My 2005 F150 didn't come with a tach. I'm curious to know what it would take to add an aftermarket tach to my truck. Also, I have 3.55 gears and I was curious what my RPMs are in OD at 60 MPH, 65 MPH, and 70 MPH. Thanks guys!

 

Do a quick search in this forum for tach. There are four major options.
Lots of details in the posts, but this is the basic;

1. you can put a tach IP, like out of an FX4 in it. I have. it ain't cheap. Does look cool.

2. you can put a regular tach in, but you need the autometer adaptor. And a good tach. Figure about 150-175. Cheaper than the IP, but no bargain.

3. you can get your Information center to read out for you. I forget how, but it's been covered. Something about pushing holding the Odometer reset button, while starting. I did it once, it works. You can cycle through the CAN readings till you get a tach, which will work till you shut her off.
details have been posted, you should be able to find it as quick as I could. It's a free solution.

4. Get a Scangauge, has tach, miles per gallon, dozen other things. They only sell em at Scangauge.com. I have one of those also. Use it more than anything but the speedo. Doesn't look that great, unfortunatly. Costs about 129 delivered.
hope this points you the right way,
Chris

 

Thanks man, that scangauge sounds interesting. I didn't quite understand what you were saying about pulling something from an FX4 truck though. I wasn't sure what part you were referring to.

 

tach ip = tach instrument panel check out chris's gallery and u can see some of the mods he made

 

I'm still holding out on doing a regular tach without the adapter. That thing is like over a $100!

I am still researching to see if I can use a wire in the harness (had been sugested here before).

The Scangauge looks cool but seems a little hard to read at a glance.

 

Actually Joe, it's easy to read at a glance. I'm surprised, as the print is fairly small. Thing is, about a tach on these 4.6 trucks, you spend all your time between 1200-2600. Unless your racing, in which case, sorta keep your eye on the road, the tach is pretty much gonna read about 1700-2200 anytime you drive.
The instant gas miles readout is what I actually watch constantly. Useing feed back from that saves me a bundle.
Oh, and that adaptor has been sold for 45-60 on ebay and other places, sometimes. Can't hurt to keep an eye out.
Enjoy,
Chris

 

Chris,

I just ordered my scangauge. Im taking a trip this weekend and was wondering how long it took you to get yours. I hope its here before my trip.

 

Here it took three days, which is fast. But your mileage may vary, (sorry, bad pun, it's been a looong day.)

When I first started using mine I didn't realize how many things it kept track of. I read the site, but it doesn't sink in
Things like your average speed or top speed the day before...
I have mine mounted low, not the best place in the world. If I didn't have a Vacuum gauge and a Homelink in the rubber tray I would put it up there, routing the wire down through the tray. the rubber matt could cover the hole in the plastic tray.
The contrast and brightness are very important controls.

I run the tach info in the upper left corner, the speed in the upper right corner, the instant mileage in the lower left, and mess arround with the lower right. The intake air temp is almost always the same as the outside air temp, unless you are parked. The Lod, or engine lode is kind of cool.

One thing I like, and my wife hates on the Scangauge is that when she's driving, I can glance down and see exactly what her speed is. None of that "I'm not going that fast, it's because you are looking at the needle from an angle". Great for passenger seat drivers...

one thing that could be better is that in miles per gallon it only has three trip choices, Current, Today, Yesterday. I would love a longer running track, or an actual trip setting. Instead you check it while driving, or at a stop. But then when you restart the truck, it's a whole new trip. So for example, today we drove non-stop for about 95 miles. We got 24.3 mpg, almost all freeway. Then we drove it 20 miles, getting 18.8 mpg. Then we drove it home, total mileage 21.7 for the day, if I recall correctly. Big hill on the way back, and I drove it kinda quick. So for the day we have a figure, but not for the tank. So for tank running amounts I have to still manually check it. Oh well, gotta keep your math skill up somewhere.
Chris