Sunday, May 11, 2014

Sim Instruments Dash and Cover Kits Review



Check out this great Dash Kit from Sim Instruments. I liked it so much I had to order me one. This beauty works for all the most popular sim racing games you like to play. It supports iRacing, rFactor 1 & 2, Assetto Corsa, Project CARS, F1 2012 & 2013, Game Stock Car 2012 & 2013, Simbin titles - DTM Experience, Race07 and addons, Raceroom Racing Experience, GT Legends, GTR and GTR2 with more to come I'm sure.


Mounting Options:


What's also great about this Dask kit is Sim Instruments doesn't leaving you hanging. They offer different mounting options like the one I ordered for the Fanatec Clubsport mount that fits perfect in the center section of the wheel base. Plus they have a stand alone mount that is sure to fit your needs.

Ok it's more then just a pretty Dash that blinks leds. No this Dash kit comes with software that allows you to customize it to your liking. Even works with third party software from Fanaleds and SimSli.com.

So what does it do and why would I need one?

If your serious about sim racing or just love the gadgets this will be a must have. For sim racers it's allot about FOV (Field of View). When your sim racing, anything that can help you go faster to keep your eyes on the screen is a benefit. Sure a lot of the controls and readouts can be put on the screen i  game, but most sim racers want the FOV in game to be like your looking out onto the hood of your car which ends up hiding allot of the digital dash readouts in the racing sim game. So then you have to clutter up the screen by moving your important readouts into your FOV making it more difficult to see where you are trying to go on the track. The Sim Dash elevates those issues by placing it off screen and directly in front of you with the Clubsport mount or wherever you think is best for your setup with the table top mount. This helps insure you the best possible chance for the fastest laps when you get all your important readouts in one place as opposed to all over the screen or not at all. Sim Dash simply gives you more freedom along with looking really cool in the process!

Check out some of the listed features you can customize to your liking and viewing pleasure said best by the manufacture them selves

Features:Vast array of telemetry output options

Ultimate control over telemetry output - Provides a huge range of in-game telemetry output and complete flexibility on how it is displayed on the Dash.






Telemetry output options include: 

  • Sector splits
  • Delta times
  • Speed
  • Fuel usage
  • Track position
  • In-car and in-race warnings 
  • Gear indicator 
  • RPM shift indicator 
  • Time to next car ahead 
  • Time to next car behind 
  • Lap number 



Fully customizable LCD

Full customization of how the telemetry is displayed is possible on the Dash. The LCD can be configured through the drag and drop Siminstruments software to display telemetry on various positions on the display.

The unique RGB back light built right into the display makes it possible to change the color of the LCD for a range of in-car and in-race telemetry and events including RPM, delta times, split times and yellow flags. For example, one cool use is to change colours from green to red to show if you are up or down on your previous best lap in real-time compared to your current lap. This is my favorite feature!


LED digit display with configuration options

Not only does the LCD get customization treatment, but the LED digits do too, with the Siminstruments software also providing drag and drop functionality to give users control over positioning of the output on the display of the lap times and sector splits.

RPM shift indicator

The Dash has an RPM shift indicator consisting of a bank of 15 LED's. This bank of LED's consists of a bank of 5 x red LED's, 5 x blue LED's, and 5 x green LED's.

The RPM shift indicator can be configured for each LED to light up sequentially in line with the car's revs, or in a 3 stage confguration with each of the LED's in one bank lighting up together and then moving on to the next bank in line with the revs.

Warning lights with functions defined by the user

Full warning light customisation is also available through the Dash's bank of 6 warning lights, consisting of 4 x LED and 2 x RGB (changeable colour) warning lights.

The 4 LED's can be customised to display various in-car warnings including, low fuel and high temperature while also having the ability to display in-game warnings such a yellow flags, blue flags and black flags.

If you want to assign different colours to different warnings, the RGB's are able to deliver this ultimate degree of control for both in-car and in-game warnings for users.

Integrated hardware design

The Dash incorporates multiple display devices in one hardware solution including gear indicator, RPM shift indicator, LCD digit display, warning lights and the unique LCD display with RGB (changeable colour) backlight.

Plug and play easy set-up

The Dash includes the Dash hardware and Siminstruments software. Just plug it into your PC with the supplied USB cable, run the install wizard to install the Siminstruments software, run the software and you're away. Quick and simple, with the focus on getting the user on the track and using the Dash to peel off those PB's and race wins!

High quality construction & Simcare full online support

Designed, engineered and assembled in Australia, the Dash has been constructed from high quality components to give you confidence that it won't pack it in only after a few months of use. We stand by the quality of our product with our Simcare online support to help set up Siminstruments products and provide ongoing support through our Forum to help you with any issues with set up. We also offer our Hardware Help service to provide a remedy to customers in the unlikely event of any manufacturing faults with the Siminstruments hardware.


Tech Specs - Dash hardware

  • Dash unit L x H x W: 120mm x 58mm x 11mm
  • Gear Indicator: 1 x Blue LED digit - 12mm x 18mm (L x H)
  • Timing digits: 2 x 6 Red LED digits - 39mm x 11mm (L x H)
  • RPM shift indicator: 15 x LEDs (5 x Green 5 x Red 5 x Blue) - 96mm x 5mm (L x H)
  • Warning lights: 2 x RGB's, 4 x Yellow LED's - 5mm x 5mm each light (L x H)
  • LCD screen: 1 x RGB backlight 32 character screen - 83mm x 19mm (L x H)

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. This Sim Dash is everything I didn't even realize I wanted and certainly is more than I expected! Check out my video unboxing and review below and go out and get you one. You know you want to!

For more information and to order: SimInstruments
And to find how to install check out the: Siminstruments Wiki

Unboxing the Dash Kit


Using Sim Instruments Configuration Manager


Dash kit with Fanatec F1 wheel in IRacing





Dash kit with Fanatec BMW wheel in IRacing






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