We all have seen the pictures of the gauges glowing in a nice blue... and the center console display (radio and climate control readout) glowing in a nice red. Obviously, one or the other will have to change colour so they both match for the production model.
The Mazda6's gauges glow red, so I think it will be a good possibility that the instrument cluster for the RX-8 will be all red too. Here is the Mazda6 gauges:

http://www.canadianautoreview.com/mazda6-gfxgauges-800.JPG

Note that this isn't a great picture. I think in real life they gauges are more red than the yellowish orange shown above.
Anyway, what do you guys and gals think?

I kinda prefer the blue instrument lighting. My Passat has that cool violet/blue cluster along with red/orange center stack controls. Looks fine.

Blue looks cool, but I find it extremely hard to focus on during nighttime driving. For some reason, my eyes just cannot focus on the numbers. I can read them, but they are always fuzzy. A friend has a cell phone with the blue lighted keypad, I can't focus on that either, but the second the blue lights go off, I can focus just fine.

My exGF has a beetle and yeah, it is cool, but I find it hardest to read clearly out of red and green. My Acura RSX is the first car I've owned with red dials, and they are money. Look sharp (okay, not as cool as blue), but I can read them very easily.

Isn't there some thing about red doesn't cause night blindness? I was watching We Were Soldiers and noticed all the lights at the base are red. I asked a good friend why that is, and he said that red is least harsh on your eyes and doesn't cause night blindness, which I guess is that time between after you leave a lighted area and when your eyes get adjusted.

Anyone care to add to this?

I'm stealing this from the Mazda6 (Atenza) forum:

The blue is very cool looking. There is a reason for the orange/red spectrum for night lighting though. Light toward the blue end of the spectrum can negatively affect your night vision. That's why airplane cockpit illumination is almost universally red. That's also why there's some debate about the benefits of HID lighting for cars. We intuitively assume that lighting that's closer to the characteristics of daylight would be better, but our night vision and our day vision are very different. Those with HID setups may notice that the area within the beam looks great, but they are not able to see objects outside of the beam nearly as well as with halogens (which are brightest in the yellow spectrum). Our eyes are biased toward the red spectrum due to the nature of how light travels. That's why red cars are so eye-catching, and also why many sirens are both red and blue. The eye will see the red first, but blue travels further.

Originally posted by Jerome81
Blue looks cool, but I find it extremely hard to focus on during nighttime driving. For some reason, my eyes just cannot focus on the numbers.?

Human eye's are optimised to focus on the red/green end of the spectrum.. blue displays may look cool, but MOST people can't focus on them... There's not too many blue's in nature!!!

Ever tried to focus on blue christmas tree lights?? Same principle..

blue ur 1 smart mother

I wish it was white and amber. White along the tic marks, and amber for the redline, the numbers, etc. The needle needs to be different color though; it's hard to see with the bright color of the gauges.

I like red, the bmw's my parents have had red lights and its actually really comfortable at night. Green is fine too, blue looks great, but if what your saying about blue affecting night vision is true, then i prefer the red. I do most of my driving at night, being that im nocturnal.

Originally posted by Jerome81
Blue looks cool, but I find it extremely hard to focus on during nighttime driving. For some reason, my eyes just cannot focus on the numbers. I can read them, but they are always fuzzy. A friend has a cell phone with the blue lighted keypad, I can't focus on that either, but the second the blue lights go off, I can focus just fine.

My exGF has a beetle and yeah, it is cool, but I find it hardest to read clearly out of red and green. My Acura RSX is the first car I've owned with red dials, and they are money. Look sharp (okay, not as cool as blue), but I can read them very easily.

Isn't there some thing about red doesn't cause night blindness? I was watching We Were Soldiers and noticed all the lights at the base are red. I asked a good friend why that is, and he said that red is least harsh on your eyes and doesn't cause night blindness, which I guess is that time between after you leave a lighted area and when your eyes get adjusted.

Anyone care to add to this?

I believe that the colors in the spectrum, ROY G. BIV as I remember it (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) are in order from lowest frequency of light to highest. Red, because of it's frequency is easier on the eyes than any of the other colors. That is why the military uses red flood lights in their submarines for example. My mother's BMW 528it has two low voltage orange lights over the front console that go on when the headlights go on. They allow the driver or passenger to read directions or what not without their eyes being greatly affected. I think the blue looks cooler, but functionally, red or orange is the way to go.

It's an RX..just like the 7, it should stay orange

the rx7 1996+ if im not mistaken has green and red color gauges... not just red... ;) dats also nice

forgot the attachment... =)

Originally posted by Cihuuy
forgot the attachment... =)

Whoa... don't think that stereo came standard! :D

I also agree.. red/orange or green.. I don't like the blue that's in the new VW's.. Hard on the eyes.

Oh man i hope for red and orange. Red and green is too christmishishy :D

that looks almost exactly like the rx7 gauges

Originally posted by twifosp
that looks almost exactly like the rx7 gauges
I think they might look more like this:
http://bilder.autobild.de/bilder/1/23378.jpg :D

Originally posted by Jerome81

Isn't there some thing about red doesn't cause night blindness? I was watching We Were Soldiers and noticed all the lights at the base are red. I asked a good friend why that is, and he said that red is least harsh on your eyes and doesn't cause night blindness, which I guess is that time between after you leave a lighted area and when your eyes get adjusted.

Anyone care to add to this?


Here's the real deal. It has to do with the type of cells in your retina: rods and cones. Rods are responsible for black and white vision, cones are for color. Rods have a lower light threshold than cones so they mainly operate in low light conditions (at night). That's why you don't see color in the dark.

When the light gets bright enough for color, the rods are overwhelmed and essentially turn off. That is why it takes a minute or two to see in the dark when the lights go out.....the rods are essentially recharging. The exception to this is red. The light wavelength of red (which is low) doesn't activate the rods, therefore your night vision is preserved.

Hope that answers your question....

Isnt it with Green as well? All nightvision is usually green isnt it?

yes, and all of the lighting in the aircaft I fly in use green lighting, because we use NVGs most of the time. low-intensity green light is the only thing that won't jack up the nods.

Originally posted by Hercules

I think they might look more like this:
http://bilder.autobild.de/bilder/1/23378.jpg :D
hey, is that pic of the right hand drive dash? the windsheild wiper wand is on the right instead of the left!:confused:

Originally posted by said7
Isnt it with Green as well? All nightvision is usually green isnt it?

Technically, green light still activates rods but the low intensity of the light doesn't blast them out of the water like daylight. As for aircraft, many of them use red cockpit lights at night.

Originally posted by zoom44

hey, is that pic of the right hand drive dash? the windsheild wiper wand is on the right instead of the left!:confused:

Seems to be left hand drive... look you can see the A pillar.

oops.. missed that.i hope the wand really isn't on that side, i'm so use to it being on the left. oh well for this car i will make do :D

every Toyota i've ever been in has controls for the turn signals and wipers IDENTICAL to that.

Originally posted by wakeech
every Toyota i've ever been in has controls for the turn signals and wipers IDENTICAL to that.

The same goes for my 1990 Probe and 2000 Passat

on the right of the steering column? ive never had or driven a car that had them on the right of the column, except maybe this taurus that i rented once but i dont think so. the signal/wiper wand ha salways been on the left for me.

The wiper is located on the right side of my Millenia and my Maxima too...

I think it will be tough luck on this one :)

your telling me that you have to take your hand off the shifter to signal instead of just hitting the wand with the fingers of your left hand? and you all don't think this is wrong?:confused:

Looks like the turn signal is on the left. :)

well i guess i can still get the car then as long as the turn signal wand is on the left, thanks for talking me down, i was about to go buy a differant car :D ;) what i meant though is that i usually see the wiper controls integrated onto the signal wand on the left. everything in one wand, instead of one on each side. i'm fine now though really, gotta get some rest though i seem to be a bit thickheaded and iritable.

Originally posted by zoom44
your telling me that you have to take your hand off the shifter to signal instead of just hitting the wand with the fingers of your left hand? and you all don't think this is wrong?:confused:
Makes perfect sense to me.. you use your blinkers more and thus you should use your open and free hand (on steering), so if making a right, you position your hand under the clicker and hit it as you're turning, same for left turn... wiper goes on and stays on so it's not that big a deal.

Originally posted by zoom44
your telling me that you have to take your hand off the shifter to signal instead of just hitting the wand with the fingers of your left hand? and you all don't think this is wrong?:confused:

Shouldn't be a problem, since both hands are on the wheel in between shifts, anyway. You just have to signal before downshifting, or in between shifts :)