Aftermarket gauge cluster

Hey all. Does anyone else feel like the gauge cluster in the taco is a little bit of a joke? They look nice, don't get me wrong, it's just the lack thereof. It's a truck, but it has the minimalistic gauge cluster of a Taurus. I'm a little jealous of trucks like the 1500 or F150, even the Rams in the fact they have way more information that I think is practical to have on a truck. Transmission temp, oil pressure, battery volts etc. It not only looks nice, but provides useful information about your truck that we would otherwise be ignorant to. Low oil pressure? Who knew? Alternator failing? Guess I'm stranded now. Transmission getting a little warm on that last climb? Now it's in the dangerous zone.

Are there any aftermarket clusters that have more gauges like this? I have no issues running wires and sensors if need be. When I rented an EcoBoost F150 to take to the mountains, I really appreciated all the extra info, made it feel like a TRUCK.

 

I think some of the after market radios have Data -mastro ????? were you can get your truck info on the radio ? I do not have it ,
and I"m not a tech guy , somebody else please explain ??????

 

No thanks. Keep it simple. One of the things that make the truck great. You need a crazy computer and lcd screens for that crap that F150 has.

If something is failing a warning light will come on.

 

Sounds like you would be interested in one of those Ultra Guage or Scan Guage displays alot of folks in here have.

 

Get an Ultragauge. I have one and it gives me all the info I need.

 

There are OBDII dongles that you can plug in to send info to your radio/phone/tablet/screen if you want but yeah, I prefer actual gauges as well. Problem is most folks these days just really aren't car people and they have no idea how the vehicle works so have no idea how to interpret the information or what it would mean. Manufacturers installed idiot lights to simplify things but most folks seem to pretty much ignore them as well.


I’ve got an Ultragauge and no, I don’t really care for it and consequently don’t use it. I would much prefer a simple set of analog gauges that I can glance at and see that everything is within normal specs, but then I’m a bit of a Luddite.

 

I agree. I've got mine set up right now to show me rpm, mph, avg. mpg, instant mpg, miles till empty, gas level in gallons, mi since reset, and battery voltage. Ive got another page, of the 7 you can have, set up for off road use: trans temp instead of mi since reset... Overall, great product.

 

I love my UltraGauge.

 

I don't want the LCD screen, I just want the gauges they have. I just showed the picture to compare how ours adds up to other trucks.

I like the idea of the Scangauge but I don't like the look of having a little unit hooked to the dash or windshield. I will look into other routes. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

Nailed it.

 

UltraGauge(pictured above)is much better than Scangauge IMO.

 

They have Ultarguage bluetooth. You can use it on your phone and see what you want. Mount to.....? http://www.target.com/p/scosche-mag...gclid=CMfxrtb5jtMCFYokhgodxn0HDw&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Older cars had Guages because that was the only option. We have "idiot lights" today because we have computers in the car capable of detecting tons of different problems and displaying them in a way that the computer can tell us if it is bad or not. Some cars have screens you can scroll through that give more info than older cars ever dreamed of.

Has nothing to do with people knowing or not knowing about cars. It's just technology advancement

 

I added Autometer trans temp and oil pressure analog gauges to my A-pillar. Much preferred over the LCD crap...

 

Great, just had to read this. Now I want an UltraGauge too. Thanks guys.

 

Whoa, can I see? That's more along the lines of what I want.

 

I will try to post a pic tonight.

I still have to update my build thread, too...

 

Thanks. Looking forward to it. Was it fairly easy to do? Did you make your own bezels for the gauges in the pillar?

 

It's both. Yes, modern engines have sensors throughout them and a computer to monitor everything but the average driver these days is not nearly as mechanically inclined as previous generations tended to be. My mom can still tell you when an engine sounds "off" or a tire feels like it's out of balance because her father taught her and she grew up driving in the 50s. I've seen folks drive on a rim because they didn't realize that the tire was flat or didn't know how to change it, or turn the radio up when something was knocking or think that the engine light just meant they needed an oil change when it was actually something more serious. Most folks are far more disconnected from the machines around them than previous generations. They're used to calling tech suport for anything "out of their lane". We are on a tech forum so I expect the number of folks here who have an idea what they're doing to be higher, but the average person generally doesn't.

 

This guy did it with a Pioneer head unit. Looks pretty slick.
Me, I just have an Ultragauge to plug into the OBDII.