Elio Gauge Cluster - Lord Elgin? - Other Options?

[msmith5150]

I hope to god they go with the Elgin design, I will fill my pool with the tears of the haters and swim in those tears with my rubber ducky!!

of course, I'd have to actually get a pool...

 

[msmith5150]

I believe goofyone is correct.

I guess I'm an odd ball because I like the uniqueness of the elgin but I think any dash, elgin, digital, or analog would work. I personally tend to like analog displays best but I've driven and ridden with digital gauges and they work fine as well.

There have been many discussions about how dangerous and unreadable the elgin dash will be. I am a mid-50s guy that has been wearing bifocals for a few decades and am turning the lights brighter to try to see better so I understand some of the concerns about older eyes and not seeing as well. Everybody is unique but from my personal experience, I believe the concerns about the elgin dash being dangerous may be a bit exaggerated.

Another concern about reading the elgin seems to be how quickly the numbers can be read. As I think about it, I really am only concerned with about a 1/2 dozen posted speed limit numbers. I know what they are and when I look to my dash I can very easily see if I am at that number. For example, for a posted 55 mph if I see a 5 in the 10's spot I'm probably good. If I don't well then I probably already know from motor noises and things flying by if I'm going too fast or too slow. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you are spending a lot of time looking at the speedometer you probably aren't taking in the other information around you or perhaps you are just spending too much time paying attention to your gauges.

A LOT exaggerated!

I have gone into great length over on the Facebook EMOA page in the many discussions over the Elgin dash idea, I don't have it in me to do it all again here.

But I will say we have not even seen an actual working example of the dash, just a crappy rendering. I believe people jumped on the hate wagon way too prematurely.

All the hate spurns from a fear of something a little different. The perceived thought that this something different will be a hindrance, when in actuality anyone with any decent amount of time driving cars under their belt would get used to within 50 miles of driving.

 

[wizard of ahs]

I asked this question at the Columbus show. I was told it will be a DIGITAL dash, but they are not sure it will be the Elgin

I personally, like analog

 

[Craig]

I asked this question at the Columbus show. I was told it will be a DIGITAL dash, but they are not sure it will be the Elgin

I personally, like analog

I too was in Columbus. The rep I talked to said it was still up in the air do to all the negative feed back.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

I too was in Columbus. The rep I talked to said it was still up in the air do to all the negative feed back.

yay

 

[Snick]

I'm curious how the Elgin will be pulled off...in my opinion, it could end up quite well if executed well or disastrous if not. I do like the option of plugging in my smartphone or tablet with a Torque-like application. Would love to have integrated and customizable dash that knows the OBD data.

Keeping my mind open on Elgin...

 

[carzes]

I think I have the perfect dashboard setup in my less than humble opinion. They could put a 10 inch android tablet in the dash for probably less than the cost of actual instruments and then every owner can choose exactly which look they prefer, and if they don't like any of them they can make their own. Want retro gages from a '56 'Vette, no problem. A Lamborghini cluster? No problem. The dash from a formula racer, Sure. Dashboard of the future? Just download the app. Could be interfaced to the ECM to give any engine specs you could want, and GPS nav would already be built in, as well as all the hardware, (minus a long cable), for the backup cam. Bluetooth hands-free, voice control, you name it! ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, and certainly cheaper than separate hardware for all that stuff. And if anything goes wrong with it, pull it out and stick a new one in.

 

[Lil4X]

I kinda like the idea of a tablet-based instrument panel. With no need for a great deal of memory or processing power, phone link, or storage, you could get away with a pretty cheap solution. The only requirement would be a bright, legible, self-dimming display. As an option a tablet with a GPS receiver, sufficient storage and speed to handle ephemeris data would be handy. A quick look at Amazon shows such could be had for $200 - $250 or less. If you don't mind a no-name brand, they're even cheaper (caveat emptor here).

As an OEM dash, EM could probably get a far better rate than retail - even pre-load it with a selection of instrument, diagnostic and GPS apps. When shifted into reverse, a large segment of the screen could be the display for your rear view camera. It would be a good idea to put your music, Pandora, I<3Radio, and other apps most of us have on our phones - to avoid the distraction of poking at your instrument panel while underway.

It deserves a look - at least as an option.

 

[bowers baldwin]

I think I have the perfect dashboard setup in my less than humble opinion. They could put a 10 inch android tablet in the dash for probably less than the cost of actual instruments and then every owner can choose exactly which look they prefer, and if they don't like any of them they can make their own. Want retro gages from a '56 'Vette, no problem. A Lamborghini cluster? No problem. The dash from a formula racer, Sure. Dashboard of the future? Just download the app. Could be interfaced to the ECM to give any engine specs you could want, and GPS nav would already be built in, as well as all the hardware, (minus a long cable), for the backup cam. Bluetooth hands-free, voice control, you name it! ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, and certainly cheaper than separate hardware for all that stuff. And if anything goes wrong with it, pull it out and stick a new one in.

I am not sure how a tablet would hold up under automotive conditions, I know my car can reach 150+ and -20 during a normal year, plus the temptation of having an easily stealable item in a car might not be the best of ideas.

 

[imageon]

What ever they come up with is fine with me, digital now days is probably the cheapest and most reliable.
MK