Don't scrap that diesel car just yet!!

just add a bit of hysteresis

So to get to 30mph uyou have to do 30.5mph, but to get down to 29mph you have to do 29.5....

(I assume there's a "not" missing there?)

We prefer the digital speedo on my wife's car, also, but you can't have both a digital speedo and a clock, which annoys us. My car has analogue and digital clock and speedo both. But no oil pressure or temperature dial (or dipstick. Grrrrr.)

Well, it must do, since the instantaneous speed is zero. :o)

What's wrong with it? can be turned off by OBD-II

Jesus. [Shakes head in wonderment] No wonder you voted for Brexit.

There was

check if it has a 'driving school' mode buried in the menus, that allows me to display a 3rd speedo on the radio display, but I prefer the station information.

I get a temperature dial, which I don't think is a stepper (nor is the fuel gauge) digital dipstick here too, and I presume a red icon buried somewhere on the dash.

Naah. I've spent a long time looking, and spoken to the dealer. Can't be done. I stuck a cheapo digital clock to the dash. :o(

And mine is a visual widget on an LCD screen.

Not so sure. A stepper motor - unless extremely sophisticated - would be seen to 'step' Like chronometric types. Neither speedos or rev counters on cars are generally very accurate, so well within the capabilities of a conventional meter. It would also be trivial to make those sweep up to maximum at switch on as a self check if needed.

Not saying some ain't stepper motors - or look like one - which would also be easy to frig.

If it is a decent climate control system, no need to adjust it? Apart from to say defrost on first start on a cold day?

And sliders ain't the best way to set the temperature on climate control. Toggling a display to the required temperature is best. Which is probably why I've only seen slide controls on older basic heaters.

Mine has both an analogue speedo and a digital display. And a clock display at all times. Or rather two, as there is a second one on the ICE display.

I prefer analogue gauges for speedo and rev counter. I drove a car with a large speedo display on top of the dashboard roughly centrally (left to right). It was very distracting whenever the digits changed. Analogue needles (physical or on a LCD) are less obtrusive.

How about if you feet are cold or you want cold air to your face? Would you want to go through touch screen options for those. That?s the level of stupidity that some manufacturers have achieved.

Tim

Well yes and no. Having climate control means you dont need to adjust it

- it's just OK as is.

You do understand that it is just establishing its start position.. it drives the stepper for long enough to hit the end stop and then backs off by the number of steps to get to the start point. Lots of stuff does the same, for example the moving vents on air conditioners.

The problem with analogue meters is that they cost more. They cost more because they need to be made robust and damped so they don't bounce about when the car does.

This business of dialling up a temperature is no good. If I feel cold, I want hot air. Later, when I've warmed up, cooler air is OK.

The cabin temp is not relevant; what is important is the temp of the air being injected into the cabin. That is what old-fashioned heater systems gave you. Trying to make things look modern and cool gives you things that sound good, but are actually no good.

No. But sliders aren't ideal either. Discrete buttons are better.

I really don't believe you could make a hi-res stepper motor for less than a moving coil meter.

Hmm, sliders are pretty intuitive though and don?t need concentration to move in the way that hitting a small button does.

Now I?ll not deny full climate control is a wonderful thing but some manufacturers seem to have let school leavers with a love of ?gee-whizzery? design their controls to the detriment of driving safety.

Tim