[calvino]

why BMW have their speedometer in the left side of the cluster and the RPM's on the right. all cars that I have driven have the speedometer on the right and RPM on the left Mercedes, Audi, WV, Porsche, etc...

I wonder why BMW choose to put it in the left side ?

[!Xoible]

darn, you confused me... im trying to remember if my G35 was same setup... made me forget

[calvino]

Nope G35 have it on the right

[JeffL]

with your left hand on the wheel and you right hand on the shifter it would allow you a clear unobstructed view to the tach.

Just my thought.

[KanosWRX]

When I think about it now... I would rather have the tach on the left. That way as the rpms get near red line they will be near the center of the console. If its on the right it would be the far right when they get to red line. All in all not a big deal, but I think left would be better.

Its left on my Subaru and on my Miata. Guess ill have to get used to it.

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by calvino

why BMW have their speedometer in the left side of the cluster and the RPM's on the right. all cars that I have driven have the speedometer on the right and RPM on the left Mercedes, Audi, WV, Porsche, etc...

I wonder why BMW choose to put it in the left side ?

Porsche has the spedometer on the left and RPM in the middle.
Mercedes has the speedometer to the left of the RPM's also.

I think your confused...

[canucklion]

it's not like one gauge is on the passenger's side while the other's on the driver side. Both gauges are still within the driver's field of vision.

[calvino]

Originally Posted by AndrewAZ

Porsche has the spedometer on the left and RPM in the middle.
Mercedes has the speedometer to the left of the RPM's also.

I think your confused...

nope my cousin have a cayenne and the speedometer is on the right

now the MB most of them are on the middle.

audi have it on the right.

[Brunotheboxer]

god dam liberals. they want everything over on the left.

[calvino]

Originally Posted by canucklion

it's not like one gauge is on the passenger's side while the other's on the driver side. Both gauges are still within the driver's field of vision.

I know but I was just wondering why some companies choose to put it in the left and others in the right.

[.:bHd:.]

I kinda like having the tachometer on the right. When you're shifting with your right hand you have a better view of the RPMs...If you think beemers are bad you should check out the Aston Martin gauges. Sick design but hella weird

They have the speedometer on the left side too by the way.

[Year's_End]

I like having the speedo on the right...

[calvino]

then I guess is because is better to see the RPM when shifting than the speed. sounds logical


+1 Aston Martin gauges

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by calvino

nope my cousin have a cayenne and the speedometer is on the right

now the MB most of them are on the middle.

audi have it on the right.

A cayenne is not a porsche its an VW SUV with a porsche badge on it.

[excogitus]

This is a very interesting issue. I'm not sure what shifting with the right hand has to do with the location of the tach since you are not looking at the shift lever when shifting and, with the steering wheel properly adjusted, both the tach and the speedometer ought to be visible with either or both hands on the wheel.

However, there are considerations as to which is better on the left and which on the right. It's best to have the most useful part of a gauge in your direct line of sight. Hence, if you frequently shift up to the redline but don't normally go above 100 mph, then a tach-left, speedometer-right configuration is better, since you will be using the right side of the tach and the left side of speedometer--both closest to your direct line of vision. On the other hand, if you rarely go up to the redline but like to know the rpms under most conditions, then the tach is better on the right. Of course, then the speedometer will have to be on the left, so it's less useful there for most normal (i.e. under 80-100 mph) driving.

Ken

[Year's_End]

I thnk the difference is neglible for either setup.

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by calvino

nope my cousin have a cayenne and the speedometer is on the right

now the MB most of them are on the middle.

audi have it on the right.

thats a touareg cluster.

this is a p-car cluster

[shadowcoder]

I think it's a design decision at the time and how things looked or were over
the years in each designer's previous models. Pretty much most of them have
put the speedo to the left, to the right or in the middle. From ferrari to mb etc.
They just like to change or "spice" things up a bit. Nothing more.

[wanna325i]

older MB have rpm on the right

[DSe93]

who looks at the tachometer? when driving manual I just FEEL it, if you know what I mean...

[BK]

When the tach is on the left, it feels backwards to me. I didn't realize so many other cars did it that way. I've always associated that with VW. I like it how it is, tach on the right.

A little OT, but another thing I dislike about the VW setup is that it is RPM x100 rather than x1000. So it says 10, 20, 30... instead of 1, 2, 3. With it on the left, this makes it seem even more like a speedo.

[brianlamar]

Originally Posted by BK

When the tach is on the left, it feels backwards to me. I didn't realize so many other cars did it that way. I've always associated that with VW. I like it how it is, tach on the right.

A little OT, but another thing I dislike about the VW setup is that it is RPM x100 rather than x1000. So it says 10, 20, 30... instead of 1, 2, 3. With it on the left, this makes it seem even more like a speedo.

pre 2002 Mercedes' were like that as well.