One of the exciting ways digital instrument clusters are better than their analog counterparts is their ability to incorporate extra hardware without much of a hassle. Sure, shift lights were great for a while, but after the fourth Fast and Furious movie most of us were probably over them. Well, now we can easily bring them back, albeit in a classier, more streamlined way.

Our Design

We decided to keep our approach to design simple and efficient, just like the speedometer design, discussed here. We have a yellow line, a red line and a digital display. The numbers on the analog scale show up and increase/decrease in size, relative to their vicinity to the needle. This ensure that they’re easy to read and they don’t overcrowd the design.

Shift Light

While not exactly a shift light, the gauge warns when it’s ready to shift, based on how close the RPMs are getting to redline. No, not as cool as the old school ones but at least you won’t be the talk of the town anymore.

Customization

While analog clusters could easily accomplish most of the functions of their digital counterparts, customization is definitely not one of them. When it comes to our tachometer design, it can easily be customized just like the speedometer. Do you want to change the max RPM value? Easily done. Redline? done. Yellow line? Why not. All you have to do is open the settings below and make the necessary adjustments.

Unlike other digital instrument clusters where you have to turn the car off and back on again or promise not to use it for an hour, this is easily accomplished on the fly, without losing functionality of the gauge. The tachometer will still display the digital value while the analog scale is being updated. Oh, and you also get a cool animation to keep you busy and entertained while it’s happening.

Final Words

We think our design easily accomplishes all necessary functions of a tachometer, from displaying RPMs, visually warning when a shift is necessary, and being easily customizable in all important aspects. Are we going to add more features to it in the future? No, keep it simple! However, we may add a completely digital version of it, but that will be part of a larger digital skin for the entire interface.