[dadu]

Most of "aware" drivers use the tachometer to make a judgement on the usage of "the right" gears, but human judgements are prone to mistakes.

ENTER's "Gear Shift Indicator"



The digital engine management system monitors the driving situation and engine speed, and calculates which gear offers the most efficient performance, taking account of road gradient, vehicle load and individual driving style which inturn identifies the most suitable gear change point. If for example a higher gear and lower engine speed would be more efficient, an arrow symbol and the recommended gear number appears on the Info Display.

The system continuously monitors data from the vehicle including engine speed, road speed, gear selected and throttle position to calculate optimum gear and recommends a change accordingly. The gear shift indicator also adapts its recommendations to suit your current driving situation. When you're accelerating strongly, it allows the engine to reach a higher engine speed before recommending a gearshift. By helping you change gears at the right moment, the gear shift indicator leads to a significant reduction in fuel consumption and ensures complete and smooth power development.

Well-timed gearshifts mean lower fuel consumption: the gear shift indicator shows the ideal timing for each gear change on your vehicle's Info Display. By shifting gear at the recommended moment, you ensure your fuel is used more efficiently and emissions are minimised. Moving more swiftly through the gears also reduces fuel consumption by avoiding unnecessarily high engine speed.

The system not only helps drivers cut fuel costs, but also enables them to reduce CO2 emissions and to decrease wear on engine and transmission components.This technology is successfully used in BMW and Ford models.

Sources: A, B

[BenjiRoss]

Sounds good.
Do any cars in India have this.
Also one query - when you have your eyes on the road how is this little light indicator actually visible? Will it not distract you? Does it give a beep or a sound at the appropriate times?

[narayan]

Isnt it cheaper to just plonk an autobox ? what are manufacturers trying to do with such innovations ?

in the western world most ppl use autoboxes. the few who want "spritited driving" go for the manual option - those fellows dont need this

in countries like India - the fuel conscious ppl pretty much know all the tricks there is to know on how to save fuel ( one of which is when to change gears )

i am wondering whether manufacturers are coming out with such gizmos just to show them as "additional features" and charge more/diffrentiate between variants

[Thad E Ginathom]

How is anybody supposed to watch the the road if they are checking instruments to see when to change gear?

This is a neat gadget, in a way, but not one for my wanted list.

Tachometers used to be a feature of the more 'sporty' car; then they became a standard feature, perhaps a marketing gimmick to make people think they are driving a more sporting car.

Except perhaps on the track, I rate them as useless. There is only one thing I can recall using one for, and that is to note the idling speed of the engine!

It's widely recognised that fiddling with complex ICE HU controls is a big accident causer. Now we have something else to take our attention.

Eyes should be on the road, and gear changes should be by feel! Thumbs down on this one!

[JVH]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Tachometers used to be a feature of the more 'sporty' car; then they became a standard feature, perhaps a marketing gimmick to make people think they are driving a more sporting car.

Eyes should be on the road, and gear changes should be by feel! Thumbs down on this one!

+1

Many of us change gears instinctively by the so called feel and grunt of the engine. I doubt there are folks who look at the tachometer to change gears or are there?

[dadu]

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss

Sounds good.
Do any cars in India have this.
Also one query - when you have your eyes on the road how is this little light indicator actually visible? Will it not distract you? Does it give a beep or a sound at the appropriate times?

India has a long way to go on the instrumentation features as no legislation covers them here, in many countries its part of legislation if one needs to sell there, for eg. the tyre pressure monitor.

Gear shift indicator gives an audible beep, although I agree looking at the console can be distracting everytime.