Do you currently own a truck with an OBD2 port? If you do, you are a person that can benefit from one of many available performance monitors or digital gauge displays. They give you real-time data parameter monitoring and a number of other features that truly give you insight into how your vehicle is operating. There is one display that has been around for a while and is very familiar to most diesel truck owners, the Edge Insight CTS2. It features a large display, outstanding usability, and a ton of features that make it significantly better than most other performance monitors. Now I love the CTS2, but Edge recently released a new monitor called the Insight CTS3 that looks even more impressive. I lucked out and was given an Edge Insight CTS3 monitor to review.
After having the unit on my truck for over 10,000 miles it’s finally time to give you all my thoughts. Before I get into my Edge Insight CTS3 review however, I want to go over all the features this new digital gauge display offers and how it can benefit you and your truck. Let’s get into our Insight CTS3 feature breakdown.
Edge Insight CTS3 Feature Breakdown
What is the Edge Insight CTS3 Performance Monitor And How Can it Help You?
The Edge Insight CTS3 Performance Monitor is a digital gauge display that can show you tons of different vehicle data and parameters in real time. It offers customizable dash layouts, so you can pick and choose what parameters you want to monitor. You can also set alerts, so when a certain parameter reaches a certain point, it will make a sound to alert you. It also offers a ton of other features beyond just being a digital gauge in a monitor. These include trouble code (DTC) reading and clearing, and a ton of features allowing you to customize your vehicle. In our next sections we’re going to highlight the most important Edge Insight CTS3 features that you ought to be aware of.
Real-time Data Parameter Monitoring
The most important benefit of purchasing an Edge Insight CTS3 is its powerful parameter viewing capabilities. The Insight CTS3 offers a huge, touchscreen display where you can display a ton of different parameters simultaneously. You can pick the individual parameters you want to monitor. You can even pick how and where they’re displayed.
Customizable Digital Gauge Display with 20 Different Layouts
Before performance monitors and digital gauge displays, you would need an individual old-school gauge for everything. Many truck owners would have multiple gauges incorporated into the side Pilars or mounted to the dash. While it worked, it doesn’t look nearly as good and you’re still limited to what you can view. Now with one unit, the Edge Insight CTS3 or other like it, you have a ton of different parameters at your finger tips.
The Edge Insight CTS3 has 20 different layouts you can choose between to view your PIDs. You can also adjust the colors or even the background image on every different layout too. This makes it not only very functional, offering a layout for pretty much everyone’s liking, but it also allows a personal touch.
Pairs with other Edge Devices
The Edge Insight CTS3 can pair with other Edge products to offer even more capabilities. You can pair the CTS3 with the L5P Duramax Pulsar Tuner to easily control power level shift-on-the-fly. You can also pair it with the Edge License-plate back-up camera, to add on a backup camera to your truck. The CTS3 also can control different accessories on your truck by acting as a switch. Aftermarket lighting, air compressors, and other accessories can be engaged or disengaged when you get the EAS Power Switch. This means no drilling into your dash or ugly switches installed in your truck.
Edge License Plate Back-Up Camera
Does your truck not have a back-up camera? Make hooking up to a trailer or even just reversing much easier with the Edge License Plate Back-Up Camera!
EAS Power Switch
Use your CTS3 to power different accessories with the EAS Power Switch upgrade.
EAS Data Logging Kit
The EAS Data Logging Kit offers two additional EGT sensors, two Boost sensors, and two other temperature sensors. This is the perfect kit for heavily modified diesel trucks with aftermarket turbos and other mods!
Code Reading & Clearing
Another capability of the Edge Insight CTS3 is its ability to read and clear trouble codes. Often when your diesel truck has a problem the truck will store a code that can help pin-point the problem. Most shops or dealerships have expensive code reading devices, but now for only a couple of hundred dollars, you can gain these same capabilities.
Performance Testing & Data Logging
The Edge Insight CTS3 allows you to test 0-60 mph times, 0-100 mph times, 1/8 mile, and 1/4 mile runs. You can also store this data on a newly designed track ticket style data sheet. The Edge Insight also allows data logging so you can capture PID data and export it if needed. This is especially useful when you tune your vehicle with custom tuning, so you can send your tuning company information on how your truck is running. It will allow them to make tweaks to improve performance and reliability.
Vehicle Customization/Updating Capabilities
Edge Insight CTS3 Review
Value & Price
At roughly $400, the Edge Insight CTS3 digital gauge monitor is similarly priced to other units commonly used on diesel trucks. Unlike other digital gauge displays however, the Insight CTS3 comes as a complete kit. It includes the mounting solution, an OBD2 hookup cable, and a USB cable for updates. Many other digital gauge displays require you to purchase the mounting solution separately.
The CTS3 monitor also offers a ton of “bang for the buck” with its huge list of features and capabilities. For $400 you get a code scanner, a digital gauge display, performance tester, and a ton of other vehicle-specific features depending on what type of truck you have.
Design
The Edge Insight CTS3 has more sleek, modern look compared to the outgoing model, the CTS2. It has a 5″ high-definition touchscreen, and it features rounded edges and a thinner frame. It looks significantly less bulky when mounted on the windshield and significantly more luxurious too.
The CTS3 comes with a mounting kit that features a windshield mount that utilizes a suction-cup. The monitor then slides into place on the windshield mount in a matter of seconds. It installs or un-installs in a matter of seconds. This makes it easy to travel with, allowing you to hide it quickly when needed.
Now I love the physical design of the Edge Insight CTS3, but where it really shines isn’t its physical appearance. It’s the internal design. The CTS3 has an easy-to-use display that is simple to navigate. By simply swiping up on the monitor you can view the most important menu options without visiting the home page. You can also swipe down to access other CTS3 features. This makes accessing all of the CTS3’s features very easy.
Not only is the CTS3 easy to navigate, but it was also designed to be highly customizable. You can change gauge themes, colors, and even upload a unique background picture. I love this capability because it allows you to completely personalize your CTS3.
Performance
The Edge Insight CTS3 digital gauge display offers quick, reliable performance when hooked up in your vehicle. It turns on faster than the previous Insight, and also loads pages faster. It offers a highly customizable gauge layout where you can pick which PIDs or parameters you want to monitor. I love this capability because depending on what you’re concerned about, you can configure your gauge layout to view everything that is important at one time.
Available PIDs are dependent on what vehicle you have. Newer trucks like my L5P come equipped with EGT sensors so I didn’t need to add an EGT probe. On older trucks however, your truck might require the addition of a pyrometer.
CTS2 Vs. CTS3
Load times are less than the CTS2 but it still takes longer than a couple of seconds for the gauge screen to initiate. The CTS3 definitely offers smoother operation though. The new touchscreen is very responsive and unlike the previous model, it doesn’t glitch nearly as often. With the CTS2, sometimes the screen would switch between gauge layouts and other menus as if someone were pressing the screen.
One thing I am sad about it that Edge left the maintenance manager tool off of the CTS3. Maybe the tool wasn’t as popular amongst consumers, but I loved the ability to set alerts for different maintenance items. It kept stickers off of my dash and was a much more reliable tool than a calendar or phone notification.
CTS3 On the L5P Duramax
I tested the Insight CTS3 on my L5P Duramax. One feature that I really love is that I can control the power levels on my Edge Pulsar Tuner. This makes changing tunes easier, especially for others driving the vehicle. Other really useful CTS3 features for my L5P include the ability to initiate a manual regeneration, re-calibrating the speedometer for bigger tires, and even adjusting the TPMS sensors to accommodate different tire pressures.
If you have a 2017-2019 Chevrolet or GMC HD truck with the l5P Duramax engine, I strongly recommend the CTS3 and the Pulsar Tuner together. You can find out more information about this tuner in my Edge Pulsar Review.
Quality
When comparing the Edge Insight CTS3 to competitors and even the CTS2, the difference in quality is immediately clear. The unit has a more modern feel and design. Every feature works seamlessly. Even when connecting the CTS3 to other Edge products, it works like it’s supposed to. If you’re looking for a high-quality, digital gauge display this is it!
The unit itself seems capable of holding up in both extremely hot or cold climates. I’ve left the unit on my windshield in the Hot Summer Months in Florida and also in the Winter in the Smoky Mountains. Either way, the unit turns on and functions just fine.
Overall Thoughts
The Good
In my Edge Insight CTS3 review, I’ve listed a ton of my favorite features and how this digital gauge display can help you and your truck. It offers the most customization of any performance monitor available. The CTS3 can also help you keep an eye on literally hundreds of PIDS for better insight on how your truck is operating. It even can be used to add accessories like a backup camera for your vehicle, or even to control accessories like a light bar or air compressor when paired with the EAS Power Switch.
The Edge Insight CTS3 seems to exceed expectations in every way. It’s the highest quality performance monitor I’ve had on one of my trucks so far. Performance has also been improved over the previous model, the CTS2. It offers quicker loading times, it’s easier to navigate, and it doesn’t have the same glitches experienced in the previous unit. As far as digital gauge displays go, the Insight CTS3 is a home run!
The Bad
While my Edge Insight CTS3 review has been overwhelmingly positive, I do have some negative feedback as well. One of my favorite features, the maintenance manager has been discontinued and isn’t available on the CTS3. The Unit also doesn’t load quite as fast as I would like it to. In a time when we’re used to the instant load times of the latest iPhone, it can be frustrating waiting for a digital gauge display to load.
The Edge Insight CTS3 also doesn’t come with tunes. Instead, if you want tuning, you need to get the Edge Evolution CTS3. Just check and make sure that it has available tunes for your truck because tunes aren’t available for every single vehicle.
Buy The Edge Insight CTS3 on Amazon
Edge Insight CTS3 Accessories
Edge Insight CTS3 FAQS
The standard price of an Edge Insight CTS3 Is around $400-$450.
The Edge Insight CTS3 is a digital gauge display and performance monitor.
A performance monitor, or digital gauge display, is a device that allows you to view hundreds of different vehicle parameters and information in real-time. The Edge Insight CTS3 is a perfect example because it lets you view things like EGTS, Coolant temperatures and other PIDS from one single monitor. These devices also often offer vehicle customization settings and code reading/clearing.
No, the Edge Insight CTS3 does not include any tuning. It can control power levels when paired with other Edge products however. I control the Power levels of my Edge Pulsar tuner for my 2019 L5P Duramax diesel with this device.
If you have a 1996 or newer truck with an OBD2 port you can use the Edge Insight CTS3 on your truck. Parameters will be determined by what truck you have however. If you have an older truck with less OEM sensors built in, the Edge Insight CTS3 won’t include those parameters. You can add additional sensors to monitor EGTS, Boost, and more by adding EAS products. Find out more about these EAS add-ons in my Edge Insight CTS3 review.
