davesaunders300

It took a little getting used to but now I like it a lot. Particularly, as someone else said, when using the cruise control. You can adjust to the traffic flow but just hitting the increase or decrease button a couple of times.

moRotorMotor

I like it a lot. My friend drives an S2000 and whenever he drives my 8, he tells me the numbers are too small. His readout is huge and you can probably read it without looking down, but he can't see it when he drives my car. Oh well.

Loaded8

I like it much batter than the old fashioned kind... :D

Velocity-8

Didn't like it at first but now I like it. It's neat to look down and see 141mph.

SikRedRX-8

I LOVE IT. Wouldn't want it any other way.

rotarymagic

I too, love it. I wish the digital was in every car.

NomisR

I love the digital speedo, it's great to scare people with by changing it to km/h w/o people knowing and show them, look, i'm going 150mph!

6mm

Yes, you are the only one.

RotorManiac

The best thing is that is well hidden!
Passanger cannot see the real number, so you can always lie about how fast you're going :D (car is very stable)!
Example? My mama freaks out at high speeds! I tell her: we are doing 110km/h while its more than 140-150km/h So she's cool 'cause she can't prove me wrong :D!

NomisR, if only the imports in my country had that lovely button! I'd do the opposite from you: go 160km/h and say,look, its only 100km/h!!

poolsidenaz

Totally love it! At first I kept looking at the danged RPMs but I wouldn't trade the digital for nuthin now. I agree with what someone said above - it's nearly transparent and is very easy to read when I do need to look at it.

red_rx8_red_int

I also love it. And I'm glad it's 3 digits. Don't laugh, my 86 camaro topped out at 85, and pegged out at 95 is my estimate.

MyRxBad

iTrader: (1)

I hate the digital speedo when I wish to keep a steady speed (not using the cruise). It's a PITA (with this car anyways) because when you are in last gear on the highway, the rpm doesn't have to change much for the speed to change. Therefore it's harder to notice a 10km difference with your peripheral. It takes to much time to look at and then decipher the speed. Give me an analog speedo anyday because it's easier to see the sweep of the needle (out of your peripheral) then figure out numbers looking at the speedo directly.

Nubo

I rate the digital speedo as "useable", nothing more. A numeric display is a poor choice for presenting this type of information. An analog gauge presents more information (especially rate of change) and requires less attention and a less direct glance to get the info.

As to the purported benefit of the digital display's "accuracy" -- this is false. An analog gauge can easily give accuracy to within less than 1 mile per hour, which is better than the digital display and more importantly, better than the accuracy of the information provided by the vehicle which is typically off by more than 1mph anyway.

Human perception deals more easily with analog information for this. For a task like keeping to a desired speed the analog gauge is superior. One is less interested in the fact that they are travelling at 63 miles per hour than the fact that they want to be travelling at 65 mph. It takes very little attention to see that the needle is off the mark. A slight power adjustment is made and one can readily see what the closure rate is and the power can be smoothly adjusted as the needle regains the desired mark. Again, this is all done at an almost subconcious level. With a digital display all you know is you're gong 63, you increase power. You see: 63.....63.....63....63.... Much more difficult to gauge your adjustment. 63....64....64....64..... Keep watching..... what a pain in the ***. You can see rate of change in the tach, but it's rate of change in rpms. Yes, you can extrapolate speed from that, but that's a second-order interpretation and flies in the face of claims that the digital speedo is "easier".

Rate of change, though, is where the digital display really blows. You can get the info from how fast the numbers are changing but again, that is a second-order or maybe even a third-order nterpretation and requires a heck of a lot more attention than seeing the analog needle sweep from the corner of your eye.

I'd speculate that race cars DO NOT have numeric speedos (unless in addition to analog) but I'd be interesed if anyone has information to the contrary.

WankelNY

... what Nubo said. Very concisely written. I think it's a shame. The speedo and the torque issue are the 2 reasons I haven't bought one yet.

Yeah, if you're loafing around and are concerned mainly with being a few ticks over the speed limit, or want to do a designed experiment on how your cruise control reacts to crosswinds, then digital is for you!

But during spirited driving, it's not the speed that gives analog instrumentation its advantage, but the higher-order feedback of rate of change of speed (or lack of it). Also, as was mentioned before, the speed at which your brain can process the needle position on the backdrop of the instrument's entire scale makes it much simpler a tool.

Another reason is when I'm engine braking, I unconsciously use the needle position to let me know what gear I can drop to and not bury the tach. With digital, I need to process the information one step further and actually think about the relationship of RPM to speed to gear.

Moostafa29

I've wanted a digital speedometer since I was a little kid. Doesn't anyone remember the one Kit had in Knight Rider??? Oh man that was sweet, brings back memories...

6speed8

You're not serious are you? The Digital speedo is the ONLY way to go, but it does take a bit getting used to. Using the speedo to downshift is ludicrous and not buying a car BECAUSE of it's speedo is the lamest excuse I have ever heard.

Drive an RX-8, buy one if you like it, don't buy it if you don't, but please don't make up lame excuses.

Len

And yet, I find the tach+speedo in the RX-8 easier to read than the analog dials in my old Prelude. Probably because the speedo is within the tach dial so there's less looking around. And I find the numbers plenty big - far bigger than the ones on an analog speedo.

Nubo

I think the big numbers are why so many folks claim to like the digital speedo. It gives less information but it gives it with such AUTHORITY. Ah well, in most real-world situations it's better to keep your head outside the cockpit anyway, so not too big of a deal.

sferrett

I would have thought true race cars would not have a speedo at all? Never had one so I don't know though...

I like the digital display also - rate of change I infer from the tach, which is habit since on my other cars the tach is the big center gauge and the speedo is off to the right, so I got used to the tach being the primary gauge and the speedo a secondary one for trying to figure out if I was gonna get a ticket or not...

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

true racecars have only that one big fat tachometer right in front of the driver's face, along with a whole bunch of buttons and gauges that monitor the operating condition (water temperature, oil pressure, etc) of the vehicle.

now that i think of it, i don't think i've ever seen a speedometer in a racecar (at least not prominently displayed for easy reading by the driver)

flatso

I guess if your really **** about keeping a certain speed "maybe" a analog speedo is better. I don't find it distracting at all. As for me I look at a speed limit sign that says 35mph and I am going 42 all is well in my world, very easy to calculate in my head with a digital. By the way as has been discussed before the speedometer is 2 mph slower then actual speed.

Nubo you just wrote a thesis on speedometers, and for you I feel bad that they don't offer the choice. I think you analyze too much myself. And if the digital is keeping you from buying the car that's your loss, because your missing so much more on a great car.

Trx8

The RX-8 speedo was hard "to find" at first, but now that I am trained, its very easy to use, especially with cruise control. I had a loaner Taurus a while back, and I found its analog speedo to be bothersome.

Psylence

No race vehicle has a speedo. It just gets in the way. On my racebikes, I'd unbolt the speedo, then you tape over the tachometer only leaving the powerband of the vehicle uncovered. If you knew how fast you were going, you'd be scared.

I'm not buying all your points about the analog gauge, although some do make sense. If you are **** about keeping a certian speed, then digital IS better, because you'd hit 65 and put on the cruise control. You'd know you were exactly at 65 too. The only way analog is more "accurate" is because technically it can show tiny gradiations between miles per hour.. but come on, you can't honestly expect to tell that minute of a difference on an analog car speedo! At a glance, the digital is easier...

I'll concede the rate of acceleration point tho.. that is undeniably true. Watching the rate at which the digital speedo skips numbers is a poor substitute for watching an analog sweep.

Green Thunder18

I LOVE the digital speedo, but what I especially love is the combination of the digital speedo with the large analog rpm meter. It's the best of both worlds. :D I had a digital speedo in my 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix years ago and loved it. This is my first car since that has had it.
Also, as many have said the passenger can't see it. Drives my wife absolutely nuts! She kept craning her neck last night trying to see how fast I was going, and muddling "I hate that damn speedometer"! LOL!

f1michel

I do exactly that here, go at 160 and switch it to mph and it reads 100 !!! love it