Tachometer, time to ditch it?
12-09-2018, 09:32 AM
#1
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Tachometer, time to ditch it?
Ok, I’m strictly talking street here, not track.
Of what value is a tachometer any more?
It would be nice in today’s virtual cockpits to have an option to not display it.
The only slight use I can see is when you use the paddles to downshift going downhill or coming to a stop. Even then, though, the engine speed can be inferred from the engine sound and the general feel.
The real estate it takes up can surely be put to better use.....
I used to drive a manual, and even then, I relied more on the engine sound than the tach.
HBH
Of what value is a tachometer any more?
It would be nice in today’s virtual cockpits to have an option to not display it.
The only slight use I can see is when you use the paddles to downshift going downhill or coming to a stop. Even then, though, the engine speed can be inferred from the engine sound and the general feel.
The real estate it takes up can surely be put to better use.....
I used to drive a manual, and even then, I relied more on the engine sound than the tach.
HBH
12-09-2018, 08:08 PM
#2
AudiWorld Super User
Well it’ll be gone when all models go e-tron. 
12-18-2018, 10:44 AM
#4
AudiWorld Senior Member
I like to see it when I paddle shift and as SYMAWD states, it's helpful in stop starts. Very hard to hear the engine running at all and it's easy to see the RPM above zero, Besides, not sure what real estate you are in need of seeing. You can shrink the MPH and RPM virtual gauges small or remove them entirely on the 2019 A6... Not sure on others as we are waiting for our A6 enroute from Germany...
12-18-2018, 03:23 PM
#5
AudiWorld Super User
Perhaps for certain cars it makes sense to ditch it, especially for drivers that keep their transmission in automatic mode all the time. In those cases it serves no purpose. Same actually goes for the speedometer. A digital display of the current speed is all you really need and that's what's currently accomplished with the Sport view in S and RS models where the tachometer moves to the center and the speedometer is replaced with a digital speed indicator inside the tachometer. On more sportier models and for people who like to manually shift, it is still useful and especially in RS models, where the manual mode is a true manual mode that doesn't automatically upshift at redline, so it's important to know where you are in the rev range. This is also aided with the tachometer starting to flash yellow and then red to indicate that you must shift or risk running into the rev limiter. I do agree that coming from 15+ years of driving manual transmissions, I mostly shift by ear, but I still occasionally glance at the tachometer to see if I'm in the power band or not or if I have room to downshift one more gear, or to wind out the engine and shift at the last possible moment. I suppose it would be kinda cool to have the tachometer disappear if the transmission is in automatic mode and reappear of you put it in manual mode. An idea worth considering.
Example of the sport view in an SQ5:
Example of the sport view in an SQ5:
Last edited by superswiss; 12-18-2018 at 03:26 PM.
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