,
AEM now has an amazing programmable LCD dashboard, the CD-7.
While you probably recall us installing an AiM Sports MXL dash, halfway through the project AEM came along and asked us to give them some input on their brand new CD-7 dash. The AEM is way more powerful, and we were eager to dig into it.
The CD-7 also comes in a logging version.
Since we had a RaceCapture Pro/2 from Autosport Labs, we already had logging taken care of. But the awesome thing about the CD-7 is that it features CAN integration and is completely programmable, offering myriad customization options.
The CD-7 includes a high quality partially pre-terminated harness that makes installation easy. Or, like in our case, we can make our own.
The CD-7 features a DTM 12-socket connector at the end of its harness. You can see that the CD-7 also has two buttons. One is used to change the display page, and one is used to acknowledge any alarms or warnings (hopefully you’ll never see any!). AEM was thoughtful in their design of the dashboard, and they offer the ability for external buttons/switches to be wired to control the same functions that the buttons on the display control. When we received the CD-7, it was still before we had started building the cabin harness, so I was actually able to re-design it in time to incorporate these valuable AEM CD-7 functions. The dash even features an auto-dimming function if you wire up its headlight input, which I designed in as well.
The CD-7 can also be directly integrated with their Vehicle Dynamics Module (VDM). You can see on the harness at left the two 4-pin connectors that can be used for both the CAN and the VDM. The AEM VDM is a full GPS and accelerometer unit that can be used with the CD-7 for predictive lap timing. When used with the CD-7L logging dashboard, it provides a full data system for your vehicle.
Using the CD-7 will give us the ability to keep tabs on all of the vehicle’s vitals in addition to getting lap timing information and more! We are super excited to incorporate it into the project.
The last part of the cabin harness is actually under the car – it’s the transmission sub-harness.
We are incorporating Haltech’s WBC-1 wideband controller. Wideband oxygen sensors need to go in the exhaust gas stream. The exhaust is under the car. We also want to make the back up lights work, which requires hooking into the factory transmission reverse switch, also under the car. That meant we needed to get wires from the WBC-1 and the Racepak (inside the cabin) to the oxygen sensor and transmission (under the car). How do you do that? You make more holes in the car!
