Head up speed display ..... any point ?

[Nigel Worc's]

Hello chaps.

Can anyone see the point in this ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCP7fzrHULw

Silly claim about being the only UK legal approved speedo or whatever, then putting a reflector in an area that would be an MOT fail.

I like technology, but I'll be dammed if I can see any reason people would want this.

[GTiFrank]

I like the look of it, may be useful if your the guy with 9 points.

[Rich_W]

If you can't judge your speed more or less without constantly looking at the speedo, you have bigger problems...

And it you're going for a blat where you need to keep your eyes on the road and probably above the speed limit. Why do you care?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Essential for distracted 'busy Mum' types, thick and vacant 'middle aged man' types, and possibly 'executive on the phone' types.

Pointless for the rest of us, and a gimmick for PH'ers, IMHO

[margerison]

Why doesn't it use GPS to show the speed rather than connecting directly to the cars speedo? Looks crap to me ;-p

[Dave Hedgehog]

margerison said:

Why doesn't it use GPS to show the speed rather than connecting directly to the cars speedo? Looks crap to me ;-p

ask the developer, hes on rs246

http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=94...

[Gixer]

My Z06 come with heads up as standard but right infront of you and its fantastic. Speed, revs, G's if you want and sat Nav directions and audio. I too could never see the point but after having it, it's brilliant

[skeeterm5]

My car has HUD and it is one of the things that I miss the most when driving other cars.

Mine shows rev counter, gear selection, speed and also sat nav if you want, it is flippin brilliant.

S

[anonymous-user]

Yes, these have been standard fitment in Corvette since the last century!

Very effective and very useful. Big digits on screen much easier to keep track of than the standard needle speedometer - remember these cars gain speed VERY fast!

[SpeedView]

Hi all, I am the chap selling these. I tripped over this link in the webserver logs and wanted to clarify one point:

Nigel Worc's said:

Silly claim about being the only UK legal approved speedo or whatever, then putting a reflector in an area that would be an MOT fail.

This is not the case. Additional mirrors or tints (even if they only permit a token amount of light through) are exempt from the "no more than 40 mm into the swept area" restriction on the MOT test. This has been confirmed explicitly by VOSA's PVSM team and is on file at head office, so you won't have any trouble come MOT time where SpeedView is mentioned.

There are also separate Construction and Use Regulations that prohibit obscuring the driver's view of the road ahead to consider. (even if the device passes an MOT it still may not be legal) Provided that the display only obscures the bonnet and parts of the road that you're not looking at unless parking (as shown in the video) then you're ok on that count.

Last but not least you have Type-Approval to adhere to. Strictly speaking, any electronic device that's permanently fitted to a post-1998 vehicle needs to be tested and e-Marked. (C&U Regs, S63) Ordinarily nobody particularly cares and I've never heard of charges pressed for this offence, but because these devices connect to the vehicle speed signal (as often used by or supplied by ABS/ETC systems) I would recommend that the HUD has been tested and e-Marked to state that it isn't going to compromise the electronic systems in the vehicle.

No other aftermarket Head up Display ticks those boxes and offers a warranty and tech support; hence the statement. (the Valeo speed/visio unit made in the same factory as my units is also legal, but retails for substantially more and offers no warranty or tech support)

Nigel Worc's said:

I like technology, but I'll be dammed if I can see any reason people would want this.

Typically the reasons are:

-OEM speedo lies, HUD is calibrated and inexpensive
-Imported vehicle, HUD is again calibrated and inexpensive
-Modified gearing (tyre size/diff ratio/gear ratio) causes factory speedo inaccuracy, HUD is again calibrated and inexpensive
-OEM speedo not visible by driver (My reason for starting the business: 6 foot and MX5)
-OEM speedo not visible by instructor/camera

But do not underestimate the number who:

-Are curious enough to give the HUD a punt at the asking price
-Need to own everything that shines and/or contains LEDs


There are reasons why head up displays in your peripheral vision are superior to the in dash displays outside your peripheral vision. I'm not signed up as an advertiser on PH though so I'm not going to over-stay my welcome with sales spiel. I've tried not to make the answers as generic as possible, but apologies in advance if my post is considered over-stepping the mark.


Cheers,

--
Marko

[Jasandjules]

SpeedView said:

-Need to own everything that shines and/or contains LEDs

Well, I might do...............