digital speedo and gear number

[jbailer]

I'm not talking about distracting or obvious to the driver, you don't see the unit at all. I meant when you see the car from the outside, it's like, "what's that"? For the driver, all you really see is the screen. He definitely didn't get his driving skills from me. He's not a comfortable driver and doesn't even like looking down to see his speed and can't judge it well. I drove his car and really like the display. It really looks like it's being projected out near the end of the hood or something. You never feel like you are looking at a little screen, it's just there.

If it's "very obvious", then it's at least somewhat distracting by definition.

You'll still see (most of) what's out past the display but any attention paid to the (virtual) HUD comes out of attention you should be paying to what's out there in the real world around you.


I will say that I glance at the gear number display in my wife's Subie - mostly because that car has a 6-speed transmission and every other car I've owned recently only had 5-speed gearboxes.


Norm

Sponsored

 

[Norm Peterson]

It really looks like it's being projected out near the end of the hood or something. You never feel like you are looking at a little screen, it's just there.

I understand what you're trying to describe. To me, it's still "visual clutter" that I'd much rather not have to deal with most of the time.


On a side note, I wonder if the availability of HUD and active cruise control is going to actively get in the way of people acquiring any internal awareness of the speeds they're driving at . . .


Norm

 

[jbailer]

I understand what you're trying to describe. To me, it's still "visual clutter" that I'd much rather not have to deal with most of the time.


On a side note, I wonder if the availability of HUD and active cruise control is going to actively get in the way of people acquiring any internal awareness of the speeds they're driving at . . .


Norm

LOL Norm, you race so I know you're not looking down near the end of your hood. The display is available without having to refocus inside the car is the point but it's not in the middle of your view. For my son who isn't the best driver, it makes it very easy for him to see the speed. For me, I drove his car at night and was on a back road I wasn't familiar with. The display was great to see the curves ahead.

 

[awmustang]

If it's "very obvious", then it's at least somewhat distracting by definition.

You'll still see (most of) what's out past the display but any attention paid to the (virtual) HUD comes out of attention you should be paying to what's out there in the real world around you.


I will say that I glance at the gear number display in my wife's Subie - mostly because that car has a 6-speed transmission and every other car I've owned recently only had 5-speed gearboxes.


Norm

The whole point of a HUD is that it appears to your eyes as if the information is floating out there in the real world so you can pay attention to both very easily. Your eyes don't have to re-focus distance, to near, back to distance. It's all seen at a distance.

 

[Norm Peterson]

The whole point of a HUD is that it appears to your eyes as if the information is floating out there in the real world so you can pay attention to both very easily. Your eyes don't have to re-focus distance, to near, back to distance. It's all seen at a distance.

I get all that.

But you shouldn't feel that you have to monitor speed, rpms, what gear is being used, etc., that closely in real time. I sure don't, and it's been working out quite well for several decades to just occasionally glance at some gauge or other when circumstances either dictate or at least reasonably permit.

I will give you that the idea of getting a couple of the more important displays up out of the dashboard instrument panel is a good one (it's why my '08 has an A-pillar-mounted speed and coolant temperature display), but I strongly disagree about having to have it front and center all the time where you can't avoid seeing it unless you turn it completely off.


Norm

 

[rubyinla]

I get all that.

But you shouldn't feel that you have to monitor speed, rpms, what gear is being used, etc., that closely in real time. I sure don't, and it's been working out quite well for several decades to just occasionally glance at some gauge or other when circumstances either dictate or at least reasonably permit.

I will give you that the idea of getting a couple of the more important displays up out of the dashboard instrument panel is a good one (it's why my '08 has an A-pillar-mounted speed and coolant temperature display), but I strongly disagree about having to have it front and center all the time where you can't avoid seeing it unless you turn it completely off.


Norm

Check the video of the roads we drive - post 25: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62973&page=2
Here's are the roads we drive: http://tinyurl.com/gqrvvby
I want a HUD!

Don't know about your neck-of-the-woods, but on our roads I would love to have the RPM and selected gear glowing on the windshield. Out corners can come fast and sharp.

And if a HUD wasn't a good idea we wouldn't have them in our jets, civilian and military. Just another data point to consider.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Check the video of the roads we drive - post 25: http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62973&page=2
Here's are the roads we drive: http://tinyurl.com/gqrvvby
I want a HUD!

Don't know about your neck-of-the-woods, but on our roads I would love to have the RPM and selected gear glowing on the windshield. Out corners can come fast and sharp.

Nice roads. Nothing close to here like that, gotta get up into the Poconos . . . or out on the track.

But why would you want a barely-readable RPM or MPH display staring you in the face when driving that road with rpms and speed rapidly rising and falling because you're in the lower gears and your braking is moderately aggressive or harder?

Doesn't your ear tell you enough about what's going on? Can't you feel a little of what your tires are telling you before they simply let go? Would you be afraid to drive that road at comparable speeds with no RPM or MPH display at all? If so, why?

And if a HUD wasn't a good idea we wouldn't have them in our jets, civilian and military. Just another data point to consider.

Truth be told, I'm sure the aerospace connection has a lot to do with why this seems to be such a gotta-have for so many people. Image, pure and simple.

Up there at (say) 10,000 feet, if you're within two or three seconds of any large, solid object anywhere generally in front of you (and closing in on it fast), things like airspeed and trim might be the least of your concerns. On the street, you're rarely any further away from potential trouble than that (and can only maneuver in 2D rather than 3D). IOW, the situations are nowhere near comparable.


I keep agreeing with idea of getting some of the more important instrumentation up above the dash top level where it can be more easily seen, but people aren't catching onto the idea of placing it off to the side, or the notion that you needn't be continually pestered with an ever-changing speed display. All they're seeing is "anti-HUD", and up go the defenses.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

So what about a HUD that you'd call up using a steering wheel button, that persists for a few seconds and then disappears again?


Norm

 

[ann grear]

Re digital speedo readout I quote an email from fomoco usa 13 june 2016 As a rule Ford motor company does not recommend changes to our products only changes that have been thoroughly tested and approved by ford engineering should be considered. In this case ford part numbers will be issued and parts made available for purchase through our dealers. yours sincerely marigold customer relations centre I asked fomoco Australia they are not interested and will not follow up even though I sent them a copy of the email . Not good customer relations please follow up in the usa

 

[rubyinla]

Nice roads. Nothing close to here like that, gotta get up into the Poconos . . . or out on the track.

But why would you want a barely-readable RPM or MPH display staring you in the face when driving that road with rpms and speed rapidly rising and falling because you're in the lower gears and your braking is moderately aggressive or harder?

Doesn't your ear tell you enough about what's going on? Can't you feel a little of what your tires are telling you before they simply let go? Would you be afraid to drive that road at comparable speeds with no RPM or MPH display at all? If so, why?



Truth be told, I'm sure the aerospace connection has a lot to do with why this seems to be such a gotta-have for so many people. Image, pure and simple.

Up there at (say) 10,000 feet, if you're within two or three seconds of any large, solid object anywhere generally in front of you (and closing in on it fast), things like airspeed and trim might be the least of your concerns. On the street, you're rarely any further away from potential trouble than that (and can only maneuver in 2D rather than 3D). IOW, the situations are nowhere near comparable.


I keep agreeing with idea of getting some of the more important instrumentation up above the dash top level where it can be more easily seen, but people aren't catching onto the idea of placing it off to the side, or the notion that you needn't be continually pestered with an ever-changing speed display. All they're seeing is "anti-HUD", and up go the defenses.


Norm

In previous cars I always had a 5 or 6 speed stick, and by simply laying a hand on it you knew what gear you where in. Not so, in the heat of battle, so to speak, with an automatic and paddle shifters. When I am making a hard right hand 270* turn on a mountain road I'm not looking inside. It's too easy to end up in the wrong gear by mistake with the paddle shifter. And that brings on the wrong RPM which I don't have time to look inside the car. I don't care about the speed, I can feel that, but not the RPM with the windows rolled up and stock exhaust. Watch some of our videos on those roads. The next corner comes up quickly and you always are looking for oncoming traffic and loose rocks in the roads. You have to keep your focus outside, and viewing through a HUD is a perfect way to do it if it's designed correctly.

Maybe this will help drive home why I would like a HUD. It's a drive we did last December: [ame]

Obviously, I don't recommend driving around with a candy cane on the dashboard unless it's Christmas

I experienced a HUD in a 2002 Corvette in my past. It was not at all bright enough for day time driving. But, a HUD that is bright enough would be what I'm after. The gauges on the window A post still bring your vision back into the car and off the road, unlike the HUD.

For what it's worth, we never really used the HUD's in the corporate jets while cruising. They where always used when we where doing instrument approaches close to the ground. You wanted to keep your eyes out of the cockpit for the runway and still have airspeed and altitude awareness from the HUD.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll end up with one in the next 20 years as a standard feature and all this will be moot point :shrug:

 

[Norm Peterson]

In previous cars I always had a 5 or 6 speed stick, and by simply laying a hand on it you knew what gear you where in. Not so, in the heat of battle, so to speak, with an automatic and paddle shifters. When I am making a hard right hand 270* turn on a mountain road I'm not looking inside. It's too easy to end up in the wrong gear by mistake with the paddle shifter.

Are you suggesting that it's easy to tap the downshift paddle too may times without realizing what you just did - and that the AT still allows it? Do you suppose the same thing might occur if you had a + / - shifter gate instead?

My Mustang and her Subaru both still have their 100% stock exhaust systems and I still use my ears to let me know if the revs are about right for the situation or if I need to be in some different gear. Even when I'm not wearing my hearing aids it's pretty easy to tell. I can't imagine driving and not having this sort of awareness.

Truth be told, I almost never look at the tach in any car that I might be driving. Not even on the track.

The next corner comes up quickly and you always are looking for oncoming traffic and loose rocks in the roads. You have to keep your focus outside, and viewing through a HUD is a perfect way to do it if it's designed correctly.

Exactly my point about distraction. When your focus needs to be 100% on the road and its condition, you shouldn't be consciously dealing with RPM worries - or subconsciously making yourself ignore the display. You may not know which gear an 8 or 10 speed AT is in, but you ought to at least have some feel for whether whatever gear you've got it in is somewhere near the right one.

Maybe this will help drive home why I would like a HUD. It's a drive we did last December:

Nice, probably a really fun stretch of road for dropping it in 3rd and leaving it there, maybe down to 2nd for the tighter corners. I still say that having an RPM display in front of me for that would be a case of T.M.I. and detract from the enjoyment.

The gauges on the window A post still bring your vision back into the car and off the road, unlike the HUD.

Yes, slightly. But what it displays, or can display is information that can wait for the mental load to lighten up for a moment. More like the way you treat the rear view mirror, perhaps.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll end up with one in the next 20 years as a standard feature and all this will be moot point :shrug:

I hope I'm still around and driving 20 years from now, when TMI will still be TMI (if not even more so when age 90 is staring me in the face instead of 70). I'm equally sure I can come up with an unauthorized DIY fix if I have to.


Norm

 

[rubyinla]

Suffice it to say your experiences and mine do not coincide in this area. We do agree on age though.

Sponsored