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Tachometers - are we kidding ourselves?


gwalchmai
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My Miata has a big tach in the middle of the instrument cluster, with a smaller speedometer to the right. I understand that a tach is important in a sports car, but I disagree that it's THAT important. One of the big selling points of the little roadster is how "together" the car and driver are, and IMHO a driver should be able to know when to shift by sound and feel. If I'm driving "spiritedly" I want to be watching the road, not the tach. I'd prefer a centrally located speedometer, scaled in realistic numbers (like up to 120) and a tach where I can see it peripherally, with maybe a red LED that flashes at 90% of redline (maybe).

But the meat of today's whine is why in heaven's name is there a big tach taking up valuable space in the instrument panels of my automatic pickup truck and my wife's little CUV? These vehicles will never be raced, but if they were who would manually shift them? I think that, like ChinaVirus masks, tachometers have become a useless fashion affectation that we accept uncritically. Think for a moment - before the 60s, almost every family sedan had a manual transmission, and tachometers were virtually unheard of. Today almost every new car has a auto, and a totally unnecessary tachometer.

Change my mind. :supergrin:

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This was my business for decades - auto design and product launch.

I learned a few things, the most important of which is, whatever people think they want, we make.

Fuzzy pink tops on convertibles - check

Wood surrounding the outside of your station wagon - check

All cars looking the same and called crossovers now - check (actually we convinced people they wanted this a few years before they knew it, but that's another story)

So why is there a big tach on your car?  Because the people who buy that car want it.  You clearly are not their target market if you are questioning that basic principle.  :P

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15 minutes ago, Peng said:

I learned a few things, the most important of which is, whatever people think they want, we make.

QFT, amigo!

I once worked for an old engineer. We were in a meeting with a client once who asked "Just what exactly do y'all do?" and Tom replied, without a moment's hesitation "Whatever you want us to do, buddy!" :anim_rofl2:

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LOL.

 

My tach and my speedometer are the same size.  I can pull up gauges for oil temp, oil pressure, water temp, transmission fluid temp, rear differential power to each wheel, tire temp, tire pressure, lateral g's. 

For me, the tach on my HUD is pretty important.  If I'm getting into it, it only takes a second or so to have to row through the gears, that flashing christmas tree comes in handy and lets me know before I hit the limiter.

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33 minutes ago, railfancwb said:

And in the meantime, gauges such as temperature, oil pressure, battery situation were replaced by “idiot” lights. 

Can you watch your oil pressure guage 100% of the time your engine is running?

i like having guages too, but idiot lights should acompany them. If I had to choose between the two, I would prefer a light.

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If you look at an ORIGINAL Ford GT40  you will see the speedometer all the way to the passenger side. 

Story is they did not put one in and when they tried to tech the car found out it was a requirement.  Shelby and the Ford engineers said OK and put it where it was out of the drivers eye sight so it would not be a distraction. 

The Tachometer is the only way to race a car. If you have to look at the speedometer you aren't going fast enough.

With that said, the Miata isn't exactly what most would call a "Race:|" car... :anim_rofl2:

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2 hours ago, gwalchmai said:

QFT, amigo!

I once worked for an old engineer. We were in a meeting with a client once who asked "Just what exactly do y'all do?" and Tom replied, without a moment's hesitation "Whatever you want us to do, buddy!" :anim_rofl2:

Former chief engineer at a commercial television station told me getting the owner of local business to appear in his own company’s commercials was great... for the station. 

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I learned to drive in a Honda Civic.  I can't even remember the last time I looked at the tach on that thing.  The only tach I need is the sound of the engine.  I don't get why the new generation of zoomers are so scared of stick shifts. 

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24 minutes ago, crockett said:

..until you drive / ride / track something with a rooted and mapped ECU, modded for a 2k increased RPM and no limiter.

 

 

 

Wow! Thanks. It's been so long since I've been on a bike I probably couldn't even find the gearshift knob.

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3 minutes ago, gwalchmai said:

Wow! Thanks. It's been so long since I've been on a bike I probably couldn't even find the gearshift knob.

 

Most modern liter bikes / race prepped bikes have quick shifters / slipper clutches. Pulling the clutch is optional.

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single digits on a Tach are easier to read and.......Gauge..:eyebrow: at higher speeds or cornering.

and a Tach will tell you your MPH depending on what gear your in and Axle Ratio.

also Tachs move up and down a lot an make it look like your really doing a lot of work and seem to know what your doing.

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