The needle being straight up is very satisfying, you can tell even at a quick glance if everything is as it should be
16 Likes
acceleration works in both directions, though. Rapidly changing digits can show the absolute magnitude of change, but not whether it’s increasing or decreasing
1 Like
Not an issue. I’m pretty sure that KITT’s speed is always increasing whenever the camera is pointed at the speedometer.
11 Likes
In the days of dial gauges, it used to be standard practice in race cars to rotate the gauges so all needles would point straight up when everything was operating nominally. Always looked odd when parked, of course.
13 Likes
It seems perfectly reasonable for a SmartCar to be going 160 for a bit following a tap from something 10x as massive. I mean, if there’s anything more than a taillight at 4’ at the rear. It’s a shortbow powered by surreptitious rider cigarillos and GorillaGlass 6 flex recovery.
6 Likes
And avoid needles(s) worry?
4 Likes
I loved the speedometer of our old Citroën CX2000 Pallas: it was an analog+digital design, the numbers were printed on a cylinder that turned behind a lensed window in the dashboard, same for the RPM meter.
That car not having any acceleration worth mentioning, it was perfectly fine.
The dashboard, the single beam steering wheel and lack of control levers gave it a futuristic look.
7 Likes
My Maserati does 185 …
11 Likes
Do race cars have speedometers? Wouldn’t they be distracting?
The whole point of most auto racing is going as fast as your tires can handle, and how fast your tires can handle can be a well-known value. Getting as close to that value as possible is a lot easier if you know your actual speed, since perception isn’t as reliable as instrumentation.
3 Likes
So NHTSA issued a rule in 1979 that speedometers should not indicate speeds over 85 mph.
And that inspired Ford to deliver a swift lesson in the difference between the letter of the law vs the SPIRIT of the law with this gem:
Photo by Jason Torchinsky, originally published here.
19 Likes
I mean, aside from the outlier idiots who treat the speedo like a high score they need to break, this seems like a non-issue to me. the “needles up is normal” makes sense. but I do think there should be more regulation of automobiles. too many people die in them and it’s mostly preventable.
but it’ll never happen. people are really attached to their cars and there’s no political will. any politician calling for, say, automatic ticketing for breaking the speed limit, which is technologically possible now, would never be able to pass it and nobody would ever vote for them again.
OTOH if you’re on the left lane of the interstate and you’re out of the city/it’s not rush hour/traffic-y and you aren’t being reckless and you’re letting people in so they can pass others – go nuts! that’s when you should be allowed to speed. I’m more concerned about residential and high traffic areas and road rage.
5 Likes
Once I had to visit a telescope to babysit a generator after the previous run had blown out the UPS input circuits due to the wrong line frequency. The root cause was that the generator has a tachometer that reads 0-3000 RPM, and the engine repair guy set the engine speed to 1500 RPM, at the center of the gauge. This of course makes 50 Hz electricity not 60 Hz.
My repair job was to put a Sharpie mark on the tach at 1800 RPM to show that it’s the normal operating speed of the engine.
16 Likes
For a good while I read guns instead of cars…
1 Like
…until tomorrow
1 Like
100 %
for that matter this is the speedometer of a Corolla FFS
“needle up” is 75 miles an hour, pretty close to the highest safe speed that car should be operated.
If were to take their assertion at face value, “needle up” would be 50 and the top would be 100.
4 Likes
It depends what kind of race, but finishing is more important than the top speed so, for most racers, the most important instrument is the rev counter. Followed by oil pressure and temperature.
3 Likes
250KPH is about 155MPH which is close enough to a max speed of 160 so that’s about the same. It’s a nice design with the way the arms working range is mostly in the opposite part of the dial to the other. At road legal speed limits the arm is not going to get out of the bottom quarter of the dial so that’s shifted 90 degrees from the “standard” design.
3 Likes
How’s the limo ride?
1 Like
Something like the German system then? 20 to 30KPH in the city and unlimited on the autobahn when the road does not have too many curves and traffic is low? Germany has less deaths than the US when looking at deaths per distance traveled and a lot less when comparing per 100k population. So it has to be something about the driver training, cars/roads or people/culture? Driver training is far better than in the US plus they are not allowed to drive until 18. Biggest difference is the people/culture.
4 Likes
