Aftermarket HUDs - are they all carp?

Mildly_Miffed

I didn't say exceeding the limit was inherently dangerous… except to the cleanliness of your licence.

But somebody who is as unaware of their speed as you describe is likely to be unaware of plenty of other road hazards, too.

B0bbyEwing

Some people notice small details. They observe all the dips & potholes in the road. They notice every slight noise the car makes. Minor differences, so on & so forth.

Others just stick between the lines & drive straight. Doesn't mean they're not aware. They slow down for traffic ahead, they're not cutting anyone up but they're just sticking between the lines & driving straight.

Doesn't mean they're away with the fairies. They react for hazards, they just drive different.

Edit to add - to bring this to a close as we're getting away from things a bit here, I think I'll not be spending any money on HUDs. Thanks for feedback.

Ectophile

If you find yourself creeping over the speed limit, then it not cruise control you need but speed limiter.

A lot of cars now have it. Set it to the speed limit of the road you're on. Then drive normally, knowing it won't let you break the limit.

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894043#Comment_81894043

No it's not.

Mildly_Miffed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895299#Comment_81895299

It's not… what? What he needs?

It does indeed do as @Ectophile suggests. Mostly. If it parses the correct limit. Yes, it can be overridden - by absolutely planting the right foot. But in normal driving, it will sit you on the limit unless and until you ease off.

And it's not so much "a lot of cars have it", but all new cars for the last few years - all new type-approvals since July 2022, all new registrations since July 2024 must include Intelligent Speed Assistance systems.
https://roadsafetyfacts.eu/isa-what-is-intelligent-speed-assistance-and-how-does-it-work/
Does that help the OP with his recently-bought older car? No. But…

James2k

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895641#Comment_81895641

And quite often it reads the wrong sign and thus uses the wrong speed.

Anyone dopey enough to need a limiter to avoid speeding probably wont realise they are doing the wrong speed, possibly causing a lot of danger. I.e. 20 in a 50 if the car has read a sign off to the side

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895641#Comment_81895641

Ectophile said I need a speed limiter.

I said I don't.

We could go on & on about this all day but neither side are going to change their mind, the thread will end up locked & people may end up with fingers getting wagged at them from the powers that be.

So best we just agree to disagree now & save ourselves wasted time.

Mildly_Miffed

He said somebody who finds themselves drifting over the limit does, with the implication that that drift is through inattention and lack of focus. And he's right.

Whether the cap fits you is not something I can comment on, never having seen you drive.

B0bbyEwing

No, he's not right. But that's a total different debate. I'll argue the case all day long on that one. You're clearly in camp A but that's not my camp & we're not going to agree.

I've actually come back to the thread because I remembered that I forgot to respond to those who said you don't really 'need' a temp gauge.

Need is a bit of an iffy word but we'll not dwell on that one for this.

Our last car, a MK5 Astra, had no temp gauge although anyone familiar with the car may/will be familiar with how to access the temp via the dash buttons, unless they have an aftermarket radio that is.

Anyway, the car was seemingly running fine. Blowers were warm, car ran ok. Everything seemed fine.

Except once I learned about this temp in the menu system I then learned that the thermostat needed changing. Otherwise I'd have had absolutely no idea because the car was running fine.

Got the 'stat changed & the car then started running up to temperature as it should've done.

So didn't really need a gauge but needed a gauge.

On the other car we had, which had an actual gauge & the same 'stat problem, I was able to tell instantly that it needed replacing because of the gauge.