Digital Cluster Upgrades for 2003 Tacoma

Hey guys I've been doing some research around the interwebs...

I want to replace my old cluster with something of the 21st century. Something where I can customize which gauge I want to see.

I have a scanguage which is nice but I'd prefer having all those readings in my dash board behind the driving wheel. Have less wires all over the place.

So far I've found two plug and play digital dashboards that I like, but I don't really know that much about them

Hal-Tech IC-7 Analog Buttons (Top)

Powertune Digital Dash Touch Screen (Bottom)

As you can see both come with a customized dashboard that exactly fits the same spot the old OEM dash board was in they also come with led light indicators. All plug and play. (Unless you want to tweak stuff around I believe only Hal-Tech let's you do that)

What do you guys think?

 

I can tell you now you won't be satisfied with either of those over the OBDII connection, it updates too slow. If you had a Haltech ECU like I do then I'd understand wanting to use the IC7. Hook you computer or phone up to the stock ECU and watch how slow gauges update and you'll see what I mean.

 

I don't see ANYTHING compatible with Gen 1 Tacomas on the Powertune OR the Hal-Tech websites; am I missing something?

 

That's true.

But now i may be going for Hal-Tech as another member suggested to purchase the ECU since I am planning on installing a Magnuson SC.

Unless the other Digital dash is compatible with Hal-Tech ECU.

 

The powertune dash is compatible with the Haltech ECU as well, most aftermarket digi dashes support Haltech CAN protocol. If you need any Haltech info lemme know or hit up my thread...

1st Gen Haltech ECU Discussion

 

I just called Hal-Tech

It's confirmed that they have two dashboard models.
1. Connects directly to the Hal-Tech ECU
2. The second one connects directly to the OBD II connection.

The direct connection dashboard is recommended for those who will have the supercharger installed in the future since the Hal-Tech is needed.

 

I just spoke to a Hal-Tech representative. He mentioned something about our AT and their ECU. Some by pass needed. Do you know anything about that?

 

If your truck has an automatic transmission you have to make a harness to use the haltech as a piggyback ECU so the stock ECU can run the trans still. I'm currently in the process of producing a harness to use the haltech to control the trans too since the stock ECU acts weirdly and doesn't shift ideal after the haltech is in control of the engine. You can call up Boomslang to have them make a harness for your haltech for an auto truck. They only advertise the manual truck versions but they make both

 

Thank you!

Which haltech kit are you using?

 

I just bought a harness adapter from Boomslang, and bought a Haltech Elite 750 and Wideband module. I have modified my wiring harness a bit to make good use of everything and put in some 650cc injectors from LCE. It's a happy truck with the Haltech and a turbo haha.

 

I don't know that you realize what you're getting yourself into by going Haltech...
To get a feel for how quickly (or slowly) an OBD-II dash would update on these trucks, download Torque Lite from the app store and buy an ELM327-based dongle from ebay or Amazon (see my signature). You can essentially set up your phone or tablet to be a dash for under 10 bucks

 

It's going to be a direct plug to the Hal-Tech ECU. As I am going to install the magnuson SC.

Yeah I know it's going to be messy situation. But that's in the future right now I got about a year to inform myself learn what I do and do not need. I'll be documenting all the things I need. So when the time comes I'll be alright.

I may hire a shop that specializes in wiring the ECU and I can install the SC on my own.

 

With a plug and play harness it's easy to install. The longer process is tuning it to stability.
We've done a lot on that front to make it easier; here's some bathroom reading: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-haltech-ecu-discussion.772300/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...uild-haltech-tips.794100/page-2#post-28689106

imo the HT is overkill for the SC but some may take the "an upgrade is an upgrade" approach...

 

Nice I shall read it soon.

What would you recommend other than HT?

 

From my understanding from the SC guys, the 7th injector & controller works for most of them, but depending on the boost level, I think you can get away with just running slightly larger injectors and the stock ECU will do the rest - WOT/open loop will be richer than stock (actually I may be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure the open loop ignores "learned" corrections). There's a whole thread on that too: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3-4l-supercharger.629337/

 

While the SC 3.4 works fine without the Haltech, I would not say adding the Haltech is overkill IMO. TRD/URD/Magnuson convinced everyone that no ECU upgrade was needed, or that the 7th injector was sufficient, and because supercharged 3.4 failures were limited, everyone believed them, and that narrative became the norm.

The Haltech simply corrects all of the fundamental shortcomings of a SC'd 3.4 (with 7th injector or stock ECU) setup, and allows the supercharged 3.4 to perform the way a supercharged engine should. With just the base map alone, the performance gain I got with the Haltech, vs the URD 7th, was massive. These things I would have never known about if I continued to believe what URD/TRD/Magnuson said.

 

I would agree, to the extent that everyone could benefit from open access to their engine management. I treat them essentially as two separate power adders.

 

Fair enough.