For many enthusiasts, childhood visits to the local auto parts store or speed shop were a formative experience. Aisles of filters, motor oil, and batteries, perfectly chromed, matching sets of headers, valve covers, and air cleaners hanging on the wall, and when dad was ready to make small talk and pay for his purchases, behind the counter there was always the display of round-faced gauges with mysterious but important purpose. Standing on tiptoe to peer over the impulse-buy rack of tire pressure pen gauges and scented cardboard trees, those instruments seemed so much cooler and somehow faster than the dumb old gauge cluster in the dash of the car you came in.

Now, of course, we’re all a long way past the aftermarket tach strapped to the steering column with a worm clamp, but as our tastes got more refined and technology grew by leaps and bounds, a whole new world of possibilities opened up for monitoring and controlling just about any parameter that could be measured or changed in a modern vehicle. Better yet, it’s now possible to not just have that information available at a glance, but also arrange and present it in the exact way that works (and looks) best for you. Holley’s Pro Dash components are the fulfillment of the promise those childhood impressions evoked.

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

A common issue when updating a relatively recent vehicle to an up-to-date EFI system like Holley’s is what to do about the instrument panel. Carb-to-EFI conversions are almost easy in this respect by comparison; all the factory gauges were mechanical or analog-signal electronic, and will happily keep working while the new computer does its thing behind the scenes. But as automakers began to adopt fuel injection and digital engine control, the instrument panel became a proprietary offshoot of the factory electronics, and getting them to work properly with a truly modern aftermarket EFI system became an extreme challenge at best, or simply impossible at worst.

Of course, nearly from the inception of aftermarket engine control systems, digital dashboards of one kind or another have been available, but quite often they were too limited (or too ugly) for use in anything but dedicated track cars. As technology improved, though, they became progressively easier to set up, easier to read, and more customizable, leading to the current state of the art - Holley’s EFI Pro Dash system.

Holley offers two types of Pro Dash displays; the 6.86” version (p/n 553-112) that also incorporates a ten-LED shift light and a pair of programmable lights on either side of the top of the display, and the larger 12.3” version (553-111) that is sans-LED but offers more screen real estate. Both share the same programming and setup procedures, and Holley has a number of resources including ‘how-to’ videos available that go over the process of getting a Pro Dash running. For those enthusiasts who want a modern, digital display and classic, carburetor under the hood, Holley also offers a line of Standalone Pro Dashes that do not require Holley EFI to run. If you're running a Sniper EFI system, Holley even has a dedicated, 5in Digital Dash just for that.

Learn more about Holley's Standalone Pro Dashes

Because that’s a subject that is well-covered, what we want to talk about here is going beyond the default layouts and basic gauge displays to really unlock the full potential for customization to both deliver the information you need at a glance as well as how to seamlessly integrate the look and feel of a Pro Dash into just about any application, from Spartan race car to bespoke resto-mod and all points in between. To guide us, we’ve enlisted the help of Holley’s Sean Miles to give us a top-level view of the nearly unlimited customization options available for either of these displays.

Beyond The Basics

Once a Pro Dash is physically installed and the electrical connections are made, on initial power-up it will identify the ECU it’s connected to (if it’s not being operated in standalone mode) and offer the opportunity to load default screens. Holley provides several options which can be paged through, and a lot of users will simply find one that they like and call it good. However, Miles points out, “I think the most common mistake is not utilizing the dash to anywhere near its full potential. The default layouts give some good examples, but I would definitely encourage customers to make it their own.”

Holley provides a selection of default layouts to get your Pro Dash up and running with as little effort as possible, but it’s very easy to modify them to better suit your needs and taste, or even start from scratch for a completely custom look and feel.

Because of the way the display layers the active indicators on a static background, users can either select one of the existing templates as a starting point, or load their own .jpg or .png file from the USB connection on the Pro Dash. From there, it’s a matter of deciding on what data channels you want to display, and how you want to display them.

“The user interface for building your own layouts (gauge display screens) is pretty simple,” Miles explains. “To add a gauge, you’ll enable “customize” mode. Then you’ll select the layout you want to modify and press “add”. After that, you have the option for gauge, label, and switch. If you select gauge, you will be given an option for what you’d like to monitor (i.e. Oil Pressure, Air/Fuel Ratio, etc.). After that, the nine types of gauge options are shown and you can select one, then move it into position and customize it.”

“There are nine main types of gauge options – analog (two types), bar graph (two types), digital, “RPM” bar, symbol, status LED, and graph,” he adds. “Each of these nine gauge options has customizable settings such as size, range, warnings, sweep, colors, segments, orientation, and more.”

To quickly convey critical information and catch your attention, there are multiple possibilities. Miles says, “The high and low warnings and alarms are where you get the color changes when thresholds are reached. The part of the gauge that changes colors can be seen in the screenshots, and yellow and red warning colors (along with foreground and background colors of each gauge) are fully customizable and high-value warnings and alarms can be set just like the low ones shown here. Also, you can set up the gauges to flash so they will catch your attention when the warnings or alarms are triggered.” For special-purpose alerts that don’t necessarily need a needle or number value to be meaningful, there are even simpler ways to display that information as well. Miles adds, “Our “status LED” option would be similar to the “dummy light” style indicators. You can also change the transparency in the normal state to make a dummy light disappear completely when off.”

While there are some limits on what can be done with the layouts of Holley’s Pro Dash, it really comes down to how creative you are, and how much time you want to put into creating something truly different. Want to have a dashboard that has the same ‘design language’ as the computer screens from Star Trek: The Next Generation, or resemble the multi-function displays in a modern airliner cockpit? Totally within reason. Completely lose your mind and want something with the look and feel of the digital dash out of a C4 Corvette? Miles says, “You could build something similar if you were willing to put some time into it and build each segment separately, but there is a limit of 32 active gauges and each segment would count as a gauge when done that way. There is the option to add an active symbol that can be numbers, words or automotive symbols that you can set up to illuminate based on a channel’s value.”

The display can even be designed to work within the confines of a factory gauge bezel. For example, DeBoss Garage designed this cluster to work inside of the the bezel of "Buckin' Stang", their 2005 Ford Mustang GT.

On a more practical level, the ability to store multiple dash layouts and switch between them by touching the screen a couple of times is probably the feature users who build custom displays will appreciate the most. Speaking of the touch screen, in addition to accessing the ‘administrative’ functions of the Pro Dash system, its functionality goes far beyond that. Per Miles, “The touch screen is super easy to use. You can use your finger or a capacitive stylus, and there’s also the option to use a mouse and even a keyboard if you want. The Pro Dashes also have what we call “Switch to Ground Special Functions”. Basically, you can wire a switch to ground that will control different functions on the dash rather than having to physically touch it. There are functions to change screen layouts, start a data log, or take a screenshot, all with the push of a button on the steering wheel or other easily accessible location.”

These control options make operating the Pro Dash from the driver’s seat simple, even when strapped in with the display itself beyond arm’s length. Of course, for the ultimate in functionality and display real estate, one could even do something as extravagant as putting two displays in, with one in the binnacle and a second within easy reach on the center console. “That’s not a problem at all as they will both be on the same CAN bus and communicate with a single ECU. In fact, I encourage everyone to buy two!” Miles says with a smile.

Exploring New Possibilities

“I would encourage anyone who purchases a Pro Dash to play around with it and not be afraid of messing something up," says Miles. If you end up with something that you don’t like, you can always clear it out and start over, or reload the default layouts. On the other end of that spectrum are guys like drag racer, Ryan McCain, who builds some incredible backgrounds for these dashes.”

There you have it. The sky's the limit on your digital dash design options.