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Digital Dash options
IanSouthLincs - 9/9/14 at 09:01 PM

Hi Guys
With winter just around the corner, I'm seriously considering treating my rebuild to a shiny new digital dash. Now before we get carried away, budget it very important, #400+ is out of the question, so I've been looking at the Koso RX2n+, also like the look of the Acewell 5859. This is to go on a pinto engined car, hence the maximum I want displayed on the tacho is 10k as I'm going to get nowhere near it, 8k would be better. Both of these available for around the #200 mark which looks excellent value, but has anyone used either of these? All comments good or bad most welcome especially fitting experiences :-)


The Black Flash - 9/9/14 at 09:04 PM

I've used the Acewell Ace digi speedo, and I've nothing but good things to say about it really.


Jenko - 9/9/14 at 09:18 PM

I've got a Koso db01 plus which seems ok for the money.


ceebmoj - 9/9/14 at 09:20 PM

I had a ACE-5859 in black, fitted to my locost for two years it was great. For the new build I have gone with an Acewell 6XXX because I wanted the analogue taco the unit looks great.

http://www.acewell.co.uk/Acewell%20Speedometers/ACE-6xxx/index.htm

I went for the ACE-6456 9kRPM

[Edited on 9/9/14 by ceebmoj]


IanSouthLincs - 9/9/14 at 09:25 PM

whoa, hold the phone, I thought the 6000 series Acewell models were specifically for bikes? Ok this changes things a little as the one thing I preferred about the Koso was the analogue style tacho. Ceebmoj, how was it to fit? I'm sightly concerned that yours is a new build and mine most definitely isn't but I'm sure this can be overcome??


ceebmoj - 9/9/14 at 09:38 PM

I will dig the unit out tomorrow and take some pictures, its not fitted to the car at the moment.


samjc - 9/9/14 at 10:12 PM

My build also running a pinto i will be purchasing the acewell 7659 next year as i have heard many good things about this affordable unit.


v8kid - 10/9/14 at 03:42 AM

What's wrong with a tablet plus Torque?


russbost - 10/9/14 at 07:22 AM

Hi Guys

As you probably know I sell Acewell so this won't be an unbiased opinion, it will however be truthful!

With regard to features for your money I honestly don't think there is a massive amount to choose between Acewell & Koso, tho' I believe Acewell tends to offer slightly more for the same sort of money. Where I do feel Acewell really scores (& this is one of the reasons I'm happy to sell & service the units) is their incredible reliability & the after sales backup.

I've been supplying Acewells now for around 6 years, in that time I have had, I think, 3 genuinely faulty units all of which were immediately swapped out under warranty with absolutely no quibble, I couldn't tell you how many I've supplied in that time, but pretty sure it's well over 1000, which is a failure rate of less than 0.3% - I would be very surprised if any other unit in the same price range matched that reliability.

All the units are completely waterproof & shockproof & carry either CE approval or E marking. When it comes to after sales I or a colleague are usually available by phone 07905 879407 for technical info, advice, wiring diagrams or fitting instructions etc. Further, nearly all parts are available as separate items, including sections of loom should you happen to damage anything for whatever reason, so you don't finish up with a unit that a sensor packs up on & it then becomes an expensive paperweight!

Lastly, if we are dealing direct then I can always do 5% off anything from stock, sometimes a little more, we have pretty much all units from stock at present & the odd ones we're out of stock of will be in by the end of the week

Re choice of dash, largely down to aesthetics, but 5859, 6xxx, or 7xxx all do pretty much the same job & all represent excellent value for money

Regards Russ


killerferret666 - 10/9/14 at 09:58 AM

I bought a Dakota digital set and cant sing its praises enough.

Comes with its own ECU and easy to wire all into, then its just a cat5 to the dials so I have the ECU out the way.

They do many styles and sizes of dials as well, I have gone for traditional needles and I didnt buy a universal kit but actually bought one for a mustang as thats the style I wanted.

Havent had a chance to play with all the features but it makes calibration for the speedo very easy and if you ever change wheels or size you can recalibrate so never be out and works off the standard PPM feed.

Also has a built in 0-60, 1/4mile setting and bits so you can see what performance is really like.Also you can set a shift light, which ill be doing in the future. And most importantly you can set Oil pressure warnings, temp warnings etc...

For me as I will be tuning the engine, I like the fact I can plugin extra modules like a wideband part so don't need any more dials.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=69/mode=cat/cat69.htm

[Edited on 10/9/14 by killerferret666]


eddie99 - 10/9/14 at 12:42 PM

IMO, For a budget dash you can't beat the acewell


Ugg10 - 10/9/14 at 01:34 PM

Somewhere in the middle between the Acewell/koso and the stack/Race tchnology is the ETB Digidash 2 lite.

New this is just over £400 including all sensors etc. but if you are lucky you can pick these up for £150 SH without the bits and budget for another £100 for sensors and loom. But you will have to keep looking and be patient.


wombat - 10/9/14 at 01:58 PM

So just putting it out for discussion................. If fitting a car engine, should you buy a dash with 15k rev range so that it could be converted to bike engine in the future (if you or someone was inclined that way..) ??


russbost - 10/9/14 at 02:07 PM

With a bike engine I don't really take much notice of the tacho, the only thing of any interest is the shift lights! I would have thought much the same could be said for a car engine if you're giving it any stick & all the Acewells mentioned have adjustable shift lights so you might just as well go for higher tacho - I assume you're looking at 6xxx series


eddie99 - 10/9/14 at 02:34 PM

I personally wouldn't buy a dash with 15k rev range for a CEC.


IanSouthLincs - 10/9/14 at 06:25 PM

This was my point in an earlier post, I suppose it's all down to personal preference, but havinf a 15k dash with an engine that revs to 7.5k I would find irritating as hell. Russ thanks for your input into this, I'm pretty sure I'll be contacting you in the near future for a 6456, I think this is the one that displays up to 9k?


david_hornet27 - 10/9/14 at 07:18 PM

A satisfied Russbost customer here. As I am technically challenged his help on the phone was invaluable!


mackei23b - 10/9/14 at 07:45 PM

OK not so cheap, I've got a Dash2 and you can configure the RPM scale, there may be others dashboards that can the same so it's worth looking about.

Cheers

Ian


russbost - 11/9/14 at 07:37 AM

Yes, 6456 has the 0-9,000 scale, I have it in stock


ceebmoj - 11/9/14 at 09:07 PM

Some photos of my ACE-64XX, it look better in the flesh. I would also recommend russbost as a suppler who was very helpful when I purchased a ACE-5859 a couple of years ago.

Description
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Description
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Description
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Description
Description


[Edited on 11/9/14 by ceebmoj]


daveb666 - 4/11/14 at 10:06 AM

Russ - with the 6456 it notes the "end-user can adjust the tachometer" if less than 18.6 miles. If I get one of these is it possible to adjust it 'upwards' to match the mileage of my current gauges?


whitestu - 4/11/14 at 10:15 AM

I got my Acewell from Russ and it has worked prefectly since I fitted it several years ago. The only very minor problem is that it sometimes gets condensation inside it.

Stu


russbost - 4/11/14 at 10:30 AM

Stu, sounds like the two halves of the case aren't fully sealed, shouldn't affect the overall water proofing of the unit as they are sealed units inside the main casing, but it's unusual, not seen it b4

Rgds Russ


whitestu - 4/11/14 at 11:17 AM

Thanks Russ

It doesn't seem to affect how it works at all.

Stu


Smoking Frog - 5/11/14 at 10:42 AM

I have the Koso RX2n+. Nothing bad to say really, poor instruction manual, lack of warning lights, no oil pressure reading, not easy to neatly mount in a panel, does not light up with side lights. In fairness I think these points apply to most though.
Dash
Dash


russbost - 5/11/14 at 10:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Smoking Frog
I have the Koso RX2n+. Nothing bad to say really, poor instruction manual, lack of warning lights, no oil pressure reading, not easy to neatly mount in a panel, does not light up with side lights. In fairness I think these points apply to most though.
Dash
Dash



Blimey, if that's nothing bad to say I wouldn't like to hear criticism!!!

Don't think the above points would apply to Acewell with the exception of no oil pressure, but I don't think that any of the budget end of the market offer oil pressure as opposed to oil light, all the more recent Acewells can be wired to come on with sidelights & you can have pretty much all the warning lights you'd have in a modern car - depending on model & budget, the manuals aren't the best English, but then you can always come to me for translation!


Smoking Frog - 5/11/14 at 11:15 AM

quote:

Blimey, if that's nothing bad to say I wouldn't like to hear criticism!!!



I also have nothing bad to say about the Acewell range


russbost - 5/11/14 at 12:46 PM