Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Electrical and Instruments => Topic started by: jaguaru on October 03, 2010, 00:21:38
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I might be at the wrong site. I'm trying to find out how to change/adjust a European speedometer so it will read miles? Can anyone help me or refer me to someone who might have the answer?
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You might try Al Lieffring, a member on the sight. He has done quite a bit of work on speedos.
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I guess there are several ways you could do this as I have had the same thoughts of changing but from MPH to KPH.
The probable easiest would be to change the speedo over for a MPH from KPH one.
There are people around, like me who have MPH speedo's in a land where we have KPH that would like to buy a KPH speedo or swap them over to KPH.
The second alternative is to find a new face plate that has the MPH and fit it however the graduations are all different and it is not a really good way to do it. You would potentially have to then have to find a speedo expert to re-calibrate the unit.
Thirdly you could just mark on the glass with something like nail polish the MPH points like 60 kph is 34mph, 80 is 50, 100 is 62 and so on.
If you are interested in a swap PM me.
Garry
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Another possibility is to get used to it and leave it alone.
My car is a Euro version originally from Genoa Italy....came to the US completely unmodified including the KM speedo.
Miles to KM: If I see a sign "10 Miles to Paradise" to get the KM's so I can use my KM odometer, I multiply the 10 by 6 then "adjust" the result (60) by adding the leading 6 to the 10 miles to get 16 KM's. Its rough but it works for me.
KM to Miles: If I'm going 85 KM/hour, to get my speed in MPH, I multiply the 8 of 85 by 6 to get 48 then I add a bit since it was 85 (not 80) and also because the actual convert number is not 6 but 6.2...and I find I'm moving at 48 MPH plus the fudge factor so my estimate is about 50 or 52 MPH.
This convert estimate is also handy when on a vacation in a KM country to estimate how many miles to the Church or the Square.
I admit that serving in the US Army in Germany (wandering about lost in the Bavarian forests) for several years kind of fixed this "converter" in my head but I'm sure anyone can do it with a little practice...and it will keep the car original.
And a KM speedo is a great conversation starter when car buffs in the USA ask if my car can really go 220 miles an hour...they come down a bit when I explain it's a KM speedo and the max speed shown is about 140 MPH.
For the math buffs and purists here, I allow that this is not exact but with the usually small numbers used in driving locally the error is small...but even with a sign that says "500 miles to Chicago", my simple calculation would add a 3 to the 5 to get 800 KM's. The more correct figure is about 810...not bad for an estimate.
So if a simple multiplication is OK with you, think about leaving the KM speedo in the car.
Richard M, NYC
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You should call a speedo shop (Palo Alto Speedometer seems to be a shop that a lot of the members here use) and see if the components needed to do a conversion are still available and have them do it. The conversion would involve changing the dial face to one calibrated in miles, changing the internal gearing of the odometer so that it would indicate miles, and doing the math to change the vehicle's indicated mileage from KM to Miles.
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The MPH speedo shows up on ebay quite frequently. I would purchase one and keep the KM stashed away in the event you may want to sell the car at some point.
You can also get yourself a GPS unit which will not only get you from point A to B but will also display your current speed.
Richard's method may work for him but a simpler way would be to say 160 Km is 100 MPH, 80 Km is 50 MPH and so on. It's not exactly correct but will get you in the right neighborhood when driving the correct speed limit is an issue.
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I pretty much follow Richard's approach for speed. My 220SE is in KPH and multiplying whatever speed I'm doing times .6 (.62 if I'm feeling really math oriented that day) works for me. I happens to be one of those nice inadvertent conveniences of life that 100 KPH is 62 MPH.
The math for going the other way, as the original writer was looking for, isn't quite as simple, unless, of course he's doing 62 MPH.