[Nine Lives]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Cross-reference to sister thread: http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1258632

As to why some folks think this is acceptable is beyond me

[ilovewagons]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Cross-reference to sister thread: http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1258632

Again, on an iPad, at arm's length, quick glance:

Cruise control set for 120, speed zero, RPM 700.

Sure it's not perfect, but in lighting like that, the gauges on my 328i and my B180 become sub-optimal so did the gauges on the RS3 I test drove. Expecting the dials to become back-lit in bright sunlight is unrealistic. Again, I'm not saying its perfect, or that this is acceptable all the time (because it clearly doesn't happen all the time) but if I was going to complain about safety, I'd start with side impact protection being so poor that BMW had to move the seats inboard and cant them outwards to gain extra room for deformation.

[blackholescion]

Originally Posted by ilovewagons

Again, on an iPad, at arm's length, quick glance:

Cruise control set for 120, speed zero, RPM 700.

Sure it's not perfect, but in lighting like that, the gauges on my 328i and my B180 become sub-optimal so did the gauges on the RS3 I test drove. Expecting the dials to become back-lit in bright sunlight is unrealistic. Again, I'm not saying its perfect, or that this is acceptable all the time (because it clearly doesn't happen all the time) but if I was going to complain about safety, I'd start with side impact protection being so poor that BMW had to move the seats inboard and cant them outwards to gain extra room for deformation.

Any sources for your crooked seats reasoning? I haven't found anything to the fact that it was for crash protection.

Also, this isn't in bright sunlight. In bright sunlight, you can see the gauges. This is overcast or driving through wooded areas in the shade. The contrast is bad. Period. You can try to justify it all you want, but at a quick split second glace at 50 MPH, by the time your brain registers what's actually going on with your speed, you've traveled 150 feet or more. If it takes longer than a glance to ascertain your speed, that's not good. In real life, it does take longer than a glace (phone cameras add light and make it look brighter than it actually is). Add more time if you're wearing sunglasses. We can all be armchair/keyboard warriors about this but until you experience it, it's a lot better in pics and a whole lot easier to see than it looks.

[ilovewagons]

Originally Posted by blackholescion

Any sources for your crooked seats reasoning? I haven't found anything to the fact that it was for crash protection.

Go to 10mins 51s
In BMW's defence, it's more to keep up with more demanding side impact safety requirements without having to reengineer a chassis that probably won't be in production for too much longer (otherwise they'd just have reengineered the chassis, duh.

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by Nine Lives

As to why some folks think this is acceptable is beyond me

That's weird my 17 is nowhere near that bad.

[LGWGN]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

That's weird my 17 is nowhere near that bad.

Mine is. In the right environment I cannot see the gauges at all. It happens a couple of time a week...

[Das Kommander]

I'm in the camp that is hoping BMW can do something to improve this situation.

After a week of daily driving my 2017 M2 (in southern California sunshine), my only daily gripes are the dim instrument display and the iDrive intro/warning message. I'll plan to code out the warning message eventually. Wish I could do the same for the instrument panel situation.

[David1]

Originally Posted by LGWGN

Mine is. In the right environment I cannot see the gauges at all. It happens a couple of time a week...

Same on my 17. They are all the same.

[Nine Lives]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

That's weird my 17 is nowhere near that bad.

Originally Posted by LGWGN

Mine is. In the right environment I cannot see the gauges at all. It happens a couple of time a week...

Originally Posted by David1

Same on my 17. They are all the same.

+1,no joke when you've got speed cameras and vans hidden everywhere over here.4 MPH over in a 30 and you're done...

The difference of guessing what speed you're travelling at and being able to read what speed....

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Nine Lives

no joke when you've got speed cameras and vans hidden everywhere over here. 4 MPH over in a 30 and you're done...
The difference of guessing what speed you're travelling at and being able to read what speed....

Definitely.

That's why I plan to install the 'P3 gauge' later this week inside my M2. Problem solved: real speed properly visible as much as I like. Expensive work-around to remedy this BMW fail ? True, but I wanted to get this sorted out + OBC showing other data (preferably navigation with Speed Limit Info) than the small digital OBC speedometer.

BMW, get your act together. The poor readability of the M2 instrument panel in overcast lighting conditions is a damn nuisance and a shame for a premium car.

[Glounk]

Yes, it's a shame

What would be the official fix from BMW?

[Minchy]

I always drive with my lights on so this wouldnt be a problem.

[blackholescion]

Originally Posted by Minch

I always drive with my lights on so this wouldnt be a problem.

This is still a problem. The car dims the gauge cluster regardless of the lights being on based on ambient light. You can have the lights on and the gauge cluster will have the lights off during the day.

[///M-pressed]

Originally Posted by blackholescion

This is still a problem. The car dims the gauge cluster regardless of the lights being on based on ambient light. You can have the lights on and the gauge cluster will have the lights off during the day.

Well, that's not the case with my car. I turned the lights on and the dials on the instrument cluster lit up.

[Phaeton]

the pictures of this issue are alarming. I don't understand the thought process with a company that doesn't understand the basic requirements of being able to read the gauge(s) at all times. The font color for the fuel gauge is bright white, but the speedo / tach appear gray in comparison.

[bobsor]

Originally Posted by Attuale

Well, that's not the case with my car. I turned the lights on and the dials on the instrument cluster lit up.

Interesting, perhaps it's because you're in Australia and the cars may be setup differently for that market. I can state with certainty after spending way too much time both by myself and with a BMW Genius, that there is no light switch position what will illuminate the instrument and panel lights except in the evening/night.

[CosmosMpower]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

the pictures of this issue are alarming. I don't understand the thought process with a company that doesn't understand the basic requirements of being able to read the gauge(s) at all times. The font color for the fuel gauge is bright white, but the speedo / tach appear gray in comparison.

Very few lighting conditions that make it look THAT bad in real life. I've only noticed it maybe once. It's very readable 90% of the time to me.

[jtfields]

I was noticing today that it is pretty dim. Sunglasses make it worse. It hasn't been a huge problem but definitely an oversight by BMW.

[KGun]

There is only one place that the cluster looks proper, and that's in the documentation.

[atxsk8r]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

I've only noticed it maybe once. It's very readable 90% of the time to me.

+1

Not a big deal to me and I mostly look at the digital MPH reading anyways

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by atxsk8r

+1

Not a big deal to me and I mostly look at the digital MPH reading anyways

I also use the digital speed display. Wish BMW made it larger. Personally I can't wait for these analog gauges to be a thing of the past. A analog speedometer is pretty much useless and totally imprecise, the tach is the only display that benefits from that layout. I like what Ferrari, McLaren and Audi are doing.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by KGun

There is only one place that the cluster looks proper, and that's in the documentation.

Yup. Gimme that instrument cluster featuring more contrast of the analog dials + 8.5K rpm (instead of the 7.5K rpm that made it to M2 production).

And for the digital part of the instrument cluster: BMW, please note that there is *definitely* a good and proper reason why the competition permanently shows a digital speedometer in big digits in its high performance cars. Don't bury the digital speedometer with small digits in a scroll-through OBC (reducing the use of other OBC info that we prefer) - maybe keep that layout for the 'regular' 2er. Evidently, high performance cars are a 'liability' to exceed speed limits in a few moments by just a strong push on the throttle + observing speed limits in everyday life is important if you want to stay out of trouble. So, yeah, a properly readable speedometer *is* important in a high performance car that's supposed to be used outside the race-track too.