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The biggest problem with digital photography is the incremental cost of taking more shots is dirt cheap. As always free usually comes with hidden cost. The more shots you take, the more time you have to invest in grading, post, and decide which you want to keep, and worst which to share.
This is the first time I took the Mini out intended to take some photos with interesting backdrops.
Last edited by pnwR53S; 01-29-2018 at 07:00 PM.
Reason: swapped fotos :wink:
When I first drove the Mini passed here I wanted this shot but I would look like an absolute fool with all the Sunday hipsters hanging around for brunch. We had an amazing mild day of 60F and overcast so great for photos.
The Porsche is a collision magnet. I was just leisurely cruising on the main long stretch on the inside lane, and this clown in a black sedan pulled out of a driveway at speed without stopping or look. I leaned on the horn and slammed on the brake so hard the front tires skidded despite of the ABS because of the large pizza size carbon ceramic disc brakes. For most driver the Porsche front end would have been total'ed. Instead of apologize he just wave me by. Oregon drivers scare me to death.
I spent considerable amount of time selecting a set of oil pressure and boost gauges. I chose Auto Meter for their made in USA as well as other attributes. It has been enough time for me to assess my choice. My selection criteria include aesthetics, reliability, and functionalities.
For these set of gauges I consider how coherent they would be in keeping with the Mini's factory instrument cluster. This including fonts. Sweep angle, graphics design consistency etc. There are many reasons that I chose the mechanical oil pressure gauge. The main ones are the sweep angle, simplicity, and price. The mechanical gauges has significantly greater sweep angle compare to electrical gauge of similar price point. Electronics gauges with servo or stepper motor can have big sweep angle like mechanical gauge but they cost a few hundred dollars.
auto meter mechanical gauges; note the 270-degree sweep as well as the font and graduations
this is what the gauges look like illuminated
My point is when selecting a set of gauges, pay attention to the Mini's gauges' graphics design, font, graduation marks, gauge face colour and illumination.
this is how the Auto Meter electric oil pressure gauge looks like; note the offset gauge pivot and 90-degree sweep
I was going to post photos of other gauges but decided not to ruffle feathers. My point is I like how the Auto Meter mechanical gauges being coherent with the Mini's instruments. And yes, I like the big center mount oversize speedometer that is one major continuity from the classic mini Cooper. It is like you say, hell with the indicated speed as long as I pay good attention to the business of driving and techrometer is way more important.
Last edited by pnwR53S; 02-02-2018 at 11:30 AM.
Reason: fixed misaligned photo and caption
I didn't know that one can install a pyrometer until writing the previous post. Auto Meter makes a reasonably priced pyrometer for monitoring EGT. It is a stepper motor gauge so for $194.95 including the K-type thermocouple is pretty reasonable.
Auto Meter 4344 (this is metric version)
I find it funny that on Amazon's customer reviews, many complained that the meter does not zero.
It might be a gauge that I would consider adding. I like the uniform gauge face design of their Ultra-Lite series. Here is the installation manual.
Ever since the inception of digital camera I have led the charge for photos for web. When most were still using 1024x768 on CRT monitor I had my website with photos. I want to test the limit of NAM with this almost actual size photo, which looks great on the 5k iMac.
there is zero overhang at the front and rear - hence minimum polar moments
I am very impressed with the speed of the upload. So NAM does resized it to the max of 2000 (2000x995) pixels wide. The photo actual size is 3367 × 1677 which had been cropped in post.
My point is when selecting a set of gauges, pay attention to the Mini's gauges' graphics design, font, graduation marks, gauge face colour and illumination.
I was going to post photos of other gauges but decided not to ruffle feathers. My point is I like how the Auto Meter mechanical gauges being coherent with the Mini's instruments. And yes, I like the big center mount oversize speedometer that is one major continuity from the classic mini Cooper. It is like you say, hell with the indicated speed as long as I pay good attention to the business of driving and techrometer is way more important.
I am the same way with regards to a gauges graphics design,
so I can totally relate.
I think it'd be great if you posted other gauges and critiqued them from your personal viewpoint, we all have our own idiosyncratic preferences and that should be well understood amongst adults, but it was gracefully couth of you to have noble intentions of not wanting to possibly inflame an impassioned debate which may go awry and ruffle feathers as you suggest.
But,
art is art and taste is taste.
You may like Bauhaus, while I like Vienna Secession --- arguing about the superiority of one over the other would be pointless,
but discussing their merits/faults as seen through our personal lens may be engaging.
I'll go ahead and say that I dislike AutoMeter simply because of the needle design, otherwise they're great.
Your choice of 20psi is spot on in my book also.
I don't understand why anyone would need a 30psi boost gauge for a supercharger, but I've seen them installed.
It is easier to find 30psi and perhaps a greater range of options, but for me personally I prefer the 20psi.
But then again, some people may be boosting higher than 20psi?
I have no idea really.
I think boost and voltage are crucial so I had already started looking for a suitable-to-me gauge. The only one that I really really dug after much looking was
from Speedhut: https://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GL-BO...30inhg-0-20psi
It's fun to configure because they have so many available options.
silver dial/red font looks close to factory
and Muscle font is a good match too,
but they are quite pricey.
Didn't think I'd ever find any so I'm sorta stoked on that.
I have once seen a page from Stewart-Warner where they offered a very similar gauge to those factory accessories, sans COOPER S logo, but I can't find it now and they were outrageously expensive anyways from what I recall, like $265 or something I think?
Last edited by Oldboy Speedwell; 01-30-2018 at 12:09 PM.
In truth, my choice of Auto Meter Ultra-Lite gauges was casted back in 2005. Shortly after taking the delivery of the Mini I went shopping for a boost gauge. I was not that critical at the time nor I researched that much. The Ultra-Lite was just amongst the most discrete offerings and with a affordable price point. I did not get around to install it until last spring, and at that time I wanted a matching oil pressure gauge. That led to the mechanical oil pressure gauge which I snagged a Amazon Warehouse deal for just $50 shipped. My gauge set can be had today for circa $150.
You put me on a spot, so I would just critique the MINI kits as most buy them for the gauge pod solutions and plug and play. They take what MINI give them. The dual gauges by the tech I find less than ideal. Instead of boost and volt, boost and oil pressure would be more useful. MINI likely chose the volt meter as it is cheap and easy, while provisioning a oil pressure sensor is much more involving. Volt meter is not essential and given how difficult to find a place for a gauge I would use the space for more important gauge. Running low on voltage rarely cause catastrophic damage.
The off center needle pivot of the volt gauge paired with the wide sweep angle boost gauge looks imbalance. The fonts and graduation marks are good and clean enough. I dislike the embellishment of “COOPER S” on the gauge face, especially there is none on the main gauges. No one needs to be reminded they are driving a Cooper S. BTW, I think the counterweighted look of the Ultra-Lite needle beats the Stewart Warner.
and I just notice the boost/vac gauge movement is backwards
I say it is backwards as the convention of auto gauges is clockwise is increasing.
For me the value in the MINI gauge kit is just the mounting solutions, and that including the console dual gauge faceplate. I will throw away the cheap VDO oil pressure gauge and use the space for something more useful. The oil temp gauge too is questionable due to the bad pickup location at the drain plug.
While I can critique other gauges, I would point out I bought an Innovate A/F gauge solely for its functionality. It has to be amongst the gauges that clash badly with the Mini interior. I have no love for electronic display based gauges with only few exceptions when function subjugate form.
I didn’t know about Speedhut gauges. They look to be very nice and you can customize to a close match with existing gauges. I do like they use newer transducers that appears solid state as well as the stepper motor based gauges.
You put me on a spot, so I would just critique the MINI kits as most buy them for the gauge pod solutions and plug and play. They take what MINI give them. The dual gauges by the tech I find less than ideal. Instead of boost and volt, boost and oil pressure would be more useful. MINI likely chose the volt meter as it is cheap and easy, while provisioning a oil pressure sensor is much more involving. Volt meter is not essential and given how difficult to find a place for a gauge I would use the space for more important gauge. Running low on voltage rarely cause catastrophic damage.
Yeah, I'd agree.
I plan on going with an Alta single gauge pod for boost next to tach, possibly "clocked" like they sometimes do on outlaw-style 911's...
...but really I don't know. Just going to try and set it up best for quick glance reading and I'd like it to be located as close to the redline mark as possible.
As for the voltmeter, I plan on a placement similar to where they put it on the MC40. As you say it's not super crucial, but it gives me ease of feeling and could also help to quickly indicate a weak battery in case of electro-glitches or whatever.
Originally Posted by pnwR53S
The off center needle pivot of the volt gauge paired with the wide sweep angle boost gauge looks imbalance. The fonts and graduation marks are good and clean enough. I dislike the embellishment of “COOPER S” on the gauge face, especially there is none on the main gauges. No one needs to be reminded they are driving a Cooper S. BTW, I think the counterweighted look of the Ultra-Lite needle beats the Stewart Warner.
and I just notice the boost/vac gauge movement is backwards
I really don't understand why MINI chose S-W to make those gauges in the first place and why there wasn't put a little better design into them.
VDO seems a much better candidate to me for such a factory accessory thing.
I LOL'd at your embellishment comment, not needing to be reminded what they are driving, and yes the logo is actually distracting, (but I'm somewhat of a sucker for such stuff at the same time) - the logo should have been smaller, or just a simple S - I dislike the AM Phantom2 series for the same reason, if they didn't have that logo on them I'd love them because I dig the look, plus I prefer that needle design as well:
It's just too damn busy for me.
Originally Posted by pnwR53S
While I can critique other gauges, I would point out I bought an Innovate A/F gauge solely for its functionality. It has to be amongst the gauges that clash badly with the Mini interior. I have no love for electronic display based gauges with only few exceptions when function subjugate form.
I didn’t know about Speedhut gauges. They look to be very nice and you can customize to a close match with existing gauges. I do like they use newer transducers that appears solid state as well as the stepper motor based gauges.
A/F is a great gauge to have.
I agree with function over form in most cases,
but I'd go analog just for aesthetic reasons.
The "clocked" tach's, to my understanding, were an easy way of having a very quick visual for the shift point. When the needle is pointing straight up, shift, no need to have numbers.
The "clocked" tach's, to my understanding, were an easy way of having a very quick visual for the shift point. When the needle is pointing straight up, shift, no need to have numbers.
I agree and think that you're correct.
It was just something that popped in my mind --- thinking it may be a good idea to "clock" and possibly reduce the range of eye motion for quicker yet accurate reading.
The "clocked" tach's, to my understanding, were an easy way of having a very quick visual for the shift point. When the needle is pointing straight up, shift, no need to have numbers.
Race cars usually clock all guages so the normal reading points up.
Ah!
Those are the ones that I thought S-W made,
but they're by Marshall.
Thanks for pointing them out.
No wonder I couldn't find them on the S-W homepage!
I think they're okay, a bit expensive but better than I had remembered,
and I love the factory-look night lighting too.
I'd rather have a 20psi boost gauge though and they don't seem to offer it.
But I still think that the Speedhut gauges are pretty awesome and will probably end up getting a boost gauge from them at some point.
You folks got me in the mood in talking gauge design aesthetics. As you can see I am not into mod for mod sake. I would like to think that I deliberate each modification carefully, and each have to serve some purpose that I think is important. Most of all I want all to be as coherent as a whole the best I can.
I view the center mount big speedometer is one strongest continuity to the classic mini Coopers. Yet MINI offered the Chrono Package as an expensive option. I found it poorly designed. To best sum it up I would borrow a remark by a modern furniture designer exactly who I forgot. It was either Eero Saarinen or Arne Jacobsen on his clean and deceptive simple chairs. He said something like "I wanted to rid the ghetto of legs". He was referring to the clutter of incoherent furniture legs in a typical family home.
no ghetto of legs in these chairs and table (designed by Eero Saarinen)
To me the Chrono Pack option is "a ghetto of gauges". There are so many negatives especially maintaining the design cues of the classic mini cooper lineage - forgoing the supersize center mounted speedometer, and having two large gauges on the steering column. Both are big negatives.
What do I mean by a "ghetto of gauges"? I mean poorly matched set of tiny gauges with different narrow sweep angles with overlapping circles like a Venn diagram. And yes, MINI wanted you to feel upmarket because the coolant temperature has numbers (conveys accuracy) while the standard issued one does not. The Chrono Pack center gauge looks like a poor first attempt by an industrial design intern.
a ghetto of gauges that looks like a Venn diagram
I should also point out the MINI's Stewart Warner gauges. The dull silver bezel does not match well with the standard main gauges. It has the less than elegant chamfered rim the latter do not have.
The Phantom line of Auto Meter gauges is the typical sellup products. It fails the clean font check. By paying more money you get a poorer design aesthetics. It is all too common.
If I have not mistaken, there is a lot in the Innovate A/F gauge going for $180 street price. Much more than a stepper motor gauge. For me it is the data that it collects that outweighs the aesthetics.
Last edited by pnwR53S; 01-31-2018 at 01:09 PM.
Reason: gramma corrections
Back on point,
I mostly agree with your "ghetto of gauges" evaluation, it does look quite haphazard and poorly designed in my eyes as it appears somehow chintzy
and a bit too toytown.
I've fluctuated with my acceptance of it, sometimes I like it, but most times I don't.
I am sort of at odds with it.
And another thing,
sometimes I think that the MINI designers have an in-joke going on by continually using Mickey Mouse leitmotifs in all the interiors,
what are they trying to say?!?!?
Strangely, the A/F gauges are cheaper than the boost gauges at Speedhut for some reason.
Here's a night pic of one installed:
It must be cheaper because there is no transducer needed in the kit. It get serial data from Innovate A/F gauge and display it in analog fashion. Also seems to be a "used" item with discount.
Or simpler yet, get the analog output from Innovate gauge.
Last edited by pnwR53S; 02-01-2018 at 05:51 PM.
Reason: add last sentence
I dabbled into a homemade digital display project a while ago. It is intended for used in my Westfalia Vanagon camper. I did not want a ghetto of gauges and want a multifunction display based system that I can adapt to various use. One is to function as a number of gauges. The other is for used as data logger.
I started with a easy to code LCD dot matrix display
soon I decided to us an miniature OLED graphics display
as I want to maximize the flexibility I implemented a joystick for navigating menus
From the start I envisioned the OLED display and joystick to be mounted on this utility rail. I didn't want to butcher up the pristine dashboard.
this is an early size check mounting onto the "accessory tool bar"
I would add a RTC and SD card for data logging
testing out the data logging function on temp and humidity in the DC fridge
With any home brew electronic project the most difficult is wrapping up the electronic guts in an elegant package.
the MCU board is to be mounted away from the display and UI assembly
then I decided the only elegant solution for the display is to mount it into the existing 80s digital clock housing of the main instrument cluster; I fussed over the fonts and typesetting of the text; the bottom RHS dot is a heart beat blink
the instrument cluster and the 80s digital clock (not my low mileage camper)
this is a data log of the ambient and fridge temp vs compressor current draw and on/off
little did I know this project foretold the multifunction gauge (right most pod) in the Porsche that I would acquire 2 years later; it has a selection stalk on the steering column to navigate the menus
We went again for photo shoot of the Mini this morning, as I want to explore more backdrops of the waterfront industrial district. With the gentrification this stretch is shrinking by the year, being converted to upscale residences.
I just notice in this photo the cars has 53 on them.
note the "53" on the two rail cars
portland's radio cab company
I wanted this shot the other day but the time wasn't right; it used to serve the heavy industry workers as well as the longshoremen
I am not too keen on the heavily processed photos with "filters". While they seem awesome when you first try a few, for me at least, soon the novelty wears off and the photos looks artificial and contrive.
Slowly I am warming up the the Mac's Photo's built in post tools. Like my biggest beef, Apple always dumbs down the UI and I hate, hate, hate that.
It turns out here are a lot of hidden ***** which for posting JPEG images they are very very good. For pro series DSLR, I only shoot in RAW because of the post latitude.
The late model iPhone cameras really kick ***, and I do mean it, especially for outdoors which most of the time you want to enable HDR. Oh! where am I? I digress.
Just for the sake of exercise, I want to show different results of post of the same photo.
my take the matter into my hands fine tuning with empathy of the backdrop and composition
original iPhone 6S Plus photo cropped
original photo cropped and apply Fade filter
original photo cropped and apply Chrome filter
original photo cropped and apply Transfer filter
There many more other filters but they simply do not work for this shot. And lastly this is the original photo only have the license plate obscured for my protection.
original photo without post; when I composed this photo on location I had to think ahead of what I would do during post processing as well as the resultant resolution of the image given the intended presentation
I am all too aware of the effect of the sequence arrangement of the photos presented. It would be too much work for me to bother to rearrange them due to the limitation of the forum post tools and time constraint. My intention of this post (pun intended also for post as post processing) is to illustrate the power of post processing, and the effort that one invests. I would also add that the reason I like this photo is the man who looks like a cab driver, depressed given the current state of making a living of driving taxis in the age of Uber and Lyft. I dislike the red beige car which I would later realize there to get "cheap petrol" in downtown Portland.
I should add that in all these photos that I took, I didn't fuss with where and how to park the Mini much. I just gave it my best shot given the impromptu situation and orient Desire based on my intuition and the direction of the light source (the sun). If I am a pro, I would spent a lot more effort to get it just right. But hay, I only brought the iPhone and shot in run-an-gun fashion.
Last edited by pnwR53S; 02-04-2018 at 06:18 PM.
Reason: gramma
01-29-2018, 11:03 AM
So NAM does resized it to the max of 2000 (2000x995) pixels wide. The photo actual size is 3367 × 1677 which had been cropped in post.
