It is going to get very messy trying to separate a string of 8 probes worth of data to an lcd display. We are working on a color touch screen gauge unit that will data log currently as a side project. I get bored at home at night and I am a sucker for a good headache.
One thing I have learned is that using serial communications is very messy. It can definitely be done, but it gets more difficult when you are separating strings and managing float values and integers. All of which you will likely use since you need to use generic values, send them to a float, convert them to something meaningful, send them in a string, separate the string, make sure the string is ASCii, and then keep it all happy.
Again, it can be done, but you are managing ALOT of information with a project like this. That is the most difficult part. I have a color touch screen version working on the bench. EGT, Boost, Intake temp, and trans temp. We still need to
map the values and verify the conversions are accurate, figure out if the display will live without much cooling, cnc a case out, and test the absolute chit out of it. Then we plan to launch it as a viable product.
Data logging is possibly years away for us currently. We can log a string of variables but we want a nice way to utilize the information on the computer side. Information isn't very useful unless you can apply it well. I could hire it out and have it working fairly quick but this is a challenging side project more for myself.
Be ready to pull your hair out alan. Again, this can be done, but doing it well will take a lot of coffee or maybe vodka. I would spend a while learning how the LCD works. That seems to be the most complicated part since it relies on serial communication. I spent a solid month of nights learning it. Everytime I thought I had it dikked I learned I didn't since some nuance would bite me in the azz when I would try to apply it a different way.