lamborghini reventon gauges

[Cojoroh]

why are auto manufacturers are still using old fashioned needle gauges for the RPM, speedo, etc.?...it seems they would cost more (to produce and install) and are probably less accurate than an LCD. at 1:30 you can see what i think all cars should already have by now.

http://www.dpccars.com/car-videos/11...test-drive.htm

[woywitka]

Digital head units are nothing new. They first appeared on cars in the 1980s as part of a "new way" of experiencing a car.


The Digital speedos were largely dropped in the 1990s; however, some car makers still played around with them. Today they are nearly obsolete.

I hate them!

We had a Grand Prix GTP with conventional guages and then a projector into the windscreen that would put a digital read in suspended animation. I really liked that! You could also turn it off and ajust the height. Too bad that car drove like a pig, it was fast though!

The Lambo in the video sounds awsome!

[RM '92 SPG]

Doesn't the new Civic have the digi-cluster as well?

I went to school with a guy who had an old Chrysler Daytona, and he thought his digital speedo was the coolest thing ever made!

Apparently the digi-dash can be annoying when crusing at speeds like 100km/h, etc as is flashes back to 99, 100, 99, 100, and so forth. I don't believe it was overly well accepted when it was in it's earlier days.

[wtfwill]

my parents just purchased a 20008 honda cr-v and it has a neat fuel gauge/engine temp in a digital read out. it almost looks like a windows loading bar. it also has a digital gauge for the MPG, which was really cool. it updates in real time.

[KSpark]

I went to the Seattle Auto Show today and there was a rather high number of digital gauges...ovlov's S80 had some, as did the aforementioned Civic, and the new S550 completely lacked traditional gauges.

[Jeremy R.]

A friend of mine had a late '80s Chevy Astro with the digital gauge cluster recently. That thing was just hideous, like an old video game display. Analog gauges are so much cleaner and classier looking, like a watch with hands vs. a digital watch.

[SpectreBlofeld]

Gauges displayed in virtual are only as effective if they replicate an analog display. Looking at numbers changing is far less intuitive than a needle moving when most of your attention is affixed to the road in front of you.

I think a cool idea for a digital enhancement would be some sort of tachometer lighting that would get redder as you get closer to your redline - something positioned so you could see without having to look directly at your instruments. Most of us, however, probably shift based on the sound of the engine, the feel of acceleration, or simple memory instead of looking at the tachometer.

[ShadowWorks]

Originally Posted by SpectreBlofeld

Gauges displayed in virtual are only as effective if they replicate an analog display. Looking at numbers changing is far less intuitive than a needle moving when most of your attention is affixed to the road in front of you.

Exactly

Originally Posted by SpectreBlofeld

tachometer lighting that would get redder as you get closer to your redline - something positioned so you could see without having to look directly at your instruments.

That would have to be brighter is in intensity but its a great idea that some equipment uses.

[unkleG'sif]

Originally Posted by wtfwill

my parents just purchased a 20008 honda cr-v .....

i know they are fairly advanced machines, but when did honda release a Time Machine? Has it got a Flux Capacitor?

G

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by SpectreBlofeld

Gauges displayed in virtual are only as effective if they replicate an analog display. Looking at numbers changing is far less intuitive than a needle moving when most of your attention is affixed to the road in front of you.

*ding*

To read dials, the human eye needs to move from road to dash, refocus, read, process, back to road, refocus. To actually _read_ and process a number compared to a needle position is much slower and more "processor intensive".

It's something that was demonstrated to me very clearly a few years back - I had a Golf GTi as a company car. It went back, and was replaced by a VR6. On the way home, I was mightily unimpressed with it - it felt SLOOOOW. Then I realised that the numbers on the dial were far closer together than the GTi - so a similar needle position was actually <ahem> quicker than I was presuming. My eyes/brain had just been scanning the position - very quick - and doing the rest of the work internally whilst my attention went back to the road.

I think a cool idea for a digital enhancement would be some sort of tachometer lighting that would get redder as you get closer to your redline - something positioned so you could see without having to look directly at your instruments.

Nothing new there. Back in the 70s & 80s, Citroen used rotating drum speedos & tachos - and the tachos were marked exactly as you suggest. Kinda like a c900 having the green ECON segment on the tacho. The digital tacho in the current C4 flashes the background red at the redline, too. Bloody distracting...

[Cojoroh]

i realize digital gauges are nothing new, which is why i'm posing my original question...why aren't they being put to use now? personally, i don't like digital numerical gauges since i find the changing numbers quite annoying, but why not a digital analog looking gauge? i'm willing to bet they could make it cheaper AND more accurate than a moving needle powered by twisting cables and gears. sorry, but in my book, form always follows function...especially when it's cheaper and manufacturers are in the red. i bet engineers could also develop a more effective interface to determine speed and RPM given a big LCD to play with.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by Cojoroh

i realize digital gauges are nothing new, which is why i'm posing my original question...why aren't they being put to use now?

They are. Widely. Many, many new vehicles use them still. Gawd knows why, though, because they're still rubbish. The human brain hasn't changed.

personally, i don't like digital numerical gauges since i find the changing numbers quite annoying, but why not a digital analog looking gauge?

Reliability. Ease of reading. Speed of reaction.

i'm willing to bet they could make it cheaper AND more accurate than a moving needle powered by twisting cables and gears.

Speedos haven't been driven by cables for 20yrs or so. They're all driven electronically by a speed sensor on the 'box sending a series of pulses to an electric motor in the speedo, which rotates the needle.

i bet engineers could also develop a more effective interface to determine speed and RPM given a big LCD to play with.

Because, of course, LCD displays are utterly reliable and bullet-proof over the years... <cough>SID</cough>

[boon94]

I think theres somthing classy about a nicely designed traditional guage, kind of like how chrono watches are classier than digital ones.

[Desolation Angel]

Originally Posted by Jeremy R.

...Analog gauges are so much cleaner and classier looking, like a watch with hands vs. a digital watch.

This is the key. It's the difference between an indiglo Timex and a Rolex.

[TROLLhattenschatten]

The Aero X uses digital gauges...nobody has said anyhting about them

[3rd stone from the sun]

Originally Posted by TROLLhattenschatten

The Aero X uses digital gauges...nobody has said anyhting about them

That is true, only the Aero X will not make it to production.
Still, I have a feeling that in a few years from now the majority of cars out there will feature nothing but digital gauges.

[DanF.]

Regardless of what gauge you use, if you know your engine, then there is no reason not to use your ears and the hairs on the back of your neck to let you know when you're approaching redline.

[Aaron Gilbert]

Originally Posted by RM '92 SPG

Doesn't the new Civic have the digi-cluster as well?
...

Yes, and it's HUGE! You can read it from the next lane. A cop wouldn't even need radar if he were driving behind a speeding Civic. They could just take a picture of the dash.

Originally Posted by SpectreBlofeld

...Most of us, however, probably shift based on the sound of the engine, the feel of acceleration, or simple memory instead of looking at the tachometer.

Of course in the USA, about 99% of new vehicles have an automatic, so the tachometer is quite extraneous where shifting is involved.

[Si|ver Bu||et]

most modern sport bikes have digital speedo and regular tach. I dont mind this. Kawasaki tried both digital for a couple years (just like the S2000) but I guess it didnt work.


Also, im not sure which car it was, but when the engine is cold the redline comes down alot, and as it warms up it slowly increases.

S2000: http://autos.augusta.com/images/revi...0604_3_400.jpg
zx6r:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/121704side2.jpg

[SpectreBlofeld]

I don't see a problem with digital screens that display analog info, e.g. a 'virtual' speedo with high-res representation of the needle gauges. In fact, what'd be really wicked is an OLED screen that is jet-black when off (or when the night panel button is pushed), and glows in bright multicolor when lit. It could be highly customizable - for instance, if I prefer my tachometer on the right,, I could put it there - and the gas gauge could be hidden completely until fuel is low at which point it appears, etc.