0RAAMaudio

New to Covettes and racing them.

Anybody feel the HUD unit is worth using on the track? I am putting in pexi windshields and not sure it will work ok. I have somebody that is waiting to buy it and I want to take care of him as soon as I can, if not usable then I will pull it out asap

Thanks!
Rick

wallyman424

nah, HUD might be neat, but its probably more distracting than anything. all you really need is a nice shift light. preferably one of those fancy sequential ones.

hisvett

Love mine for the street. .....don't seem to have time to look at it on the track

WNeal

I have found that turning it OFF on the track is a big help. You don't need that distraction and certainly should not be looking at it to see "how fast" you are going.

I feel like I actually drive better with it off. Just one less thing to take your mind off what it should be on.

Just MHO but speaking from experience.

Bill Dearborn

I say CRAP to the posters above. It is an excellent tool on the track. You don't need time to look for it as it is right in front of you and if adjusted correctly you can almost see it without moving your eyes (much better than the speedo or tach which are down inside a dark hole); it works great as a tool to tell you how well you are doing against marks on the track. I use it all the time to tell how well I have performed through a turn by judging the speed indicated in the HUD against a landmark near the exit of a turn (since it doesn't take much eye movement to see it it doesn't distract from high speed driving like glancing at the speedo or tach would do); it also helps to see your speed at the apex of a turn like Turn 2 at Watkins Glen where I can tell how well I approached the turn by seeing my apex speed which depending on how well I did is in the 100 to 105 range (I couldn't tell on my non-HUD 97 since I didn't have time to focus from the track to the speedo in the dark hole and back to the track); once you are used to it the blinking of the shift light in the tach gives you plenty of info on when to shift. Once you know the car and the speeds in various gears you can use the blinking shift light and the digital speed indicator to time your shift better. I just wish I could get an oil temp indicator to show up on it and I wouldn't need to look at the instrument panel at all.

Bill

Steve49841

100% agree with Bill. I find I use it a lot controling corner entry speeds. It takes very little eye movement and is no problem especially at the end of a straight. I use it alot at a new track because it helps me work my way thru the learning curve by easily adding or subtracting speed at the proper point. If you can make it work, use it.

mikahb

I leave mine off at the track always. I rely on engine rpm and gear to judge speed. If you did want to monitor your mph for whatever reason though, I'm sure it would work well.

John Shiels

to me useless get a sequential shift light from LGM. Speeds entering corners you should feel. I cannot see mine real easy. If I could I might find some use for it.

undertaker

shiftlight and ear here, I actually dial the shiftlight a lil lower on the road courses just to keep the motor together longer. I use the straight to check pressures/temps etc.

TRACKMAN2

TURN THE THING OFF learn to manage you speeds with the thing between your butt cheeks

2000BSME

I use mine at the track, but I doubt your plexiglass window will work with it. HIghly doubt, by the way.

sothpaw2

I agree w/ Bill also. I have rarely used it at corner exit to judge my speed as a litmus to tell me how well I am doing. I can't judge the difference between 60 and 65mph in 4th, sorry.

Tourmgr1

I never use it either on the road or track. It's mostly a "bling" thing to me but others find it very useful.
YMMV.

BTW. I think it's 60-65 in 3rd unless you're driving to the mall.

0RAAMaudio

Thanks guys, really appreciate your inputs.

I tore out the dash today to get the HVAC junk out and have decided to build an simple aluminum dash and get some sort of digital all in one unit so I am selling it to the first guy that wanted it

Rick

Tourmgr1

Check out the G2X Racepak data set up can be very useful ...

heavychevy

I think it can be useful and a waist at the same time, if you're looking at it mid corner, you should be looking farther up the track or you wont be carrying the best speed you can there anyways, which defeats the purpose of looking at it in the first place. (unless you are VERY experienced - pro)

Mid corner diagnosis of speed is not the best idea IMO. If you are that serious about your car, get an all inclusive unit where it monitors everything, having just the speed only is pretty useless IMO.


Now a hud that has all of the data, whether it's changing regularly, one one where you could see all the data at once would be a great IDEA.

threewinmag

I find the HUD very useful! However, I don't look at the speed. I watch the tach peripherally and consequently, the SHIFT light also. I also check the fuel level occasionally. As the speeds and such, that's seat and hearing mostly.

0RAAMaudio

I am going to run the stock instruments for awhile until I decide what digital unit I want.

I have the dash out and am probably building an aluminum one much smaller than stock.

I can place the gauges further back, up higher and see them really well over the small steering wheel I have in the car, works for me

Rick

varkwso

I started with HUDs in my good old 1968 model F-111D - got used to it there.

It is a wonderful tool and I find mine extremely useful - but if you cannot use one - don't...if you are not looking through your HUD - don't use it....

But you need to stay out of aircraft cockpits - most everything has them now - 'cause they work! If you have a hard time crosschecking your instruments while driving a car you are most likely task saturated...

I do wish they had a flight vector diamond in the C5/6 one though...

The Spark

I have HUD and like it. I keep it on oil pressure so I can keep an eye on it while driving. I like the "check gauges" message in case there is a problem. I keep the DIC on oil temp and make quick checks on that too.

I occassionally look at the HUD to check my rpms. But find myself mainly using sound.

I use the speedo on the HUD for open road racing. You don't want to get disqualified for going over tech speed. I also run Nuvi GPS unit. I found out my speedo is 2mph slow compared to GPS.