Elio Gauge Cluster - Lord Elgin? - Other Options?

[JEBar]

I contacted Dakota Digital, they said they are not involved with Elio or the design/build of the Elgin dash.

interesting.... according to EM's web page :

What does Dakkota Lighting supply to Elio Motors?

Dakkota Lighting will partner with Elio motors to supply all of our interior molded panels and assemblies, IP Module and Cluster, Head Liner, Front Head Light and Rear Tail Light Assemblies.

given, it doesn't specifically mention the dash

Jim

 

[Truett Collins]

At least the vintage watch had adequate markings -- not like 20 minutes apart. Unlike the Elgin Dash. and it's still kitsch.

All this whining/crying over something, when you have not even seen the final product........

 

[ternion]

If you don't like the design that is fine but please stop the nonsense about the gauges being unsafe and/or difficult to use as if this were the case the gauge experts at Dakkota would not produce them as this would expose them to potential liability. Keep in mind that Dakkota has no emotional attachments to the Lord Elgin watch at all and they are experts at gauge design and know what works and what does not much better than anyone commenting on here does.

"Unsafe" and "difficult to use" must be looked at relatively as it relates to this purpose; and I haven't claimed the Elgin was either of those. Moreover, I would not go so far to actually classify the Elgin gauges as "unsafe" or even "difficult to read", but I'd argue for a long while that for the current driving population, even if for a limited time, the current Elgin dash is less safe and certainly more difficult to read whilst driving than the needle dashes that ~99% of drivers are adapted to.

 

[interloper07]

Thanks for letting us know. You are a brave man! :-) Z

Big +1 on he civil discussions here. We may not always agree but things stay respectful and/or the moderators are very very good at what they do

Fully agree on the civil discussion here. I really didn't worry too much about saying I was wrong. I didn't have to.

 

[goofyone]

too many years of pushing big rigs from coast to coast and border to border have taught me to pay close attention to my vehicles gauges .... I don't own but one vehicle with idiot lights and it was my Mom's 2000 Buick Park Avenue .... I set the cruse control by RPM's, not by speed .... our Chevy truck has an M setting on the gear selector that allows me to manually shift the trucks 6-speed automatic transmission .... I select the appropriate towing gear by RPM's required to maintain the MPH I wish to run .... I do believe that poor gauges can cause problems and know from personal experience that guessing at one's MPH can bring on a blue light special .... for folks who don't want to use gauges, that's fine with me, I really couldn't care much less .... but to me accurate gauges play an important part in operating the vehicles I drive

Jim, I understand your opinion and am not trying to pick on you but you really did not answer the question of how would the Elgin gauges be inaccurate? Aso, How would they prevent you from doing any of the actions you stated?

Keep in mind that what we have seen is a prototype and in the final vehicle the numbering scheme will not be any different than any other similar vehicle. We have now had it confirmed that the speedo as shown is in KPH which will change to standard MPH numbering before production so in the final model you will see the normal 5 MPH increments. The tach is numbered every 1K with ticks at 500 RPM intervals which is also a standard way of doing it in cars.

 

[goofyone]

I contacted Dakota Digital, they said they are not involved with Elio or the design/build of the Elgin dash.

I am sure Dakkota does not make it a habbit of revealing their business relationships with random people who contact them unless they have permission and good reason to do so.

Not only has this been confirmed by Jerome Vassallo but it is even on the EM website even if it is not obvious.

interesting.... according to EM's web page :

What does Dakkota Lighting supply to Elio Motors?

Dakkota Lighting will partner with Elio motors to supply all of our interior molded panels and assemblies, IP Module and Cluster, Head Liner, Front Head Light and Rear Tail Light Assemblies.

given, it doesn't specifically mention the dash

Jim

It is not very clear because they use automotive industry lingo however In this context 'IP Module and Cluster" = Instrument panel and gauge cluster

The orginial picture of the prototype Elgin gauge cluster was actually included way back in Tech Talk V5 - http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=671ea870d4&e

The photo has a very telling name:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/24b371802c83d81776b06aa68/images/Dakkota_Cluster_2_cropped_TT.jpg

 

[JEBar]

Jim, I understand your opinion and am not trying to pick on you but you really did not answer the question of how would the Elgin gauges be inaccurate? Aso, How would they prevent you from doing any of the actions you stated?

Keep in mind that what we have seen is a prototype and in the final vehicle the numbering scheme will not be any different than any other similar vehicle. We have now had it confirmed that the speedo as shown is in KPH which will change to standard MPH numbering before production so in the final model you will see the normal 5 MPH increments. The tach is numbered every 1K with ticks at 500 RPM intervals which is also a standard way of doing it in cars.

the interstate speed I set the cruise for my vehicles is the point where I get the best mileage : Sportchassis 1700 rpm .... Chevy truck 1650 rpm .... Trailblazer 1800 rpm .... you are correct that I spent a good bit of time looking at the Elgin demo dash and unless they make some pretty big changes, you can get in the ball park but not much closer .... I like to know the engine temp in real time, not alerted by an idiot light just before or just after we have a problem .... same with the transmission temp .... same with the electrical charging system .... and so on .... I can't tell you if it will meet your needs/wants ... if it does great, go for it, I'm happy for you .... you can't tell me if it will meet my needs/wants and until I see the final version, I can't tell either .... if the digital display can handle some other sensor readings, that might make a difference .... Jerome asked me to withhold final judgement until I saw the final version, that he was pretty sure I'd like it .... I took him at his word and put money down .... the reality is, like it or not, it will come with an Elgin dash .... how long it will remain in my vehicle is open to question .... as things stand now and this is subject to change with seeing the end product installed, I find it to be the only feature on the vehicle that takes away from what is an exceptional looking trike

Jim

 

[JEBar]

The photo has a very telling name:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/24b371802c83d81776b06aa68/images/Dakkota_Cluster_2_cropped_TT.jpg

the above link didn't work for me .... to me its a good thing that it will be made by Dakkota Digital because they should know exactly how to replace it with one of their other dashes

Jim

 

[goofyone]

the interstate speed I set the cruise for my vehicles is the point where I get the best mileage : Sportchassis 1700 rpm .... Chevy truck 1650 rpm .... Trailblazer 1800 rpm .... you are correct that I spent a good bit of time looking at the Elgin demo dash and unless they make some pretty big changes, you can get in the ball park but not much closer .... I like to know the engine temp in real time, not alerted by an idiot light just before or just after we have a problem .... same with the transmission temp .... same with the electrical charging system .... and so on .... I can't tell you if it will meet your needs/wants ... if it does great, go for it, I'm happy for you .... you can't tell me if it will meet my needs/wants and until I see the final version, I can't tell either .... if the digital display can handle some other sensor readings, that might make a difference .... Jerome asked me to withhold final judgement until I saw the final version, that he was pretty sure I'd like it .... I took him at his word and put money down .... the reality is, like it or not, it will come with an Elgin dash .... how long it will remain in my vehicle is open to question .... as things stand now and this is subject to change with seeing the end product installed, I find it to be the only feature on the vehicle that takes away from what is an exceptional looking trike

Jim

I hope you realize that your concerns, as stated, are not really focused on the Elgin gauges at all but the rest of the dash.

In their dash design EM has included the least amount of gauges they could get away with which are speedo, tach, and fuel. Everything else is available via idiot lights and/or the central multi-function display. This would likely be EM's choice even if the speedo and tach were more conventional as idiot lights are less expensive than gauges. Unfortunately you were likely destined for disappointment anyway.

 

[Ty]

I am sure Dakkota does not make it a habbit of revealing their business relationships with random people who contact them unless they have permission and good reason to do so.

Not only has this been confirmed by Jerome Vassallo but it is even on the EM website even if it is not obvious.



It is not very clear because they use automotive industry lingo however In this context 'IP Module and Cluster" = Instrument panel and gauge cluster

The orginial picture of the prototype Elgin gauge cluster was actually included way back in Tech Talk V5 - http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=671ea870d4&e

The photo has a very telling name:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/24b371802c83d81776b06aa68/images/Dakkota_Cluster_2_cropped_TT.jpg

Any idea what that far left idiot light is? "Incoming Sherman tank"?