Why DIDN'T you get a camaro?

[Norm Peterson]

Hi Norm. I thought we went through this over on the Camaro forums... But as a reminder, you definitely can get rid of the HUD in the Camaro by simply turning it off. There's an intensity adjustment, for example to turn down the intensity at night, but turn it up in bright sunlight. The HUD becomes invisible if you turn down the intensity all the way. Just like it wasn't there. It's a physical knob, so it stays that way until you change it manually.

Probably did. It's not a car-specific matter (for me at least). Turning it way down and lowering the display as far as it can go might be enough; I just have a DIY plan in place if it isn't.

For me, the HUD is indispensable on the track just for F1-style shift lights. Both F1 and IndyCar have the same lights at the top of the steering wheel. On the Camaro, they start to appear around 4500 rpm or so as green dots on either side of the HUD display. The dots converge from both sides to the center of the display, turning yellow, and finally red when you get to 6000 rpm. Redline is 6500, so the red shift lights are a good indicator when to upshift.

Yup. I have the annunciator lights (sometimes on both Aeroforce gauges) set to 100 rpm below the redline indication on the tach for exactly the same reason. It's been good enough so far (and it'd be on me to change the setting if/when it ever stops being enough . . . I can handle that, too).

Norm

 

[wjones14]

Norm

I get that you are a minimalist when it comes to your cars, based on your posts and our past discussions. Is the main reason you are against the HUD because you consider it to be distracting? If so, I'm just curious about the other things in this picture that are also blocking portions of the windshield view. You probably can't do anything about the sticker in the lower left, but I'm guessing that really annoys you? Not sure what the big LED display attached to the top of the dash is, but to be honest, that is blocking more area than the Camaro HUD. And yes, I can predict your answer will be that it's not front and center like the HUD... but on the other hand, it's not transparent like the HUD. Interested in your rationale for what is a distraction and/or blocking your view, versus useful devices/gadgets.

 

[DolomiteGT]

Because they are aesthetically unappealing to me and lack proper outward visibility.

Bro Translation: 'Cause they are Ugly AF, and you can't see for sh*t out the Windows.

 

[shogun32]

I always notice a small raindrop spatter or the translucent remains of a bug suicide if it's anywhere near central vision.

Yo don't ride motorcycles I'm guessing. You learn to do the 500 yard stare and ignore what's on your face shield unless it just so happens to have splatted perfectly in-line with your eyeball and you literally can't see past it.

 

[WD Pro]

This late 60's tech, no HUD, no nannies of any kind, on 60's era tires would kick all your collective mustang/camaro arses

I’ve seen those race at the classic Le Mans ...

WD

 

[Norm Peterson]

I get that you are a minimalist when it comes to your cars, based on your posts and our past discussions. Is the main reason you are against the HUD because you consider it to be distracting? If so, I'm just curious about the other things in this picture that are also blocking portions of the windshield view. You probably can't do anything about the sticker in the lower left, but I'm guessing that really annoys you?

The A-pillar and that adjacent sticker are far enough away from my central vision that they don't attract much attention except when the upshift lights flash (something that doesn't happen in my street driving). It takes a conscious little glance to see anything else it's trying to tell me. I'd be more than fine with an OE display in about the same place.

The things about factory HUD are that I can't look away from them. I will notice changes in the numbers being displayed, and I know that my attention will be drawn back to the HUD way more than it ever should.

Not sure what the big LED display attached to the top of the dash is, but to be honest, that is blocking more area than the Camaro HUD. And yes, I can predict your answer will be that it's not front and center like the HUD... but on the other hand, it's not transparent like the HUD. Interested in your rationale for what is a distraction and/or blocking your view, versus useful devices/gadgets.

It's my Aim Solo datalogging unit, which is only mounted at the track (and for a few miles between the hotel and the track). The little guy is a second Aeroforce Interceptor gauge that also only gets used on the track. I did spend a fair amount of time finding a place close to the car's CG that was as far out of central vision as practical for the Aim. Turns out that only a little of it shows above the hood line, everything is about the same color, and it's not illuminated so it's fairly easy to ignore (I rarely even check lap times until back in paddock where I'll look for the three best lap times).

The picture below is about as close as I can get to a driver's-eye view (it's closer to a right eye view). Normally I'm looking further down track, but I do suspect I tend to run a few inches wide on right turn apexes because of it. Maybe I'll put 'reworking my bent metal mounting bracket so I can locate the unit lower' on my to-do list. And if I do, I'll have you to thank for prompting me to look into it

Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

Yo don't ride motorcycles I'm guessing. You learn to do the 500 yard stare and ignore what's on your face shield unless it just so happens to have splatted perfectly in-line with your eyeball and you literally can't see past it.

Not any more (that was back in the 70's and early 80's). Too long ago to remember much about it any more


Norm

 

[WildHorse]

I’ve seen those race at the classic Le Mans ...

WD

Nitrogen filled chassis.. those in the know know why haha.

 

[Norm Peterson]

I get that you are a minimalist when it comes to your cars, based on your posts and our past discussions.
. . .
Interested in your rationale for what is a distraction and/or blocking your view, versus useful devices/gadgets.

The operative word there is "useful". I've said all along that I think HUD is useful as a concept, just that I also think it would be even better if you had a lot more control over where the display was projected or located.

On the other hand, I don't find cruise control (mentioned earlier in this thread) useful to begin with.


Norm

 

[bluebeastsrt]

was you my color blu.... brown?

Bright pink.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Maybe I'll put 'reworking my bent metal mounting bracket so I can locate the unit lower' on my to-do list.

On second thought, maybe I'll just leave it alone or fab up a different bracket "just because". There's the non-trivial matter of making sure the unit can consistently find enough GPS satellites with a strong enough signal.


Norm

 

[ice445]

Yes, and the LMP1 class from today would lap it like it was standing still.

It would lose, but probably not by laps. The 917 is still absurdly fast even by modern standards. 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, lol. I think most of the changes in racecars over the years have come from aero and tire improvements more than power to weight ratios. I'm sure a modern LMP1 car could take the same corners 20mph faster at least, but if you put the 917 on modern tires it might close the gap a little. The 917 was also capable of hitting almost 230mph as well.

 

[Adamone92]

In today's language, even that's just TMI too much of the time.

Most of the time when I'm driving I don't even want to see instrument readouts. Coolant or oil temperature and speed while the car is warming up. After that, just a once in a great while speed check.

Seriously, if I'm capable of safely picking times to check instrumentation when the driving burden is relatively low at 100+ mph on the track and potentially in 100+ mph traffic within only a couple of car lengths/widths there, being able to do so at no more than 2/3 of those speeds on the street is a complete non-issue.



Maybe it's because I came into driving in whole a different era, with a different outlook on driving. I think you had to learn to trust your senses - not just things of the moment like speed but including a sense of direction and generally where you were relative to where you were going - rather than rely on a display screen to tell you what was going on. I'm not sure I can truly explain it.



If I was in the market for a new car today to replace my '08 GT, a 1SS/1LE would be on a very short list (along with a Mach 1 and nothing else I can think of right away). In which case I'd be planning on covering the lens if I couldn't turn it off completely and installing an Aeroforce gauge on the A-pillar.


Norm

I have ridden motorcycles for the past 12ish years around idiots on the street, and off road before that, i have also ridden them on a track. So i feel my senses are fine lol, i dont NEED the HUD...but we really dont need half the things on our cars nowadays. I still appreciate the HUD and its use for navigation. Its also just a neat feature in general that i appreciate. I immediately loved it. Perhaps we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[ice445]

Keep in mind, this is a 24-hour race. Current record is 37 laps more than Ken Miles in 66'. That's with all the tech, offset by all the increased "driver safety".

That's fair. What are modern cars hitting as far as top speeds? I though they were somewhat limited now but I don't actually know.

 

[shogun32]

That's fair. What are modern cars hitting as far as top speeds? I though they were somewhat limited now but I don't actually know.

short of Daytona or other ovals, or perhaps COTA and Brainerd Donnybrook, top speed doesn't matter because the front straights are way too short.