If you're passionate about driving simulation, you've probably considered building one at some point. local telemetry dashboard for PC It displays all the data of your virtual car as if you were in a professional cockpit. These days, with a mobile phone, a tablet, or a small secondary screen, you can create an amazing instrument cluster without spending a fortune on dedicated hardware.
In this article we will thoroughly review the most interesting options for setting up a live telemetry bar Or a complete dashboard displaying RPMs, speed, gear selection, temperature, track maps, clutch status, brake and throttle position, and much more. We'll also explore solutions that work on both PCs and consoles, and how to integrate them with USB displays, VR headsets, and Android and iOS mobile devices.
What is a local telemetry dashboard for PC and why is it worthwhile?
When we talk about a local telemetry dashboard, we are referring to a system that It collects game data in real time. (speed, RPM, gear, lap times, etc.) and displays them on a separate screen, whether it's a secondary monitor, a mobile phone, a tablet, or even a virtual reality viewer, all connected to your PC.
The beauty lies in being able to have one fully functional telemetry bar as if it were the display of a racing car, with accelerator, brake and clutch bars, tire wear indicators, fuel consumption, damage and any other metric that the simulator is able to send via telemetry.
These types of solutions are not just for "making things look pretty"; they allow analyze the performance of the system and the pilot, better adjust the racing lines, control the temperatures, monitor the fuel and, ultimately, compete more seriously, whether in iRacing, Assetto Corsa, F1 or any other compatible title.
In addition, many of these programs offer fully customizable interfacesso you can design your own dashboard, move widgets, change colors, or download panels created by other users and adapt them to your liking.
DashPanel: customizable dashboards and virtual button box
Dashboard It's one of the most powerful and flexible applications for creating telemetry dashboards on PCs and using them on additional monitors and external devices. It's designed for those who want to go a step further and build a truly professional dashboard without getting bogged down in complicated configurations.
With DashPanel you can create Data screens for your favorite driving simulators and display them on different devices: USB monitors, USBD480 displays, VoCore, overlay mode on the main screen, and even compatible SteamVR headsets. This allows, for example, a minimalist in-game HUD while displaying all the detailed information on a separate screen.
One very interesting feature is its function of virtual button boxThis feature lets you use touch buttons on a screen as if they were physical keys. Each button can launch a key combination on your PC, which is ideal for changing views, activating the pit lane limiter, adjusting assists, or interacting with any application running in the background.
DashPanel's built-in editor is really powerful: it lets you Modify existing dashboards or design one from scratch.Place indicators wherever you want, change sizes, select specific widgets, and best of all, download and share templates with other users directly from the application itself.
If you want to make sure everything is working perfectly on your system, you can boot into boot mode. “Demo Data”This displays a limited set of information (RPM, speed, and gear) without a time limit. It's ideal for testing compatibility with your hardware before paying for full data unlocking for a specific game.
Licenses, demo and data unlocking in DashPanel
DashPanel's licensing model has an important nuance that should be well understood: DLC purchases on Steam only activate the full data on the Windows version of the program. That is, if you plan to use DashPanel on Android or iOS, full telemetry unlocks must be purchased within the app on the device itself.
The demo version has no time limit, but restricts the amount of data you can see to the most basic (RPM, speed, and gear). Once a license for a specific game is purchased from the in-game store, access to all the telemetry that title offers is unlocked.
In the case of the virtual box button, the demo also has a limitation: it only It allows 30 button presses per session.If you already have a full data unlock for a compatible game, this limitation disappears and you can use the button panel without restrictions with that title.
There is also a specific unlock for using the virtual button panel compatible with any application or gamenot only with simulators that have native support. This purchase is also made from the store tab within the app, and opens the door to using the touchscreen as a universal shortcut panel.
Compatible devices and ways to use DashPanel
DashPanel works especially well with setups where you want take advantage of additional screens to display telemetry, but it can also work directly on the main monitor overlaid on the game.
The devices supported by the application include monitors that extend the desktop (including many USB monitors), USBD480 displays (although in this case without touch support), VoCore displays and the overlay mode in SteamVR-compatible virtual reality headsets, something that fits very well in immersive driving cockpits.
It is also possible to use DashPanel as overlay on the main screen of the game, so that the simulator's HUD is complemented by a layer of information customized by you. This is useful if you don't have a second physical screen but want a more complete dashboard.
The available widgets vary depending on the data that each game offers nativelyNot all games display the same telemetry, so some indicators will be active in some games and disabled in others. You can check the compatibility of each widget with each simulator within the app itself.
Games compatible with telemetry in DashPanel
One of DashPanel's greatest strengths is its enormous list of compatible driving games and simulators that can send telemetry data to the application. This includes PC titles and also franchises that have a console version, although in some cases data support is only available for the PC version.
Among the featured games, we find a good collection of "pure" simulators, such as iRacing, rFactor, rFactor 2, Automobilista and Automobilista 2as well as classics like GTR2, GT Legends, Race07 or Live For Speed (LFS), all of them highly appreciated by the simracing community.
There is also support for more generalist sagas but with full telemetry, such as F1 2012 to 2016 (on PC) and F1 2017 to F1 24as well as rally and off-road titles such as DiRT 4, DiRT Rally, DiRT Rally 2.0 (on PC) and RBR NGP6, which allow you to take advantage of dashboards to monitor stage times, damage and car condition.
If you prefer more open-world driving games, DashPanel works with Forza Horizon 4 and 5However, the developer notes that Data Out telemetry does not function correctly on Xbox Series X|S due to changes made by Playground Games. It also supports Forza Motorsport 7 and the most recent installment, Forza Motorsport 23.
Other compatible titles include Assetto Corsa (PC and PS4), Assetto Corsa Competizione (PC), Assetto Corsa EVO, BeamNG.drive, GRID Autosport, GRID 2019, GRID Legends (PC), Project Cars, Project Cars 2 and Project Cars 3 (PC), as well as RaceRoom Racing Experience (R3E), KartKraft, Le Mans Ultimate, Grand Prix 4, Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2), American Truck Simulator (ATS), WRC Generations, among others.
SIM Dashboard: Turn your mobile phone or tablet into an instrument panel
Another very popular solution for setting up a local telemetry dashboard for PC is SIM DashboardThis app is designed to turn mobile phones and tablets into external dashboards packed with information. It's a fantastic option if you have a "retired" Android device and want to give it new life in your cockpit.
It works simply: you install the program on the device and on the PC (when playing on a computer), and the system takes care of the rest. show all telemetry data The simulator sends data such as RPM, speed, gears, brake temperature, tire condition, fuel level, time difference, etc. Everything can be rearranged and customized with templates and widgets.
SIM Dashboard goes a step beyond simply providing telemetry, as it can also display additional information such as track maps, synchronization with the steering wheel or function as an independent tachometer, allowing for a clearer reference of the engine speed in setups where the visibility of the car's instrument panel is not ideal.
One of its great attractions is its enormous repertoire of customizable widgets, with over 200 elements that can be placed on the screen as you wish: fuel bars, gear shift indicators, flag lights, timing gauges, sector-by-sector timing panels and much more.
In addition to the panels you can create yourself, SIM Dashboard offers access to templates and boards designed by other users from the community. You can download these layouts, adapt them to your liking, or even share your own creations for other virtual pilots to use.
Key features and benefits of SIM Dashboard
One of the most appreciated things about SIM Dashboard is that, despite being a very complete tool, its The interface is quite intuitive.You don't need to be a telemetry software expert to set up a functional panel in just a few minutes, thanks in part to the wizards that accompany many of the functions.
The program has compatibility with dozens of driving gamesIt's available for both PC and console, and allows you to switch between dashboards mid-race with just a couple of taps. This means you can have one panel for qualifying, another for long races, another focused on lap times, and so on, and switch between them on the fly.
Another interesting detail is that the application It does not include advertisements.This leaves the entire screen available for telemetry widgets and the device's performance is not affected by inconvenient banners or pop-ups.
Widgets can be customized in countless ways: choose colors, sizes, indicator types, number of decimal places, alerts, and much more. This ability to adjust the panel to the millimeter This is what makes many users consider SIM Dashboard one of the best free simulator options.
Regarding system performance, the developer recommends a series of reasonable minimum requirements, such as the RAM required, both for PC and mobile device, so that even modest equipment can handle telemetry without any visible lag or delays in the displayed information.
Free version, limitations and PRO version of SIM Dashboard
SIM Dashboard can be downloaded for free from Google Play for Android devicesThere's also a free desktop version. However, the free edition has one important limitation: you can only use up to 3 boards and widgets to display them on external devices such as mobile phones or tablets.
Those who need a more complex setup can opt for the PRO version of SIM DashboardThis license, which costs approximately €10, allows you to connect an unlimited number of devices. With it, you can use multiple mobile phones and tablets simultaneously, each with a separate and specialized dashboard.
This ability to connect multiple devices in parallel opens the door to very complete setups: a panel for main panelAnother one focuses on timing and lap times, an auxiliary screen displays tire data and temperatures, etc., all working simultaneously while you drive.
The paid edition also removes some restrictions of the free version when managing widgets and templates, allowing more intensive use of the software in advanced cockpits or streaming setups where the pilot needs to have a large amount of information accessible.
In any case, even with the free version you can Try the app on your deviceCheck compatibility with your favorite games and decide later if it's worth upgrading to PRO once you're clear on the type of panel you want to install.
Technical requirements and compatibility of SIM Dashboard
To use SIM Dashboard on Android, the developer indicates that the app works from Android 4.0.3 and it only requires 512 MB of RAM, which opens the door to repurposing relatively old devices you have lying around the house that are not in regular use.
The recommended screen resolution is at least 800 × 480 pixelsThis is a standard that virtually all Android phones and tablets from recent years meet. The higher the screen resolution and size, the easier it will be to fit multiple widgets at once without them looking too small.
If your mobile phone or tablet has root accessIn principle, you shouldn't encounter any serious problems, as the program adapts well to this type of system configuration. Even so, it's always advisable to check the developer's documentation in case there are any known quirks with certain custom ROMs.
On the computer side, the SIM Dashboard application can be installed from Windows 7 onwardsThis covers virtually any active sim racing PC. For console users (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S), communication occurs without the need to install any additional software on the console itself.
In the PC ecosystem, SIM Dashboard can offer additional data for games PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/Sincluding very popular sim racing titles. Its features include the ability to use the screen as a tachometer, steering wheel display, or timing panel, adapting to each player's preferences.
As you can see, both DashPanel and SIM Dashboard allow you to set up a local telemetry dashboard for PC Very comprehensive, taking advantage of mobile phones, tablets or secondary screens, with real-time data, virtual buttons and a wide variety of widgets adaptable to almost any modern driving simulator.