Has anyone seen this little bugger?

http://www.bullydog.com/product/inst...str_faqs/2/290

 

Instead, I ordered the Autosport GPS speedo that reflects in the windscreen. I'll let you know how/if it works.

 

Got the Autosport. Really quick. Typical for them.
Well, it does work. Takes about 45 seconds to lock on.
Like any GPS, is fooled a little by corners.
Told me I am about 2 1/5 high across the board, not the % offset I thought. What that really tells me is folks around here are HAULING!.
But, always the but. Brightness in the day is just about right. Even though it dims, I think, at night it is WAY too bright. I actually get glare on my glasses. Driving, the display pad ( small piece of tint) is very distracting. It is below my site line, but I think it is because of my tri-focals and astigmatism, I get a bad double image when looking past it that messes up my regular vision. At night, the pad is not as noticeable and it was not that distracting, just the brightness. I don't sugest this is a fault of the speedo, more my vision. Unfortunately, it won't work for me.
I was wondering if the speed in the windshield was easily viable from outside, like by a car with funny lights on it. At least at daylight from the front, no.

 

Why? Doesn't your digital display show your speed in your tach?

 

I am confused as to what you are really looking for here.

Is it just that the speedometer is slightly inaccurate or is it that you can not read it?

As richardsperry stated why not use teh speed function in the Tach. Yes it is still set with the error but as long ans you know it is off by about 2-3 mph then just run the speedo that much higher I.E. when you want to do 60 drive with the speedo at 62.

 

Yes, the tach has a speed display. IT IS WRONG. Not as bad as the center one. I am used to Hondas, Saabs, and even my vintage British cars wherer the speedo was reasoablly correct. My goal is an accurate gauge. I verified the odometer is wrong too. I originally thought the speedo was off by two PLUS about 6 or 7 %, only based on the speed of everyone else. Acording to the GPS, everyone else was driving a lot faster than I thought. So the digital is 2 and a half, center about five MPH off. Knowing that, it is just another nuisance for which there is no valid excuse other than BMW arrogance.

 

From the SCANGAUGE thread, turns out there are several other possibilities. Maybe not to "fix" the speedo, but at leasy get some gauges in the car. PLX, Bulldog, Scangauge. This will take some investigating. Basically, an ODB driven digital dashboard!

 

You have a lot of options. Any OBD scanner will display vehicle speed. There are also OBD display apps for all of the major smartphone platforms.

 

Guess what it is wrong on ALL cars.

From a brand new set to a fully used set of tires there is a 1.2 % change in the rotational distance of an average 17" tire. I.E that means a 1.2 % change in the speed and odometer reading as well over the life of a tire.

Also of note to you is to look at this thread. It will show you how that by just changing the tires on your car can introduce an error of as much as 10% which unfortunately is NOT adjustable on the MINI. So just by changing your tires you can get closer or farther away from true actual speed.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-odometer.html

Non of these cars are actually correct and if you were to look at forums for these cars you would find people like your self complaining about the error on their Saab, Honda, etc just as you are about your MINI.


You in no way can use the speed of other cars as a mater of what speed you are going. Where is live if you did that you would think your speedometer is off by 20+ miles per per hour. I.E. someone on a 55 mile an hour highway here does not do 55 it is more like 75-80.

BTW HOW did you verify the odometer is wrong?

DUH, very few people actually drive the speed limit anywhere.


Well if you were to look at the center speedo straight on then you would find they are probably closer than you think. But I could be wrong on that. That is how mine is though

Well in fact it is your "not knowing" the reason for this error that makes you think they are arrogant, but in fact you are the one that is wrong.

There is a TRUE and REAL reason that there is an Error in the MINI and ALL European cars and all other cars that are imported to those EEC countries.

That reason is the laws in the European Economic Community. The law states "the speedometer can read 0% below true actual speed and can read up to 10% +2.4KPH (1.49mph) above the true actual speed. In other words the car can not be traveling faster than the speedo says but can be traveling slower up to 10% +2.4KPH(1.49mph) than the speedo says.

I.E if the speedometer is inaccurate it is because the law says it can and to some extent must be.

So in that case there is a VALID EXCUSE and it is NOT arrogance on the part of BMW.

 

Sch,
Well, we differ in view.

Yes, I have read the official policy from BMW on the laws driving the error. Cars sold in the US meet US law, not EU. Besides, I believe the law the referenced was a US law. It is their attitude about it as directly expressed, and in the totally condecending wording of the letter I object to. Telling me a tire wear would INCREASE my speed is a prime example. I don't like being called that stupid by an automaker.

I verified the odometer against highway markers over 15 miles.

When I thought others were driving fast, I was guessing they were doing 80, but they were doing closer to 90. I am used to cars lower to the ground so my basic speed perception has not adjusted to the higher stance of the Mini. The Mini is poised so well that at 70, you don't notice the speed. Let me tell you, 70 in a Spitfire feels a LOT faster.

Yes, parallax error is obvious in the center speedo, but is is still further off than the digital when viewed straight on. About 5 MPH. Design should compensate for parallax. The driver does not sit in the center. Only in a Matra or McLarren. BMW's fault. One may be able to open it up and move the needle on the shaft, but I never look at the hideous thing anyway. The dashboard stopped my from buying a Mini twice.

I always checked my speedo's aginst a stop watch or posted radar sign. The last car I had off by this much was a Pinto. I checked my Civic this weekend. Within a mile at 60.

1.2% at 60 MPH is .72 MPH error. I'll give you double that for temperature differences changing inflation ( monitored by sensors remember). 2.5 is a still pretty big margin.

Variations due to different OEM tire size is totally unacceptable as an excuse. The gauges should be programmed to fit the tires as delivered. It is just firmware. Not like in the old days where it was gear sets in the transmission and speedo head.

Have you heard their excuse for why the gas gauge is almost useless. True comic genius. ( On the part of the designer). The dealer warned my, "never go below 4 bars as you can damage the fuel pump".
The problem is the float has no place to float when the tank is full. Just plain bad design. I am almost glad it does not have the rest of the gauges. They would all be wrong too.

After I get my springs and shocks sorted, I may go to a slightly larger diameter tire, so it will be a little closer.

 

After +2yrs of trying to figure out the speedo error on my '08 MCS, I think I've got it. Mine reads 2mph fast no matter what the speed. Got this figure by comparing the speedo reading to various police/school radar check points and my new Garmin GPS. The two were the same whether the speed was 25mph or 75. Apparently the OBD is calculating any given speed and just adding 2mph to it. My biggest mistake was believing the dealer SA when he told me the error was a percentage (+7-10%) of actual speed. Have long since stopped going to those clowns for info, but this one could have got really expensive! BTW, my odometer seems to be dead-on. Make a trip of 243mi. 2-3 times a year and that figure has never changed.

Those EU regs concerning fast speedo's also address odometer accuracy (must be spot on). The same applies on this side of the pond, but from a different direction. Just think in terms of law suits against a manufacturer who builds a speedo that reads slow (tickets!) or an odometer that reads fast to make the warranty mileage come up quicker. Tort law's kinda different over there!

BTW, in +50yrs of driving I've never had a car who's speedo didn't read fast.

 

Well, I've had a different experience.

Using the same Garmin and driving the same route (my 40 mile daily commute to work) I find my '98 Lexus ES 300 - dead on at all speeds checked - mix of town and hiway speeds.

My wife's '04 Audi allroad - dead on.

My '08 Toyota Tundra - dead on.

My '03 Cooper S JCW - 2 mph fast at 70 mph (indicated)

My '09 Cooper S Clubman - 3 mph fast at 70 mph

Various MINI loaners from the dealer, as much as 7 mph fast at 70.

I also find the speed difference to be more of a percentage, and fairly linear, at 35 mph for example, my '03 JCW was off by 1 mph, 2mph at 70.

I find a similar difference with my '09 Clubman S......

Just the facts, as I have observed them....

Oh, and the OP's link does not work for me.

I saw a "yellow box" being discussed on an S2000 forum, leading me to believe that inaccurate speedo's are not limited to MINI/BMW products, but in my experience I've never had as much glaringly obvious error as I've seen in the MINIs I've driven.

 

I agree with MiniDave that the speed readings seem more to be a percentage and not a fixed amount. Mine seems to be about three to four percent or so. At 60 mph it is about 2 mph difference and 125 mph (on the track), it is about 4-5 mph difference.

My other cars,all German autos, are all pretty close between actual and indicated.

 

Unless you frequently drive in caves and tunnels, the GPS is sufficient as an accurate speedometer.

 

I have to disagree just a bit. The one I tried got very confused with curves and lagged very far behind the speed of the car. When it caught up, on a straight road, it was fine. Maybe others are better.