Holley Pro Dash layouts
Holley Pro Dash layouts and custom backgrounds
Every Pro Dash screen is made of two things: a background picture and the gauges the dash draws on top of it. Once you know how those two work together, it's easy to see why some custom screens look pro and others look off.
What's in a Pro Dash layout
A layout is a small file that tells the dash where each gauge goes, how big it is, what it shows, how far the needle swings and where the redline starts. It also names the background, a picture that fills the whole screen.
The dash draws the parts that move: needles, bar graphs, digital numbers and warning lights. Everything else you see, like gauge faces, tick marks, the numbers around a gauge, chrome rings and logos, can be part of the background picture.
Why most custom backgrounds don't line up
The usual way to get a custom look is to buy or make a background with gauge faces printed on it, then drag the dash's needles over those faces by hand on the touchscreen. For it to look right, the needle has to sit exactly in the center of the printed face, start exactly at the printed zero, and end exactly at the top number.
Getting that right by eye takes a lot of trial and error in the car. That's why finished layouts sell for around $50 and custom work runs hundreds of dollars.
Holley's own race screen does it the same way: the gauge faces are part of the background, and the dash only draws the needles. It lines up because the picture and the gauge settings were made together.
How Gauge Garage gets it right
In Gauge Garage, the gauge face and the needle come from the same settings. Set a tach to 0 to 8,000 and the designer draws the numbers where they belong and tells the dash to swing the needle across that exact same range. There's nothing to line up by hand.
- Ready-made styles for gauge faces, chrome rings and colors, or build your own look
- Your logo, artwork or a photo of your car as the background
- Round and arc gauges, digital readouts, bar graphs, warning lights and a shift light bar
- Open a layout you saved off your dash and keep working on it
- Warnings when something won't work on the dash, like too many gauges or text that's too small to read
What a layout can't change
A layout controls where gauges go and what they show. It can't change how the dash draws its own parts: needles are red, live numbers use the dash's built-in font, and there are no animations.
Ready to try it? Start with a template, then see how to load it on your dash.