I have decided I’ll be going down the audi conversion route.
With this in mind, part of the problem is going to be the dash.
I am already unhappy with my stock dash so am thinking about replacing it with something like the AIM MXL.
Just wondering if anyone knows if it is compatible out of the post with all the stock audi ecu protocols and also the exige ecu protocol before the conversion is done, as I wouldn’t mind getting it to work now.
does it physically fit in the dash and is it going to be difficult to install at this point?
The AIM has the protocols for the Toyota S2 cars as a download from their website. Not sure about the Audi ECU, as we go aftermarket on our conversions. I would have thought its doable tho, as the Seat Supercopa cars had an AIM dash.
They do fit in the hole, but you need to be a little creative with mounts and closing panels - to not see behind the cluster - and trimming of the binnacle cover, so that you can see the shift lights. When its done nicely, it looks like its meant to be there.
[quote=JDS]The AIM has the protocols for the Toyota S2 cars as a download from their website. Not sure about the Audi ECU, as we go aftermarket on our conversions. I would have thought its doable tho, as the Seat Supercopa cars had an AIM dash.
They do fit in the hole, but you need to be a little creative with mounts and closing panels - to not see behind the cluster - and trimming of the binnacle cover, so that you can see the shift lights. When its
done nicely, it looks like its meant to be there. [/quote]
JSR did a lovely job on my 2010 dash - the AIM almost looks like it grew there !!!
I have an AIM dash in my car but it totally sucks on a bright sunny day if you mount it with the stock sunshade over it… Your eyes can not adjust to the brightness contrast fast enough to focus and see the dash clearly. The time you spend tryin to see and decipher the data can be a dangerous distraction at speed.
There is no back light adjustment so if the sun ever comes out in the UK it can be an issue…
I removed the sun shade cowling and mounted it into a spare airbag cover which fits perfectly in the dash, now it can be read without the contrast issue but it is still too close to the driver and you still have to re-focus your eyes to read the small digital numbers… It would be better to modify the dash and mount it just below the windshield so that your eyes don’t have to make such an extream correction in focus… http://www.lotussport.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4300&hilit=new+dash&start=40
The best thing is the adjustment feature of the idiot warning lights…
The lighting in mines driving me mad. It’s non inform across the clock face so I can’t see certain parts of the sweep,
Basically 9 until 11 and 1 until 3 are dark.
Trouble is that Francis describing other problems, and my eyes do struggle changing focal lengths quickly (long sighted glasses avoider causes the sphincter muscles in my eyes to get more tired than they should and hence struggle with focal length changes).
AIM dash has a backlight on or off feature. Never had anyone else comment on being able to see display in bright sunlight - we do have some sunny days here, just not many!!
Rev counter is bar graph across the top of the dash, with adjustable shift lights, all the rest are digital display, but much larger that the digital displays on the stock dash. All inputs are configurable, with 6 warning lights you can set up to see if anything gets too hot/cold/low.
Saw a video with some clever overlay of where the drivers eyes were looking whilst driving on track. In 10 laps the guy looked at the dash twice. Once when lap time came up, once when the low fuel warning light came on.
Sorry John for the confusion, I was specifically referring to the digital readouts in the oem dash, which I find pathetic! Or perhaps it’s me beadies which are pathetic!
In any event, I personally do prefer the analogue dials, especially for water temp/oil pressure/oil temp, (unless there are separate warning lights for these readings) as it’s dead easy to see them in peripheral vision when on track. For track use I’m not fussed looking at the speedo or rev counter, my Shifti lights keep me within the preset limit! It’s great being an old Luddite
No probs Pesky!! Just clearing up some confusion. Totally agreed on analogue dials being easier to read, the downside is to have as many as an aftermarket dash of any make, you run out of dash space pretty quickly in an Elise, or it all looks a bit early 911 with gauges everywhere.
The SPA setup is as bad at the stock cluster with the temps so freakin small you need a telescope to read it…
I will putting in anolog guages this winter when I redesign my dash, they will be placed out to the base of the windshield so that there is no need to refocus and with white face and red pointers at 12:00 for normal operating settings…
They also have built in idiot lights…
