Some of you may recall that I previously did a product evaluation for a HUD on my C4. I see that is no longer posted, I guess it got lost in all the server moves.

Anyway, the manufacturer came out with a newer version a while back and I have been waiting to upgrade. I finally got around to it yesterday.

This is not a cheap HUD, and it definitely is not as good at the C5/6 HUD that GM puts in the newer cars. But it is something that racers might really like in lieu of a tach on the dash. And for those of use that don't want to add a bunch of gauges on the A pillar, it might be something (although really pricey) to consider.

The new version of the HUD is fully described @ HUD

I can no longer post a product reviews, can't figure out how to do that, so I'll just post my impressions here.

The main difference between this HUD and the GM factory HUD is that the GM factory HUD projects the image on the windshield in such a manner as the info is focused at a distance so your eyes to not have to refocus to read it. With this unit, the info is focused on the windshield so your eyes do have to refocus to view it. I think this is because GM puts in special glass for the HUD. I have been told that the company that makes this HUD is the same one that makes the C5/6 HUD for GM.

This HUD is visible in all lighting conditions, from full sun to glaring sun angles. No problem reading the info under any circumstances I could find. The newer unit also has an auto dimmer, which dims the unit automatically at night which is nicer than the old unit which you had to dim using a button manually.

The unit does have some nice feature for racers, warning buzzards, shift lights, peak measurement readings. The new system can be integrated to give oil, temperature, and a bunch of other sensor readings. An additional controller and more sensors are required. This makes the whole system very pricey!

As far as compatibility, it works fine on vettes. Just set it to V8 and 4 pulses (for the speedometer) and it is plug and play. Only negative I would say is that for our engines, the tach sweep goes to 9000 rpms, so normally we don't use about half of the tach sweep - at least those of us with stock type engine I am guessing it is that way for ricer 4 cylinder cars.

Installation is pretty straight forward. Ground, 12V ignition switched, 12V constant, coil and speedo (needed the Helms manual to figure which wire to use off the ECM.

It is a pricey, although cool unit for those of us that like to try the toys.

 

i didnt see a price on that site

 

I agree... price!!!

It sure looks cool, tho!!!

 

Interesting. Very interesting. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

 

flame red, I have your HUD write up saved to my hard drive.

want me to post it here, or?

 

here some pics from flame red original install.

 

Bill,

Wow, I did not think that review was a keeper It would be great to repost if I could figure out how to do it. Used to be a place to add reviews but I cannot find it. Anyone know how to post product reviews?

If I can figure out how to post it, I'll take some more snapshots and try posting a new review.

BTW - I got that new unit for $280 shipped

But to get the whole system with all the sensors it several hundred dollars!!!

 

lol, I kept it because I picked up a VSD basis too.
I had a plan to use it in a real hud display, I picked up 2 huds units from ebay and also a dash pad for the C4. I wanted to see if I could mount the hud in there and if it would display like a factory unit this way. I only played around with the HUD unit and an led light this far. I was happy with the out come. the ghosting was not there, meaning I may not need a piece of tint on the window.

if it fails, another idea is using the kenwood HUD reflector piece, which I also got off ebay. it is like 20% mirrored clear plastic.

I need to do more playing around with this, but time is limited and I have like 25 unfinshed projects.

here is the review you posted.


Email Address: flamedred@yahoo.com
Corvetteforum.com Member Alias: Flame Red
Car Details: 90
Time to Install: 1-3 hours
Reversible: Yes, easily reversible

Satisfied: 9 out of 10

Value: 10 out of 10

Description: Here is the results of the installation of a Heads Up Display (HUD) into my 90 C4. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the results.

To review, I installed a DEFI VSD-II HUD. Information regarding the VSD-II is available at http://www.defi-shop.com/vsd2/vsdframe.htm.

The actual unit was purchased from http://www.rollhard.com/defi.htm. The unit was $182 delivered to my door in about a week and a half.



Experiences: I elected to purchase the 'red' tach display. Which color you choose is fairly irrelativent as the LEDs used to display the tach is really lame and not visable in bright daylight anyway. The Sports VSD has a much better tach display, but unfortunately, the VSD can only display speed in kilometers/HR.

Now I need to let everyone understand that although I have never driven in a C5 with a HUD, my understanding is that this DEFI company makes the C5 HUD for GM. From my understanding, this VSD-II unit I installed is not as good as the C5 display. It cannot display as many features ad the C5 unit as I understand it. Also, another major point is that the C5 unit displays the graphics in the same field of view (infinity) as your eyes are focused on when driving, thus your eyes do not need to refocus to read the speed or other information displayed. The VSD-II unit does not do this. Thus it is necessary for you to refocus you eyes to read the numbers. Still, I feel this is good compared to having to refocus and move you eyes down off the road to see the stock speedo.

I was very concerned about the compatability of the VSD-II to our Vettes. The poeple at DEFI were very responsive to the emails I sent to them in Japan, getting back to me overnight on all occassions. I corresponded to them several times. As it turns out, the VSD-II display exactly matches the stock speedo under all conditions I measured.


Installation: Installation was very simple. Four wires. One ground, one positive power source (ignitioned switched), one wire to the white tach lead coming out of the distributor (marked as tach on the dist) and one lead that needs to hooked up to lead number 8 on the red connector going into the ECM. On my 90 it was dark green with a white stripe. This may be different depending on year, so you really need to consult with the electrical diagrams in your Helms service manual to make sure you are getting the proper lead.

The only confguration to the unit is to set it to 8 cylinder, and then to use 4K pulses for the speedo. There are a number of choices to make it work with other cars. There are also a number of other modes you can select to display tach (digitally), max speed, etc.



Comments: As so you may judge the usefullness of the unit, I took a few pictures using my borther-in-law's digital camera. (The one I have sucks) I waited until afternoon during bright sunlight here in Florida. I tried to get different angles and sunlight from different directions. In all cased readibility was excellent in brigh light conditions.

 

so has anyone tried mounting a stock C5 heads up unit in a C4? probably a dumb question. just curious why it wouldnt work

 

because it needs something to control it. I would guess you would end up with a C5 cluster and ECM as well.

 

eww i dont want a c5 cluster

 

If anyone is interested I'll sell the old original BASIS unit -

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...02&forum_id=55

 

i guess that unit cant really show a tach?

 

Acutally it has quite a few tach functions. By default, it shows MPH. You can switch it easily to show RPMS digitally instead of MPH. Also it can store the peak values and display them later. There is also a mode that when the car is stopped for 10 seconds, it shows the tach (with the engine idling) in digital format until you start moving again. There are also warning lights that you can setup to use as shift lights too.