Just like flossing your teeth, monitoring your diesel truck’s vitals is something you should be doing, but might not be doing. From EGT to boost pressure to intake air temperature, these out-of-sight-out-of-mind things can add up over time and leave you stranded if you’re not careful.

So what’s a diesel guy to do? Banks Power has the answer in form of the iDash 1.8 Super Gauge. Don’t judge this device by its size; great things come in small packages, as they say, and the iDash 1.8 proves it.

This chart shows some of the abilities of the iDash 1.8. From datalogging to alerts to DTCs to monitoring, the device possesses a lot of features in a small package.

Measuring 2 1/16 inches in diameter the iDash 1.8 is the size of your average boost gauge, and therefore can fit anywhere such a gauge would fit. It plugs directly into the OBD-II port and works on all 2008-present diesel trucks, as well as some that predate the 2008 model year.

What’s amazing about the iDash 1.8 is the sheer amount of parameters it can read. There are over 300 in all. You have the major ones, naturally, things like boost pressure and exhaust gas temperature, but also the minor ones that have a bigger impact. These include turbo vane position and the PM (particulate matter) filter.

What’s more, for up to 20 different parameters, you can program the iDash 1.8 to flash a warning when things reach a certain level. It also has the ability to read and clear diagnostic codes. No more running to the local mechanics just to get a “check engine” light checked out.

These are just a few of the features and benefits of the iDash 1.8. To find out more, be sure to check out the Banks website and Facebook page.