press
4. Fuel Press

1.Wideband
2.Coolant Temp
3.Trans temp
4.Intake temp

So this I suppose is an option also

Jay

[jay_rich]

Just to keep this updated I got a hold of Andrew at Race Tech, He was on Vacation so just sent me a quick message saying he will be digging deeper into this with Dr Martin Hill at race tech in regards to CAN options with megasquirt so we can still do data logging/tuning while using the dash.

Hope to get some good news back from them soon.

Jay