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O.K. This may be a REALLY STUPID question...........but here goes anyway! :>) I didn't get the tach/clock pods on mine, because I didn't like the looks, and neither did my wife. However, now that I've driven my car for awhile, I 'kinda wish I DID have the tach/clock, especially since I can't even SEE the dash clock without my glasses on, which I don't normally wear while I'm driving. At times I wish I had the tach for reference, which leads me (finally!) to my question. Since the car has an RPM limiter, which keeps it from over-revving, what's the relevant purpose of the tach?? In other words, how are most people using it in their driving? Since you can pretty much tell from the sound how high the revs are, and if you go too far, the limiter will cause the tranny to upshift.....right? So then, what would be the purpose of adding the tach other than just general reference?? I hope this makes sense! :>)
O.K. This may be a REALLY STUPID question...........but here goes anyway! :>) I didn't get the tach/clock pods on mine, because I didn't like the looks, and neither did my wife. However, now that I've driven my car for awhile, I 'kinda wish I DID have the tach/clock, especially since I can't even SEE the dash clock without my glasses on, which I don't normally wear while I'm driving. At times I wish I had the tach for reference, which leads me (finally!) to my question. Since the car has an RPM limiter, which keeps it from over-revving, what's the relevant purpose of the tach?? In other words, how are most people using it in their driving? Since you can pretty much tell from the sound how high the revs are, and if you go too far, the limiter will cause the tranny to upshift.....right? So then, what would be the purpose of adding the tach other than just general reference?? I hope this makes sense! :>)
I use it to tell me when to shift for my desired performance/fuel economy choice, to keep shift points smooth in manual mode and either give me a boost or keep economy at its peak without lugging the transmission. Below 2000 RPMs, there's little acceleration power. Above 4,500 RPMs, I'm just wasting gas and am better off upshifting. Sure, I could do that by sound, but I'd have to turn down AC/DC or the Blue Man Group, and they don't like to be quieted down.
I don't think I've ever hit the rev limiter, and never plan to. There's no point except to prove that it's there. I consider above 5000 RPMs risky, but I'm not a serious motorhead, just a novice wannabe.
Last edited by SuperGeek; 07-01-2008 at 10:53 PM..
I use it to tell me when to shift for my desired performance/fuel economy choice, to keep shift points smooth in manual mode and either give me a boost or keep economy at its peak without lugging the transmission. Below 2000 RPMs, there's little acceleration power. Above 4,500 RPMs, I'm just wasting gas and am better off upshifting. Sure, I could do that by sound, but I'd have to turn down AC/DC or the Blue Man Group, and they don't like to be quieted down.
I don't think I've ever hit the rev limiter, and never plan to. There's no point except to prove that it's there. I consider above 5000 RPMs risky, but I'm not a serious motorhead, just a novice wannabe.
All very good points that I hadn't thought about! Thanks! I may have to get them. It looks like installation is a DIY breeze!
The pods are a real good buy, factory installed. Order them, and if you can't live with the look, simply remove them and put them away until resale time.
Since the car has an RPM limiter, which keeps it from over-revving, what's the relevant purpose of the tach?? In other words, how are most people using it in their driving? Since you can pretty much tell from the sound how high the revs are, and if you go too far, the limiter will cause the tranny to upshift.....right? So then, what would be the purpose of adding the tach other than just general reference?? I hope this makes sense! :>)
yes, except if you have the radio up and/or the top down, you may not be able to hear the engine. Since I drive often with the top down, and the radio up it is nice to have the tach to keep an eye on the rpms when I'm manually shifting.
And secondly, if you are in manual mode I don't believe the computer will catch your mistake if you've pegged it out, and upshift for you. (Quite easily done if you're in first gear and forget that you're suppose to be shifting! )
i too use the tachometer to guage revs by sight, because i like my music on the louder side...loud enough to cover the engine sound (about 13-15 on the smartradiovolumeknob). also, being a 40-something musician person, a goodly part of my hearing has gone away forever...so listening for engine rev really only works for me with the radio off and the AC fan set low.
i like the clock, because i like to arrive early...my analog podclock is set 5 minutes ahead of the "realtime" digital clock...it's a stupid trick, but it usually helps to get me there on time. also, i have a certain fondness for analog displays...i'm sort of old-school like that...
i sort of wish i had a third pod...maybe a smaller analog pod that displays engine temp on one side and oil pressure on the opposing side...but, it looks like a scanguage will serve this purpose well enough...
My 2007 Passion has the clock and tach pods & I've never seen a Smart without them. However, I must admit that I can't ever recall looking at them while driving; well, maybe a glance at the clock. We always drive in "A" (I guess that's 'D' in the USA) and seldom have the Grundig radio/CD cranked up. I've only found shifting manually to be an advantage in extremely rugged mountain roads in the Sierra Madre; now, that's fun!
A2Jack.
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