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Digital to analog instrument cluster?

Strokerswild

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Last weekend I made a pilgrimage of sorts to investigate a GT500 lurking in a showroom, primarily to get a first-hand account on the Recaro seats, not to mention finally actually lay eyes on one. Long story short, it was a beauty in FPB with white stripes, but as suspected the Recaros are a no-go due to my linebacker-ish build. I think I'd die trying to drive it any distance.

Anyway, to get back on track, I got to fire it up and behold the wonder that is the digital instrument cluster, the first Mustang I've physically seen it operate in. It's cool and all the first time, but I wonder. Might I be the only person that doesn't really care for it? The car made an impression for sure (the want to order is real), but several times on the way home I kept thinking about what it would take to potentially swap to an analog cluster. The other angle for me beyond the gimmickry is long term reliability.

What say you? I know there are guys swapping lesser cars from analog to digital. I'm wondering if it's just as easy to go the other way. I'm sure I'd get used to the video game IP, but this dinosaur likes gauges with needles.

I wish there were more interior trim options too other than the sea of black, but that's another topic altogether (and there's Katzkin).....
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Jmeo

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I absolutely love the digital dash. I can appreciate the old school look of the analog setup, but I could never go back now. The digital dash is amazing, and lets you customize what you are looking at.

I have a feeling that you will change your mind very quickly about it once you have it.
 

Ronp

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If given a choice I would opt for the analog guages. However, I can’t wait to check out the digital display when my car is built/delivered.
 

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JCDriller

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I absolutely love the digital dash. I can appreciate the old school look of the analog setup, but I could never go back now. The digital dash is amazing, and lets you customize what you are looking at.

I have a feeling that you will change your mind very quickly about it once you have it.
I agree. It’s so much more useful than analog would be. To maintain the ability to change ride, exhaust, steering, HUD, etc. it will still have to have a small screen between analog needles, so what’s the point? It wouldn’t be purely analog anyway.

Im guessing most people who feel this way, haven’t received their cars yet and will love it once they spend some real time with it.
 

cmxPPL219

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Not shopping for a GT500, but I can relate and agree with @Jmeo - once you've had it, it's real hard to go back.
I had the benefit of having a 2017 GTPP1 prior to going to my 19 GTPP2 which has the digital dash, so I can speak from both perspectives.

A few important factors I think that make or break the digital gauge cluster is:
-Speed of graphics
-Graphics quality
-Simplicity

The digital gauges in these Mustangs strike a good balance with all the above, also keeping in mind they were on the road back in late 2017 with MY18 models. (As time goes on, we're now seeing more processing power, better graphics, etc., in other OEMs and their digital gauge options)

Looking close at the tiny screen of the analog gauge version cars, it has such a dated feel, you can see lack of anti-aliasing (jagged edges) on the screen fonts, and the gauges themselves sometimes look real down-market, compared to the digital.

I am a less-is-more, simplicity guy, and hate electronics in cars and I was surprised at how I came around with this dash.

There are downsides though:
-We don't know what the LCD "ghosting" effect will be like after many years of use
-Will there be dead pixels?
-Also, sometimes, the screen can black-out at times, but it will come right back up. (reported by multiple Owners here and there; early gauges on early MY18 cars had a recall; Again, electronics will always be buggy to some extent)

I say you can go 2 ways: go with what you feel comfortable with and enjoy that, or, you can step outside your comfort zone and you might be pleasantly surprised.

I'm looking to get a GT350 sometime in the future, and now, looking back at the fact that we have the amazing GT500, the 350 to me exists as just more a purist and simplistic, raw experience, and I have no qualms with the digital gauges not being available in that car. I would be nice as an option, but it doesn't take away from the experience of that car overall, given the kind of mission the car achieves.
 
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Grey03

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The analog gauges are the only reason I didn't buy a GT350.. Might as well get a rotary phone while you're at it.. Once you get used to the digital dash you will never want to go back..
 
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Strokerswild

Strokerswild

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There are downsides though:
-We don't know what the LCD "ghosting" effect will be like after many years of use
-Will there be dead pixels?
-Also, sometimes, the screen can black-out at times, but it will come right back up. (reported by multiple Owners here and there; early gauges on early MY18 cars had a recall; Again, electronics will always be buggy to some extent)
And these are concerns. I'd likely keep this car indefinitely, so I wonder how these displays will fare 5+ years down the road. Not to mention availability and expense when/if one shits the bed (assuming rock solid reliability of the analog counterpart). One would think that an analog swap could be made with FORSCAN and all though....

I'm sure I'd get used to it like some are saying. Honestly though, I wish the digital cluster was an option. I'd order radio delete as well as I'm that sort. Less electronics and more simplicity is my mantra, but we're forced into it by package.
 

IndyRN

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Make sure you get a premium cluster if you do swap it out. There are ones that won't work with mycolor.
 

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cmxPPL219

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And these are concerns. I'd likely keep this car indefinitely, so I wonder how these displays will fare 5+ years down the road. Not to mention availability and expense when/if one shits the bed (assuming rock solid reliability of the analog counterpart). One would think that an analog swap could be made with FORSCAN and all though....

I'm sure I'd get used to it like some are saying. Honestly though, I wish the digital cluster was an option. I'd order radio delete as well as I'm that sort. Less electronics is my mantra, but we're forced into it by package.
Right, and time will tell. However, if we look at infotainment displays on cars, whether Sync3 in these cars or other OEMs, there are virtually no reports of dead pixels or ghosting, so assuming that these digital gauges use similar technology, there probably isn't much concern from that POV.

The blacking-out is a little disconcerting, but folks who've experienced it (including me), it's exceedingly rare, has happened half a handful of times each, and does come back up. Like, you'll be driving along, the whole screen goes black, then after like 3 seconds, it comes back up. So not a big deal, but it's surprising when it does happen.
 

kilobravo

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Might as well chime in, it's too cold to go anywhere or do anything. :cool:

First, I'm all for "digital" but I would have designed the 500 cluster to meet MY desires, not everyone else's. <chuckling> JK'ing...

Truthfully, even with decent vision, I have a difficult time concentrating on the center three-gauge group. Personally, I would be happy with a colored tape and digital readout for speed so space could be gleaned by reducing that footprint. Like most, I want the tach large and still prefer the traditional display rather than the horizontal.

Resolution is another thing on my wishlist. If you haven't seen some of the new Benz's displays, have a looksee..they're downright gorgeous and much higher resolution. Beemers, too.

But, I don't think anyone has to worry about the displays "ghosting," that kinda went out with plasma and CRT's.

Now, whether the electronics will hold up for the life of the vehicle, that's anyone's guess, but I'd bet those who live above the MD Line probably fair better than those of us south of it, simply due to average temperatures. Heck, we used to have to plug an air cart into the aircraft in the summer because the avionics would have fried. Automobile electronics aren't even that robust.

In the big scheme of things though, I'll bet that digital generates less Service visits than analog.

Stay warm, folks.
 
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Strokerswild

Strokerswild

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For those of us WAY north of the MD line, electronics reliability in such a car is probably fantastic, as the car sits for 4-5 months due to winter....
 

Snakecollector

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No way in hell I'd go back to an analog. Interestingly, the digital instrument cluster system was developed by a Finnish software company Rightware. Makes it even more special to me since I was born in Finland.
 

NC252

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The analog gauges are the only reason I didn't buy a GT350.. Might as well get a rotary phone while you're at it.. Once you get used to the digital dash you will never want to go back..
Same for me. I couldn't get over the fact that the car cost more than a GT and the GT had the cool digital gauges, rev, match, my color and etc. I'm a tech geek though so I can't help it when I see cool dashes. :rockon:
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