Hi everyone, I currently have a scangauge II, but the response is very slow and skips around the numbers instead of quickly counting up or down. So I'm looking into Tach/RPM gauge options. I don't like racer gauges like autometer or generic tachs that redlines at 10k rpm which will make our cars look weak and waste of most of the gauge space not reaching that number. i remember seeing an image of a hybrid use rpm gauge mounted on a dash of a prius C on a japanese site that indicates "hybrid" on the 52 or 60mm gauge, but i can't seem to find it anymore. here's a couple of other ones i found. please post if you have other suggestions. Thanks in advance Blitz FLD Meter Pivot Dual Gauge DXT-H
yes that Pivot gauge is nice and will be released in Jan. I just don't know if i have the heart to spend $315 on a gauge. that's just the conversion price not including shipping or tax. I may bite the ugly bullet and get some cheaper alternative ebay gauges. I found some low rpm tach that maxes out at 8k and starts redline about 6400~7k for under $25 shipped.
26,000 Yen ($315 in pre-fiscal cliff & debt ceiling dollars ) is a bit too much for me as well. Might need the money for cat food to feed the kids or a gallon of gas.
Any other way to mount this rather than consume the driver's side air vent? QUESTION... since the Prius LCD dash is all software driven anyway... what about a software update that just adds a tach as one of the options? Or maybe adds it to the existing ECO screen or system-monitor screen? That's just a software update.
I think that image is just to show that it's a 3" (60mm) gauge that fits perfectly into the air vent. most gauge usually comes with a ring bracket or cup mount. pillar mounts have been around for a while, but personally i don't prefer the pillar pods, they just tell the police "this is a modified car". ring bracket gauge holder cup A-pillar pod (comes in 1, 2, or 3 pods) usually pretty universal to drill into most cars. some companies will make car specific mounting pods which looks quite nice and clean.. but i haven't seen one yet for the prius C.
I think that would be pretty hard because unless it's a toyota released software update, it would require a company to write a whole new software code that alines with the same language the prius ecu or the lcd management program. It maybe possible for a company to develop an aftermarket ecu for the prius, but this car isn't built for speed and i personally don't think companies would invest the capitol to develop such computer replacement. It would be much easier to tap into the rpm and other signal wire and just get the read outs to for a piggy back display.
Have you considered using the Torque Android app on an Android device? You could re-purpose a cellphone as an instrument panel and have two normal sized circular gauges on the screen with the ability to have many other gauges by selecting different screens. I recently bought a used Nexus One cellphone with a nice OLED display for use in my other car. I don't have it completely set up yet but the display works nicely in a car.
the torque app is really nice and useful. only downside is you have to buy a bluetooth obd2 transmitter that usually cost over $100. And another reason I prefer analog gauge over digital is that you can read movement with your far periphery and can roughly get a sense of the needle position, where as digital screens you really have to take your eyes off the road to read it for a quick second.
Torque will do analog gauges on an android device. Some (most?) people have success with $25 Fleabay OBD-II Bluetooth dongles. I admit I got the $100 variety.
thanks for the fleabay info. There are some cost effective options there. I might have to pick one up to try out.
It might be worthwhile to see if someone will volunteer their experience with the different sources. Some people love the El Cheapos they got, some have problems, but at $25 or less, the gamble isn't very big. Might also find some worthwhile evaluations at Forums — Torque.
There is an option on the scangauge for fast updates. It refreshes the numbers faster than the other way. As unimportant as rpms are in the Prius, I don't see spending a lot of money on watching them. It'll get pretty boring after you see them for a while. They're only good to watch as a state of operation indicator, but the instant mpg option does that, too. I use them together and it gives me what I need to know.
