Am I The Only Person Who Likes The Elgin Dash?

[NSTG8R]

Imagine trying to read this at 60 mph on a rough road. We've learned a lot in the past 100 years, let's put the technology to use.

Ooohh! I do like the looks of the lower gauge set!

 

[Eliosio]

No. I believe Paul likes it also.

Lol. I think this is where his ego gets in the way of sound marketing advise. Sorta like Ford and naming a car after his son, Edsel. lol.

 

[outsydthebox]

...and now, back to the topic at hand. Well, it's been a while but I didn't want to start a new thread.

Lots of people have been complaining about the Lord Elgin dash. Understandably. Either you like it or don't. Either it's going to kill you or it won't. I propose something here. I know we aren't officially connected to Elio Motors but we CAN facilitate change.

I propose a truce. Instead of Coss making a complete swappable gauge set or others "putting up" with something they don't like, why don't one of you enterprising Photoshop guys out there design a replacement for the Lord Elgin that is more functional but retains design cues from the Lord Elgin watch?

I'm thinking something that retains the "look" of the twin boobs but has a needle sweeping across the entire thing with numbers printed on the stainless steel or engraved in it or something. You could leave the gas gauge in place and the needle would just sweep over it. You could add a couple of other similar gauges to each and just let the needle sweep in front of them. Same goes with the idiot lights. You'd save space and could probably clean it up. It would make the needle crowd more happy AND allow Paul to keep his tribute. It probably isn't too late to make a change as they probably haven't started making a bunch of them yet.

I don't think you realize what a "can-of-worms" this proposal "could" open up. Everyone will have ideas, but very few will have the engineering "skills" to design something that is even "do-able". I know that I don't.
Even "if" after months of banter and changes, you all could narrow the choices down to 2 or 3, there will be some people who won't be satisfied with the choices and will start "lobbying" to get things changed...kind of like right now. But instead of the "Elgin" it will be the "TY Dash" or the "Coss" .
Maybe I'm wrong. So I'll just sit back and observe.

 

[Ian442]

Ty's Twin Boob dash edition would sell really well.

 

[Ocean9000]

Ooohh! I do like the looks of the lower gauge set!

I like the look of the lower dash as well, but the tach (the most critical information should be centered) covers the upper end of the speedometer and the engine hours window is kinda small. Also more than four additional gauges are needed, what with vacuum/boost, coolant temp, oil temp, trans/differential temp, cabin temp, date temp, oil pressure, fuel, amps, volts, SPL and blinker fluid level to name a few critical items, one can see that four is not sufficient.

 

[Coss]

I like the look of the lower dash as well, but the tach (the most critical information should be centered) covers the upper end of the speedometer and the engine hours window is kinda small. Also more than four additional gauges are needed, what with vacuum/boost, coolant temp, oil temp, trans/differential temp, cabin temp, date temp, oil pressure, fuel, amps, volts, SPL and blinker fluid level to name a few critical items, one can see that four is not sufficient.

On a piece of paper, or light cardboard/chipboard cut out a rectangle that measures 4" X 9" round the sides slightly (the 4" sides) but you can't go outside of the 9" wide; So sort of like this (______) [matching line on top]
Now just for a comparison, take that out to your current vehicle and put it where the existing instrument cluster is.
That is all the space there is to work with on the Elgin dash.
Then go back in the house and "borrow" a few items that are round in different diameters; those will be your "gauges" and see what size and how many you can fit into that 4" X 9" gauge area you cut out. That's the area you have to work in and make sure it's readable from a glance.

The ones that design a dash, are working in just that much space; once you have that figured out, start thinking about the wiring and sensors.

Can you squeeze a little more space out of the dash area? Maybe, but I kind of doubt it; go back and look at the E1A or the P5 build when they show pictures of the dash before it was put in the car.

 

[jabilello]

I would prefer an electronic dash, at least as an option.. LCD display that is modifiable for dial location, size, and digital or analog display..

 

[Anderson Howard]

On a piece of paper, or light cardboard/chipboard cut out a rectangle that measures 4" X 9" round the sides slightly (the 4" sides) but you can't go outside of the 9" wide; So sort of like this (______) [matching line on top]
Now just for a comparison, take that out to your current vehicle and put it where the existing instrument cluster is.
That is all the space there is to work with on the Elgin dash.
Then go back in the house and "borrow" a few items that are round in different diameters; those will be your "gauges" and see what size and how many you can fit into that 4" X 9" gauge area you cut out. That's the area you have to work in and make sure it's readable from a glance.

The ones that design a dash, are working in just that much space; once you have that figured out, start thinking about the wiring and sensors.

Can you squeeze a little more space out of the dash area? Maybe, but I kind of doubt it; go back and look at the E1A or the P5 build when they show pictures of the dash before it was put in the car.

Do what was done on some of the first GTOs, put the gauge in a housing ahead of the windshield mounted in the hood.

 

[Ocean9000]

On a piece of paper, or light cardboard/chipboard cut out a rectangle that measures 4" X 9" round the sides slightly (the 4" sides) but you can't go outside of the 9" wide; So sort of like this (______) [matching line on top]
Now just for a comparison, take that out to your current vehicle and put it where the existing instrument cluster is.
That is all the space there is to work with on the Elgin dash.
Then go back in the house and "borrow" a few items that are round in different diameters; those will be your "gauges" and see what size and how many you can fit into that 4" X 9" gauge area you cut out. That's the area you have to work in and make sure it's readable from a glance.

The ones that design a dash, are working in just that much space; once you have that figured out, start thinking about the wiring and sensors.

Can you squeeze a little more space out of the dash area? Maybe, but I kind of doubt it; go back and look at the E1A or the P5 build when they show pictures of the dash before it was put in the car.

Honestly I thought the inclusion of "date temp" would have been enough to let everyone know I was kidding - but to be absolutely sure I added "blinker fluid level" !!!
I know the available dash area is not much larger than half of a sheet of graph paper. I would love to have aircraft level instrumentation and have it large and legible. But to quote The Duke, "it just ain't gonna happen..." That's why I was poking fun.
I know you have most likely made yourself half crazy designing and redesigning a replacement largely because a few wailed so loudly. Unfortunately, even fewer will understand how truly difficult something like that is unless they have done fabrication, controls and instrumentation in particular.
Personally, I will probably (maybe) find somewhere to mount an Autometer or similar oil pressure gauge and if the steel boobs tach really pi$$es me off that much, I will bolt a 5" Sun tach with programmable shift light onto the A pillar.
I don't know - I might like the steel boobs, I really don't know - no one here has driven an Elio so no one knows --- I do know I am looking forward to driving mine!

 

[Coss]

Honestly I thought the inclusion of "date temp" would have been enough to let everyone know I was kidding - but to be absolutely sure I added "blinker fluid level" !!!
I know the available dash area is not much larger than half of a sheet of graph paper. I would love to have aircraft level instrumentation and have it large and legible. But to quote The Duke, "it just ain't gonna happen..." That's why I was poking fun.
I know you have most likely made yourself half crazy designing and redesigning a replacement largely because a few wailed so loudly. Unfortunately, even fewer will understand how truly difficult something like that is unless they have done fabrication, controls and instrumentation in particular.
Personally, I will probably (maybe) find somewhere to mount an Autometer or similar oil pressure gauge and if the steel boobs tach really pi$$es me off that much, I will bolt a 5" Sun tach with programmable shift light onto the A pillar.
I don't know - I might like the steel boobs, I really don't know - no one here has driven an Elio so no one knows --- I do know I am looking forward to driving mine!

You put a 5" tach on a pillar, you won't won't see out that side of the windshield.
And I knew you were kidding earlier than the Blinker Fluid Level when you had Engine hours near the beginning of the list.
The "spiel" I gave you on the workable area was a copy and paste from something I typed out a couple of months ago.
Makes "soapboxing" that much faster.