US Yaris: Adding a tach?

[chuchu]

Interesting thread. I wonder if another approach to adding a tach might be through mounting an aftermarket heads up display near the windshield. This may (or may not) yield a cleaner look than a traditional tach.

Here's an example:

http://www.wac.addr.com/auto/obs/hud/hud.html

[Snake]

installed my tach on wednesday, works just fine
rev limiter is at 6400 for you guys that were wondering
atleast now I know when to shift the damn thing
everyone should do this mod, its a must for the 5spds

[Idjiit]

Again, I still think it's much ado about nothing. Yesterday was the first time I hit the rev limiter and I'm a pretty aggressive driver. You'd really have to thrash the shit out of a Yaris to do any damage to it, tach or no tach.

[spacemanoeuvres]

Originally Posted by Snake

installed my tach on wednesday, works just fine
rev limiter is at 6400 for you guys that were wondering
atleast now I know when to shift the damn thing
everyone should do this mod, its a must for the 5spds

cool

if you could post pics that would be awesome.

I've never installed a tachometer, but I'm gonna give it a go' when I get my Yaris next week (hopefully!).

[why?]

Here is what mine looks like.

[Idjiit]

Hate to say it, but I think it's pretty ridiculous looking. :shrug:

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

since reading this topic ive been doing some research and a cluster swap from a 4 door will not work. the wiring harness is indeed different thus preventing that idea. i guess we'll have to see what toyota does for 2008....

[Snake]

[NickNickNick]

Interesting topic...I'll throw in my 2 cents...

Having a tach is pretty handy, but not really necessary.

I have one in my Canadian 06 3-door, and had I not driven a standard vehicle before, I would definitely need one...it was also a beautiful thing to have for the first month while getting used to things. Also, my gf is slowly learning to drive my car, and relies quite heavily on the tach (mostly because she cranks Kelly Clarkson so damn loud in the little car with the huge speaker set that you can't hear what the hell the car's doing) so it's nice to have there, too.

I like it, now that I have it, I want it...if I never had it, I'd probably be indifferent.

[Fyxxterzc]

I'm digging that second tach on the pillar. That with that HUD mph display would rock it. Definately be better than trying to look to the right for speed and rpm information.

[birdy]

snakes is the best so far, perfect size and placement

[DollaZo]

I agree with Birdy, Snake you have the best looking after marker tacho I have seen yet. Just wondering if u installed it urself and if u had any pics of the installation. Did you encounter any problems, for example in Oz we have the digital tach would that still have the same cabling system as the analog?

[spacemanoeuvres]

Thanks for the pics snake & why?

Did you install the tach yourself? If so, was it difficult? We'll have to put together a Tach Installation Guide at some point

I ordered a nordskog digital tach this AM.

Hopefully I'll have the hardware before I take delivery this week (fingers crossed). I think I'm going to mount my tach directly behind the steering wheel because I don't want anything obstructing the windshield.

Anyway, I'll post pics as soon as I can, thanks again everyone!

[Thirty-Nine]

I'm also curious as to how to wire the tach.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

I'm also curious as to how to wire the tach.

I had a close friend of mine put it in, was very easy install but he is a stereo installer at a shop
4 wires under the steering wheel I think, followed the instructions that came with the tach
I'm not a big fan of electronics, so I let him do the wiring, less headache
just make sure u guys remember to make the tach for a 4 cyl and not an 8cyl, they usually come setup for an 8cyl, theres a switch on the back

if your not good at wiring bring it to an electrician so you dont mess it up

[Leenis24]

im buying a tach tomorrow. I was thinking of installing it myself. Theres 4 wires to the one im getting. a green, red, white, and black. red is for power, black is ground, White for illumination, and green to the ecu/ecm or (-) side of coil. If i think its going to be to difficult i'll bring it somewhere. The hardest part will be finding all the right places to put the wiring. The power and illumination wire need 12v sources. Im guessing slicing them to a power source that only is on when i turn the key to ACC or ON. Im also installing it on the a-pillar, about where SNAKE has his. The one im getting is about $50 from Bond Auto store (State Local I think). Im going to see if the tach works correctly first before i start drilling holes in the a-pillar plastic and mounting it. I'll let you all know if i get it up and working. If i had a digital cam that woked i'd take install pics. Sorry. I'll probly verbaly explain it anyhow.

[mikeukrainetz]

Wow, cant believe there is such a long thread on tachs. If anybody is seriously interested in doing a stock swap try finding an outlet in Canada who would sell replacement parts, particularily the cluster. I dont know for sure about a lot of imports but from all the domestic cars I have worked on most models in the same lineup carry all of the same wiring hookups, less required relays etc for options not ordered. The wiring for the stock radio for example in the 2006+ Yaris is the same for most Toyotas since 2000. For a cheap car as the Yaris is the wiring would be far too expensive to be different between different trim levels. I have my doubts that a Canadian cluster would not fit in a US spec Yaris.
I hate to say it but most of the guys (most, not all) that work at parts etc at dealers have no idea what fits what if it doesnt say so in the brochure.

If you feel up to the task contact someone in the UK where the center dash cluster in the Yaris has been around since 2000.

Anyone just looking for a small aftermarket tach that doesnt make you look like Joe Racer and willing to spend a few bucks look at Defi. They make an awsome looking set of guages - black face, very inconspicuous and only about 2-3/8".

[eight_heads]

yeah, i'm going to wait for one of those a-pillar gauge pods and add a small tach to it.... i'll be fine until autometer releases a gauge pod for it... i used to do custom parts and upgrades in an automotive parts shop and the pillar mounted pods look alot cleaner than anything else(next to fiberglass)