KM to Miles Conversion

Does anyone know how the counter in the cluster works? where is the convertor that decides whether to make the odo turn slower to reflect miles or faster to reflect kilometers? i want my euro MPH gauge, but would like the odometer to count in kilometers (currently counts in miles).

i guess as a starting point do the KMH and MPH clusters use different odometer gears?

you need one of these:



this is what I use when I fly for all sorts of different things, among them miles to kilometers conversion.

:P

was thinking about it today and i thought i might be able to swap the gauge face itself over. how do you take the needle off if possible? i dont want to brake it!

Originally Posted by Ethrty

:P

was thinking about it today and i thought i might be able to swap the gauge face itself over. how do you take the needle off if possible? i dont want to brake it!

youi just pull .. but its very easy to break, some come off nice and some you'll rip the whole piece off and ruin it all

but swapping the face will mess your reading all up

trim ?

will swapping the faces really change the reading??? at first that made total sense to me but as i think about it more, it would have been really intellegent of bmw to make universal clusters and just different faces for them. and since we know how intelligent germans are couldnt you just swap the faceplates out?

unless of course our wonderful german friends OVER-engineered it... lol

the face on the gauge will say that the odo is in miles, but i know that really it will be in kilometers and the gauge face was changed. i cannot see why that would make any difference?

Originally Posted by Ethrty

the face on the gauge will say that the odo is in miles, but i know that really it will be in kilometers and the gauge face was changed. i cannot see why that would make any difference?

should be ok. i just realized i was looking at my grey market speedo and comparing it to the US speedo. should have been looking at my full euro speedo vs the US one. looking at the correct ones it should be good. too many parts here

i wish they made a km/h gauge that also read mph in the center like the US speedo has. then i coulsd run a full euro cluster and not this basterdized piece i have i thought about running the full km/h gauge but then i really have no clue how fast im going when i get pulled over

Originally Posted by fcsteve

should be ok. i just realized i was looking at my grey market speedo and comparing it to the US speedo. should have been looking at my full euro speedo vs the US one. looking at the correct ones it should be good. too many parts here

i wish they made a km/h gauge that also read mph in the center like the US speedo has. then i coulsd run a full euro cluster and not this basterdized piece i have i thought about running the full km/h gauge but then i really have no clue how fast im going when i get pulled over

100 is the speed limit on the highway, 50 around town etc.. just like 100 degrees celcius is when water boils, and there are 100 centimeters in a meter. Metric is far easier to get your head around than imperial! metric ftw!

i agree on wishing there was a metric main and imperial secondary, but the other way around will do for me

Edit: are motometer and VDO fuel and temperature gauges interchangable?

Originally Posted by Ethrty

100 is the speed limit on the highway, 50 around town etc.. just like 100 degrees celcius is when water boils, and there are 100 centimeters in a meter. Metric is far easier to get your head around than imperial! metric ftw!

i agree on wishing there was a metric main and imperial secondary, but the other way around will do for me

speed limits change on nearly ever road here so it would be hard to guess what the km/h to mph would be on each road. metric is much nicer.

Originally Posted by fcsteve

speed limits change on nearly ever road here so it would be hard to guess what the km/h to mph would be on each road. metric is much nicer.

there is no simple formula for converting it. 62 (60)=100 so 30 = 50, 40 = 65... ahhh maths! as long as the gauge is hanging off the end of the gauge you should be sweet :P

before and after photos. i quite like the new setup. looks the part. the counter should count in kilometers still hopefully. i used the cover off the european car (so a close eye will pick up that it says VDO instead of Motometer now). im hoping its the main board that decides to count in miles, or the counter itself, rather than the SI board, but i guess we will see. i swapped over the fuel gauge but kept the face as i prefer the gauge reading how many liters over the amount relitive to a full tank (ie 1/2 etc). also swapped the temperature gauge, im hoping this might fix my unreasonably high temperature problem.

aaaahhhhh i tough that was my cluster?

Originally Posted by jleon426

aaaahhhhh i tough that was my cluster?

i have a few stashed away :P

temperature gauge is sitting right in the normal place, the speedo and tacho both work so thats good! i have a full tank of gas at the moment so i will see if the swap on the fuel gauge has worked on that. it usually drops to zero when there is about a half tank left. ill swap the sender if this hasnt fixed it. i assume that the fuel level sender is the same between M20 and M40 equipped cars? i guess ill find out in due course anyways

Originally Posted by Ethrty

there is no simple formula for converting it.

Yes there is. 1 KM = 5/8 of a mile.

Miles to kilometers: Divide by 5, multiply by 8.

60/5 = 12. 12*8 = 96.

60 mph = 96 kph.

Kilometers to miles: Divide by 8, multiply by 5.

96/8 = 12. 12*5 = 60

96 kph = 60 mph.

Originally Posted by ScottinSoCal

Yes there is. 1 KM = 5/8 of a mile.

Miles to kilometers: Divide by 5, multiply by 8.

60/5 = 12. 12*8 = 96.

60 mph = 96 kph.

Kilometers to miles: Divide by 8, multiply by 5.

96/8 = 12. 12*5 = 60

96 kph = 60 mph.

try this while driving ... not simple

^^ thats where the whiz wheel comes in.

Originally Posted by ScottinSoCal

Yes there is. 1 KM = 5/8 of a mile.

Miles to kilometers: Divide by 5, multiply by 8.

60/5 = 12. 12*8 = 96.

60 mph = 96 kph.

Kilometers to miles: Divide by 8, multiply by 5.

96/8 = 12. 12*5 = 60

96 kph = 60 mph.

im not used to fractions. i never need them in life. if a unit gets small/accurate enough to require fractions, you drop down to the next unit. metric ftw lol.

and im crap at maths... i know my 5 times tables.. not my 8s

Originally Posted by fcsteve

try this while driving ... not simple

Time and driving conditions permitting, you could practice doing the mental math every time you see a speed limit sign. Miles to km conversion in decimal format is multiplying miles by 1.6, but here are four to memorize to start:

25 mph = 40 km/h
50 mph = 80 km/h
75 mph = 120 km/h
100 mph = 160 km/h

Adios for now,

RM

Originally Posted by romeomike

Time and driving conditions permitting, you could practice doing the mental math every time you see a speed limit sign. Miles to km conversion in decimal format is multiplying miles by 1.6, but here are four to memorize to start:

25 mph = 40 km/h
50 mph = 80 km/h
75 mph = 120 km/h
100 mph = 160 km/h

Adios for now,

RM

you have 40km/h speed limits???? damn! our lowest is 50 (except for parking lots which is 10). wish we could have 120km/h. i do that anyway but it would be nice to not have to worry

Originally Posted by Ethrty

you have 40km/h speed limits???? damn! our lowest is 50 (except for parking lots which is 10). wish we could have 120km/h. i do that anyway but it would be nice to not have to worry

24 km/h -- school zones (along with 40km/h)
40 km/h -- residential streets and rural communities (where giving speeding tickets seems to be the town's main source of income).

We have limits in 8km/h // 5mph increments all the way from 40 // 25 to 120 // 75. More info below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_l..._United_States

Originally Posted by romeomike

24 km/h -- school zones (along with 40km/h)
40 km/h -- residential streets and rural communities (where giving speeding tickets seems to be the town's main source of income).

We have limits in 8km/h // 5mph increments all the way from 40 // 25 to 120 // 75. More info below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_l..._United_States

we have 20kmh at schools, (but thats not enforced and there are no signs) and then simply 50 (residential/industrial), 80 intertown roads, and 100 (open road/motorway etc

Originally Posted by bimmerboy08

you need one of these:



this is what I use when I fly for all sorts of different things, among them miles to kilometers conversion.

Holy hell, I wouldn't even remember which way to hold an E6B. Now this, this is what you need to convert well, anything!