Old school analogue or new school digital? in-car....

otispunkmeyer

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
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Location
Loughborough UK
Car(s)
'03 Skoda Superb (farewell :(), '06 Honda Civic ES
in car displays and controls

what do you prefer? old fashioned, well crafted dials? or the computer geeks facsimile?

slowly old school dials and knobs are giving way to digital read outs and buttons or in some cases one large button that controls everything via a screen in the dash.

me personally i love dials.... theres nothing like a good set of clear, expertly crafted, silky-motioned dials to look at. they're just like an expensive watch...they actually look like they cost some decent money!!!

i also love knobs (no not those knobs!!!) i like my volume control to be a beautifully damped rotary knob. i like my air-con/climate controls to be those twisty control knobs... because they are very simple to use and a pleasure to use if well made. you can normally operate them without even looking.

guess im very touchy feely and just love the look and feel of well designed, well built mechanical parts. I like the absolute certainty these parts feedback to you. unlike a button, you know somethings happened because you just felt it.

IS-F-dash2.jpg


db9_dashboard.jpg
 
Dials. I love dials. Seeing delicate needles fly over sleek instruments can never be beat by a digital readout.
 
I prefer analogue dials. Sure, digital looks fancy, but it has a higher chance of breaking (the more components there are, the bigger the chance one fails), they have noticeably more lag than analog systems, and i have yet to encounter the first digital readout that was readable under all conditions.

PS.
I doubt there is much mechanical about the dials in the OP.
 
^ of course

even if they are dials... all the gubbins controlling them will be digital. its mechatronics... electronics controlling some mechanicals
 
Dials are better. As nice and precise as the digital gauges are they just don't work as well for certain things. For instance it is hard to gauge your acceleration on an electronic speedo but one with a needle gives you a decent approximation. As far as controls go I would prefer to have some basic functionality via hard buttons/knobs. For instance climate control and audio controls just work better when easily accessible. For most other stuff I would prefer a nice clean touch screen that can change depending on what you need.
 
Analogue, but I'm not a big fan of 50s US style ones, I prefer European style ones. Seeing the needles fly around the dials is so much more graceful and elegant than some tacky digital meter. I like technology as much as the next guy, but only when it's crafted with style and taste like those Aston dials in your sig or a Bang and Olufsen stereo.
 
Analogue all the way, digital crap is flimsy.
 
Analogue FTW. Easier to read at a glance or without taking a direct look. Digital displays have their place - such as for climate control settings etc, but main dials should be analogue.
 
I like dials. All the digital dashes I have encountered have been jumpey (25, 28, 30, 31, 33, ect.) instead of linear. I prefer a digital clock, ac, and all that other crap. I prefer a knob for audio though.
 
Dials are much cooler, and they don?t try to look more precise than they actually are.

On the other hand I?ve really gotten used to the digital readouts of the heads-up-display in my mom?s 5-series. It?s a diesel and it?s automatic, making revs unimportant, so all you really need to know is speed. On long autobahn-drives it?s so much easier to focus on the road, as I don?t even look at the normal dials anymore. The only problem is when you don?t realise you need fuel until the warning symbol in teh HUD tells you.
 
Old school FTW.

Cord 812:
1937_Cord_812_interior.JPG


Will post more later.
 
Old school analoque! definetly! nice well crafted round dials, preferrably with a little chrome round em and beautifully designed and well crafted controlknobs and buttons if you will.

If it was up to me I would kick most if not all the electronics out of cars anyways...... I mean a dashboard saying 'power, beauty, soul' when you start the thing? FOR GODS SAKE!
 
Analogue all the way, digital crap is flimsy.

Digital gauges have no moving parts.

Also, modern gauges as fitted at the factory are really digital anyway - they just put a D/A converter in them connected to a stepper motor to move the needles instead of spending the additional cash on a nice solid-state display.

IMG_4095.JPG
 
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I like analog as well. I especially love true analog gauges like those on my mustang where the needle is really jumpy and doesn't move so fluidly.
 
I've always been a fan of the analogue gauges with a digital screen inside of them (ie my car). Best of both worlds!

If I had to choose though:

Quality looking analogue > quality looking digital LCD (like new S-class or Range Rover) > cheap analogue > cheap digital
 
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