SimHub Dashboard Setup: A Beginner’s Guide to Telemetry Displays

SimHub turns the telemetry your racing game produces into a live dashboard that you can show on a second monitor, a tablet, a phone or purpose-built hardware. Used well, it replaces the cluttered default HUD with just the information you act on, and it frees up screen space for the track. This beginner guide walks through the full setup from installation to a working dash, and shows how to avoid the common problems new users run into.

What SimHub does

Most sims can send telemetry, which is a stream of data such as speed, RPM, gear, pedal positions, tyre temperatures, fuel and lap times. SimHub reads that stream and gives you tools to:

• Design and display custom dashboards.
• Drive shift lights, LED strips and other devices through Arduino or compatible hardware.
• Control motion and tactile feedback through supported plugins.
• Record and review data for analysis.

This guide focuses on dashboards, which is where most people start.

What you need before you begin

• A Windows PC with a supported racing sim installed.
• SimHub, downloaded from the official website.
• A display: a second monitor, a tablet or phone on the same network, or a supported hardware dash.
• A basic understanding of your sim’s settings menu, because some games need telemetry switched on.

Step 1: Install SimHub and choose your game

Run the installer and launch SimHub. Open the Games tab and enable the sim you use. Some titles work immediately. Others, such as those that use UDP output, need you to switch on telemetry inside the game’s own settings. SimHub shows notes for each game, so read them before you start a session.

Step 2: Confirm that telemetry is arriving

Start a practice session in the sim. In SimHub’s main screen you should see speed, RPM and gear update in real time. If the numbers do not move:

• Check that the correct game is enabled and selected.
• Check the game’s telemetry setting, port number and refresh rate.
• Allow SimHub through Windows Firewall if prompted.
• Restart the sim after changing a telemetry setting, because some games only read it at startup.

Step 3: Pick a dashboard in Dash Studio

Dash Studio is SimHub’s built-in dashboard editor. Open it, then browse the template library or start a blank layout. Choose a template that matches your display’s resolution and aspect ratio, because that saves most of the adjustment work.

Inside the editor you can:

• Drag widgets such as RPM bars, gear indicators, speed, lap time, delta, fuel, tyre temperatures and brake bias.
• Change fonts, colours and sizes so the key figures are readable at a glance.
• Add conditions, for example turning the shift indicator red at a set RPM or flashing a warning when fuel is low.
• Create multiple screens in one dashboard, such as a race view and a pit view.

Step 4: Send the dashboard to your display

There are three common ways to output a dash:

1. Overlay on a monitor. Run the dashboard in a window on a second screen, or as an overlay above the game. This is the simplest option and needs no extra hardware.
2. Web dashboard on a tablet or phone. SimHub can serve the dashboard over your local network. Open the address shown in SimHub in the browser on the tablet. Both devices must be on the same network, and the tablet should be set to stay awake.
3. Hardware display or device. Supported screens, LED panels and Arduino-based devices connect through plugins and show the dash or specific data such as shift lights.

Step 5: Keep the dashboard clean

A good dashboard is not the one with the most numbers. Show only what changes your driving decisions:

• Shift lights or RPM for gear changes.
• Gear and speed as large, easily read figures.
• Delta time to see if you are gaining or losing on your best lap.
• Tyre and brake temperatures if your car is sensitive to them.
• Fuel and laps remaining for endurance races.

Put the most important information in the centre or at the top of the screen, where your peripheral vision can pick it up without looking away from the road.

Using telemetry to tune your pedals

SimHub also shows pedal input as a graph or bar. That is useful when you are setting up pedal curves, because you can see exactly how much throttle or brake you applied at every moment. Our SimHub telemetry and sensor tuning tutorial goes deeper into reading these traces. If you use load cell pedals, combine this with our guide to calibrating load cell pedals.

Performance tips

• Lower the refresh rate of heavy dashboards if the game’s frame rate drops.
• Avoid too many animated widgets, especially on older tablets.
• Use a wired network connection for the PC if you stream a dashboard to a tablet.
• Keep SimHub updated, because new releases add games and fix bugs.

Common problems and fixes

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
No data on the dashboard	Telemetry disabled in the game	Enable telemetry output and restart the sim
Dashboard works on PC but not on the tablet	Different networks or blocked firewall port	Use the same network and allow SimHub in the firewall
Wrong units, such as mph instead of km/h	Unit setting in SimHub or the dash	Change the unit in settings or in the widget
Dash looks stretched	Resolution mismatch	Pick a template for your screen size or resize the layout
Laggy or stuttering display	Heavy widgets or low-power device	Reduce animation and the refresh rate

Design principles for a dashboard you will actually use

It is easy to fill a screen with data. The harder skill is deciding what to leave out. A few principles help:

• Prioritise by decision. Ask what you do differently depending on each number. If the answer is nothing, remove it.
• Use size and colour for importance. Make your most important figure the largest, and reserve bright colours for warnings.
• Keep the layout stable. Widgets that move around make it harder to read at a glance.
• Test at racing speed. A layout that looks neat in the editor may be unreadable at 250 km/h, so check it in a real session.
• Make a separate pit and practice view. Detailed tyre, fuel and engine data is useful in the pits, but distracting on track.

Frequently asked questions

Is SimHub free?

SimHub has a free version with core features. Some advanced features and licences may require payment, so check the current terms on the official site.

Do I need extra hardware?

No. You can run a dashboard on a monitor or tablet with no extra hardware. Hardware such as LED shift lights and dedicated displays is optional.

Does SimHub work with every racing game?

It supports a large and growing list, but not every title. Check the Games tab to confirm that yours is included.

Building out your rig? Start with our load cell pedals guide, compare options in the best sim pedals for formula racing and learn how sensors compare in load cell vs potentiometer pedals.

Questions about sensors or pedal hardware?

Sands Industries works with load cell and sensor technology across industrial and performance applications. Get in touch if you want advice on sensor selection, capacity or sourcing.

Keep reading

• Load Cell Pedals – Precision Control Powered by Load Cell Technology
• Best Sim Racing Handbrake: What to Look For Before You Buy
• Load Cell vs Potentiometer Pedals: Which Is Better for Sim Racing?