Upgrading Your Gauges With Dakota Digital

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It doesn’t matter how much time and effort you’re put into the exterior of your car, if you drive it on a regular basis, you will spend more time looking at the gauges than you will looking at the shiny paint. They keep you up to speed on what is going on while you are driving — monitoring things like engine temperature and fuel level. As something so crucial, there is good reason to put new Dakota Digital gauges into your car to replace the old OE units that it came with.

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We spoke to Scott Johnson over at Dakota Digital to get his input on a few of the more important details about upgrading the gauges in your car. The first thing we asked about was maintenance. As with everything on your car, it is important to keep your instruments accurate and reliable, so is there anything that you need to do to keep them accurate? Not with Dakota Digital equipment: “A well-designed instrument system should require very little maintenance, both in the short term as well as the long term,” Scott explains. “Any adjustments, once the initial calibration has been completed, should be essentially non-existent.”

The next question we asked Scott was about when someone should get upgraded gauges. Is it only important to upgrade a race car, or is it logical to put new instruments in a stock, restored car as well? Scott told us, “Dakota Digital instrument systems don’t generally lend themselves well to a true, stock restoration project, they are most commonly used in a restomod-type atmosphere. Keeping some of the OE flavor, while offering enhanced performance and flexibility is where a Dakota Digital system really shines. It’s not going to look exactly like your stock gauges, but they will bolt right in and add reliability and ease of reading, even at night. With direct-fit products available for over a hundred vehicles, a bolt in solution is just a part number away.”

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Of course we had to get Scott’s thoughts on race car applications, and he was quick to recommend the VHX line of instrument systems. The VHX line include an analog speedometer, tachometer, oil pressure, water temperature, voltage, and a fuel-level gauges. The VHX system is also designed to allow expansion if someone wants to add a display for boost, oil temperature, transmission temperature, and just about any other reading that you can get from a car. It puts all of the most crucial information right in front of you while you are putting your car through the rigors of racing.

 

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Dakota Digital’s VHX kits use a separate control module, that is connected to the cluster with a network cable. This allows the instrument cluster to remain as thin as possible, while keeping the bulk of the wiring terminated at the control module.

When looking to upgrade your gauges, Scott has a couple of tips to help you get the most out of your purchase. “Before deciding on an instrument system, identify what you’would visually like to see in your dash. Upgrading to new dash equipment is an investment, so it’s important to really know what you want before even starting the process. Itemize how you plan to use your vehicle, and which information is really necessary. Knowing whether this is a modest race car versus a Sunday cruiser can have a large impact on the instrument package that is best for you.” Scott continues, “Once you have decided which instruments you want, the next step is installing them. 10

If you’ll be performing the installation yourself, take some time to familiarize with the process before diving in. Preinstallation planning and well thought out wire routing and termination can make the difference between a successful installation, and one that has you chasing gremlins. If the installation is beyond your comfort level, there is no shame in hiring a professional.”

Now that you have an expert’s take on a few aspects of upgrading to a new instrument package, take a look at their website here. Look around on the products page, and comment below what you would put in your car as an upgrade. If you already have a set of nice, new, Dakota Digital gauges, let us know what you’ve got! A little bragging never hurt anyone.

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About the author

Kyler Lacey

A 2015 Graduate from Whitworth University, Kyler has always loved cars. He grew up with his dad's '67 Camaro in the garage and started turning wrenches at a young age. At seventeen, he bought his first classic, a '57 Chevy Bel Air four-door, and has since added a '66 Plymouth Valiant and '97 Cadillac Deville to his collection. When he isn't writing for Power Automedia, he's out shooting pictures at car shows, hiking in the forests of the beautiful Pacific Northwest, or working on something in the garage.
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