Why are most digital aftermarket gauges still round?

masraum · 03:08 PM

And why did Porsche leave important gauges out of the boxster?

People are much less likely to bolt a 3 gauge panel to the bottom of their dash these days. Some gauges are coming digital with small color LCD screens. Why are they still round? I guess it's just convention. I'd think that rectangular would be much better and easier for that sort of thing. Shoot, some of them have a small square screen in the middle of a round gauge. That doesn't make sense either.

And on the heels of this rant. Why did my car come with a Tach, digital speedo, analog speedo, coolant temp and fuel gauge? I'd pay for Porsche to swap the analog speedo out for a combo gauge that showed oil temp and pressure and volts.
But thank goodness, I can see the outside temp in one of my little digital information panels at the bottom of a gauge. The center gauge will give me fuel economy, miles to empty, tire pressure and I think one more thing, but I can't remember what.

I'd be game for an OBDII gauge, but the one that I've got and have used in the past is not attractive. I also don't really want my phone stuck to my windshield or hanging out of an AC vent.

sammyg2 · 10-11-2018, 03:12 PM

I liked em when they were straight.

Or square

or half-round:

But iffn they are gonna make em round, they could at least do it with style

seafeye · 10-11-2018, 03:17 PM

Google round digital display. I think Samsung has the largest round digital display. 3” comes to mind. Because the way screens refresh. Having a round screen gobbles up cpu power.
Now why doesn’t porsche have square gauges? I guess their marketing department dictates what we want to a certain extent. I like analog round. I like seeing the needle move. Having an iPad type display with a million functions is sure to be the future. If we are allowed to personally drive that is...

id10t · 10-11-2018, 03:19 PM

Tach, Speed, oil temp, gas gauge, odo x2. Clock for passenger or even a outside thermometer. Dad replaced clock with voltmeter (have the clock and bought a spare too, gonna make a desk clock one day). Not my car pictured - mine is dolphin grey on the inside and rust on the outside.

sammyg2 · 10-11-2018, 03:54 PM

Things were different when I was your age.

stomachmonkey · 10-11-2018, 04:01 PM

Easier to pack in a cluster and still have a wide range between min and max plus you can read several in one glance.

Kinda like asking "why are clocks still round"

Because they are efficient.

Fun fact. Know why analog clocks still exist even on digital devices like smart watches?

Because they give a visual representation of how much time since an event or until an event relative to current time eliminating the need to calculate.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Easier to pack in a cluster and still have a wide range between min and max plus you can read several in one glance.

Kinda like asking "why are clocks still round"

Because they are efficient.

Fun fact. Know why analog clocks still exist even on digital devices like smart watches?

Because they give a visual representation of how much time since an event or until an event relative to current time eliminating the need to calculate.

Yes, and no.

Don't get me wrong. I like my gauges, and I prefer them round. I just want more of them.

What I'm complaining about is that I'd like to stick an aftermarket display in near my gauge cluster, and for something like volts and oil temp, I just need a small rectangle to give me 2 numbers. Something round would take up too much space.

This is the kind of thing that I'm seeing in big numbers. I'd rather just have 2 little rectangles with numbers.

sugarwood · sugarwood's Garage

Even the needles are totally ornamental also.
It's not like they are attached to a spinning cable anymore.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 05:24 PM

This is what my first car's dash looked like. I did have a tach on the column and a 3 gauge cluster under the dash. Mine didn't have a center console and was a stick with 4 on the floor.

This or one of the variations is still my all-time favorite dash.

I'd love it if my boxster had this set of gauges instead of what it's got.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 05:34 PM

Or, I'd be tickled pink if I could manage...

Especially when you consider that the place where I have the oil temp, does have display capability, but the only thing that it will display is stereo/radio input if you've got PCM

KNS · 10-11-2018, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Even the needles are totally ornamental also.
It's not like they are attached to a spinning cable anymore.

The automakers have tried many times to offer something other than round gauges with needles (‘84 Corvette or ‘92 Prelude in more recent times). They always fail with the car buying public. Antiquated as they may seem round dials with a sweeping needle are familiar and intuitive for some reason and the manufacturers have learned to leave well enough alone.

pavulon · 10-11-2018, 05:49 PM

I suspect they are circular for reasons similar to the reason analog watches and clocks are circular. Needles can travel a long way/display a large range (or small range with great accuracy) without taking up much space...which lends well to expression of values by glancing at them rather than reading a number or trying to make sense of a level displayed by a bar.

JackDidley · JackDidley's Garage

Yes my Cayman dash sucks too. For years I have been wondering why I have two speedometers and no oil pressure gauge.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KNS

The automakers have tried many times to offer something other than round gauges with needles (‘84 Corvette or ‘92 Prelude in more recent times). They always fail with the car buying public. Antiquated as they may seem round dials with a sweeping needle are familiar and intuitive for some reason and the manufacturers have learned to leave well enough alone.

I think that's changing. I recently spent a week in a new A4. I'd hate to have to pay for a replacement dash if it ever died, but the dash in that thing was fantastic. It was highly customizable either from the controls on the console on in the car that I had, from the controls on the steering wheel.

You could swap out just the portion in the center with a bunch of different info. I'd say at least half a dozen different options from trip meter and fuel economy numbers to other gauge type info to audio to navigation...

Or I believe there were several options where you could swap out the entire dash for a few different types of display.

I think the new Porsches are doing this a little bit. I think the tach is still an analog gauge with the bottom third or so being a digital screen, but I think the gauge to the right of the tach is now a full color display that you can adjust to show various options which is great for a Porsche.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackDidley

Yes my Cayman dash sucks too. For years I have been wondering why I have two speedometers and no oil pressure gauge.

Yeah.

This is a cool option, but I'm not going to do it to my car.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 06:29 PM

2018 718

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Yeah, disappointed with the guages in the Miata. Neither the temp or oil pressure gauge actually display much in the way of useful information, former is overly damped and latter is functionally an idiot light, but without the light. Can be fixed, but will require dash dismantling and extensive MacGyvering. I do dig analogue gauges, video game dash, not so much.

How is it the cheapo VW/Porsche from the 1960's has better gauges than a car from this century with a factory turbo? Early 911 gauges were the cat's ass, but that was the halo car.

AEM makes a boost/AFR gauge that I covet, and there is the OBD plug in doo dad that gives it to you on your phone, but still. It has a great shifter and fits me like a bespoke suit, so I am looking at gauges. Already have the little panel that goes above the radio in the dash, just have not gotten around to it

stomachmonkey · 10-11-2018, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

Yes, and no.

Don't get me wrong. I like my gauges, and I prefer them round. I just want more of them.

What I'm complaining about is that I'd like to stick an aftermarket display in near my gauge cluster, and for something like volts and oil temp, I just need a small rectangle to give me 2 numbers. Something round would take up too much space.

This is the kind of thing that I'm seeing in big numbers. I'd rather just have 2 little rectangles with numbers.

Easy enough to make exactly what you want and cheaper than aftermarket.

Just go hit your local RadioShack and.....wait....nevermind.....carry on.

masraum · 10-11-2018, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

Yeah, disappointed with the guages in the Miata. Neither the temp or oil pressure gauge actually display much in the way of useful information, former is overly damped and latter is functionally an idiot light, but without the light. Can be fixed, but will require dash dismantling and extensive MacGyvering. I do dig analogue gauges, video game dash, not so much.

How is it the cheapo VW/Porsche from the 1960's has better gauges than a car from this century with a factory turbo? Early 911 gauges were the cat's ass, but that was the halo car.

AEM makes a boost/AFR gauge that I covet, and there is the OBD plug in doo dad that gives it to you on your phone, but still. It has a great shifter and fits me like a bespoke suit, so I am looking at gauges. Already have the little panel that goes above the radio in the dash, just have not gotten around to it

I put a boost gauge in the far left AC vent and used a scangauge II on the dash under the other gauges for some other info.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

I want the AEM combo gauge on the little pod atop the steering column.