nosubstitutec4s

Hey everybody. This is my first post / thread and i had a question about the 8's navigation system. Being that i am only 16 and dont have a lisence or my 8 yet, i found it bothersome that the passengers in the car cant see the speedometer. I was wondering if there was a way to get a speedo to show up on the nav screen, or if im out of luck. Thanks in advance for any replies.

8_wannabe

Being 16 you might not understand, but for us fogies with the wife in the passenger seat its a real blessing that she can't see the speedo. In fact, I think it's one of the best features of the '8. ;-) But for you youngsters, I realize you look at it different. Besides my wisecracking, sorry I can't answer your question.

nosubstitutec4s

thanks anyway, 8_wannabe. Ive seen you around the forum before and im glad you responded to my post. I've seen the speedo & tach in the nav screen, and to my understanding it is an accessible screen, i just dont know how to get to it. As for the wives, i understand what your saying. When i drive my dads car with my mom in it, i always end up going too fast and getting yelled at. Real pain in the A$$.

willhave8

Here ya go...

nosubstitutec4s

thanks. this is exactly what i was looking for, but what exactly is a back door and where do back door 1, 2, &3 take me? i dont have my car yet, but i will be ordering it soon so i am not sure where these menus will take me.

willhave8

The backdoors in this case are simply hidden menus that unless you go through the TOTALLY non-obvious steps outlined you would likely never get there.

I have no idea how people found these. Either they have way too much time on their hands or they have insight into the repair / development of the nav system. Either way, they are cool to play with and provide a little amusement the for a while.

BTW the nav speedo is not very accurate to read - meaning it is a bar graph with limited increments and at best a rough gauge of speed. The passenger will know you are over the speed limit and by how much +/- 5 MPH.

DUGS_REX

Here's a dumb question... For backdoor 1-3; where/when should I do the joystick twiddling? If I do it from the /systeminfo/version all three backdoor "codes" give me a different menu; but I can't find the "bar graph" speedo that an earler post talked about...

DUGS_REX

By the way; One menu option appears to be some kind of speedometer calibration. You can set how many cm per speedo pulse. Is this just for the Nav system; or does it affect the dash speedo too? At least it appears to be a way to keep the Nav from screwing up if you change tire size. The default is something like .38m/pulse. Also, how com the altitude display doesnt work in the GPS info screen? That would be good info to have when driving through the mountains...

blksf8

willhave8,

is there anyway to show the speedo and rpms on the nav in a format that looks like round gauges w/ a needle? I could have sworn I have seen this before on maybe one of the japanese sites. I couldn't find this using your backdoor codes. thanks

flyboyindy

no, what you saw was a photoshop'ed mock up of what we all want =) What I really would love is to have an ad on media center like the one that is being talked about. That type of thing would have been really kick *** to have as a dealer option!

SmithtownMazda

OMG YES!!! I wish I could have taken my road test in one...lol

randyrx8

A comment to your question about GPS speed vs speedometer in the file.

I dont have the Nav option but carry a GPS with me and It reads exactly 2% slower than the Speedometer. 1 MPH at 50 and 2 MPH at 100. Set the cruise and ran for a while to test. My concern was that we are actually getting 2% less milage than we realy think.

nosubstitutec4s

Quote - RandyRX8:

I dont have the Nav option but carry a GPS with me and It reads exactly 2% slower than the Speedometer. 1 MPH at 50 and 2 MPH at 100. Set the cruise and ran for a while to test. My concern was that we are actually getting 2% less milage than we realy think.


I read on another forum that the speedometer is seperate from the mileage counter, to reduce liability with insurence (or something like that). I could be completely wrong, but i think the mileage is calculated correctly and the speedometer is faster so that if we think we are speeding, we arent speeding by as much. But then again, i dont remember all that well.

JSE RX-8

good find!!

do you have a pic of the speedometer showing up on the navigation screen??

nosubstitutec4s

yah... i realize that its a crappy incramental speedometer, but still i wana see a pic too

BruceInColorado

Just a "funny" note: I've had my 8 for only a week, and after seeing this thread on Saturday my son and I were driving on the highway, checking out these backdoors and the accuracy of the navigation screen speedometer. Paying *too* close of attention to the comparison of the nav screen to the digital speedometer - and Not paying close enough attention to my highway surroundings, I *blew* past a local sheriff's truck! I figured it out too late and slowed down, but she monitored my speed long enough to pull me over. I said "You'll never guess why I was speeding..." and showed her the nav system. I'm sure she didn't have much sympathy (or much interest in the cool backdoors I was trying out), but I still got away with a warning - *this* time!

End result: Apparently the digital speedometer is pretty accurate! My speedo said 70mph and the sheriff said she was following me going 70mph! (I would have slowed down to the legal 65mph, but she was following too close - and the last thing I wanted to do was cause an accident with a cop!) The nav-system speedo is not to be trusted: it rarely registered the same speed as the digital speedo. The nav-speedo would register 1-10 miles less, but not on a consistent basis. (For instance, even if the digital speedo read a consistent 60mph for 20 or so seconds, the nav speedo would rise or fall - usually rise - during that time, and rarely hit the 60mph level.)

Anyway, the moral of the story: Pay attention to the road, and quit messing with your gadgets while driving!

blue flash

thanks for the info

XDEEDUBBX

okay iwould like to see a pic of one too

JSE RX-8

are there any pics?? everyone is talking about it and i havent seen a pic yet

Neddie Seagoon

I read on another forum that the speedometer is seperate from the mileage counter, to reduce liability with insurence (or something like that). I could be completely wrong, but i think the mileage is calculated correctly and the speedometer is faster so that if we think we are speeding, we arent speeding by as much. But then again, i dont remember all that well. [/B][/QUOTE]

I don't think there is a diff - I was cruising @ 82 in a 65 zone (feeling good, coming home from a date with the wife - who was on a diff fwy doing 90!!) and the ticket the CHP officer gave me was for '82'!!
Sighhhhhh.

BruceInColorado

Okay - here's how it works:

After you get past the annoying WARNING message ("Don't play with your navigation system while driving, because you will blow past a cop and get pulled over!") click the MENU button on your center console. You will get the choice of "Select Destination" or "Setup Menu".

Choose "Setup Menu"

BruceInColorado

Then choose "System Information"

BruceInColorado

Then click "Version"

BruceInColorado

It will then tell you the version of your GPS software. But here's where you go in the "backdoor".

At this screen, position your center console joystick this way: UP UP DOWN DOWN.

If you've done it correctly, it will go to the "backdoor" you want. (Keep trying if you don't... the joystick has to be pushed up and down pretty briskly but not aggressively. You get the idea.)

By the way, you can get other backdoors if you go:

UP UP UP DOWN DOWN DOWN UP UP DOWN DOWN, or

UP UP UP DOWN DOWN DOWN UP DOWN

BruceInColorado

Here's what you should see.

At this screen, choose "Wiring Check"