New Member, New Company

[SpeedView]

Afternoon all,

I'm Marko from a new company - SpeedView Head up Displays - and I'm here on the Ford Owner's Club to pick your technical gurus' brains as you'll see shortly!

To show that I bleed EP90 when cut though, here are a few shots of my toys: (Ford content: plenty of Scorpio bits in the XJ8)

MX5 (sensible daily)

<<<spot the gadget

MXJ8 (Jaguar X308 Phaeton; 4 litres; 4 doors; no roof; 200 kg of additional steelwork to keep it together; still needs hitting with some 18s and the lowering stick...)

More here: :-)

http://www.speedview.co/about

Now off to pick some brains in the tech section...

[Preee]

Hi there

Nice Jag BTW

Speedview , good idea , i have been using my Android Phone for the exact same thing , and it displays Average speed and distance covered and also warns me of Going over the speed limit via audio :) , but yes they are good idea

[SpeedView]

Cheers! Jag still needs a touch more work :-)

Smartphones are damn good for something that's free, but do have their limitations. Lag (even though it refreshes quickly, the speed shown is still your speed from some time ago, especially when you're going fairly slowly/in town) and daytime visibility are the big ones.

The SpeedView is 5,500 nits rather than the 500 nits you get with a smartphone so that you can really see it in the daytime. Worst case is a convertible, top down, pointed into direct sunlight: (still easier to see than the OE speedo)

[Lenny]

Hi there

Nice Jag BTW

Speedview , good idea , i have been using my Android Phone for the exact same thing , and it displays Average speed and distance covered and also warns me of Going over the speed limit via audio :) , but yes they are good idea

Ive got that App on mine too Pree its brilliant,

has saved me from getting points on my licence twice already

and if i ever sell my focus?

no problem because i still have my phone with the App in my pocket and no nasty holes drilled in my dashboard.B)

ive fitted a piece of window tint to my windscreen too and stops the light fade 100%

[Preee]

Agreed they some times lose tracking if under a bridge or built up area , but good for a free App. , Daylight could also be compensated via small tint which you also have on the screen or is it a reflection?

[Preee]

Regarding the Jag.

What sort of MOT will it have to go through since cutting the roof , and what engine does it have , my mate has an old Jag , frightning fast , but with a bonnet that big who care's it would be a few seconds after impact before you even felt anything lol

[Lenny]

£38.41 + Free Shipping Click Here .

[SpeedView]

Tough crowd, eh? ;)

I'll kick off with quality. My displays are made by the same factory that Valeo (the French automotive giant supplying major OEMs) use. The factory and its QA processes are ISO9001:2008 certified, which in plain English means that they can make the same things again and again, reliably. -that display isn't

Quality is important for legal reasons. By being able to prove that the displays are quality items, I can have them Type-Approved. By law, any electrical item that you permanently fit to your car has to be Type-Approved, else you invalidate the Type Approval of your vehicle. (section 63 of the construction and use regs; criminal offence) What's more important though is that the test checks that it isn't going to interfere with the electronic systems inside your car. (remember that your anti-lock brakes, stability control, traction control etc all use vehicle speed data) Its nice to know that you're legal too, and that your car is not going to catch fire one night. The SpeedView *is* Type Approved. -that display isn't

Whilst we're discussing legalities, I've liaised with VOSA to check all the intricacies of how and where you must fit it for it to be MOT legal, and sufficient as the *only* speedometer fitted to a new car presented for the more stringent IVA test. The details matter and they're included in both the instructions and the design of the device. I've also paid my import taxes. (you are going to pay the VAT, aren't you - that brings the price to 46 quid already) -at the absolute best, that seller doesn't know the law

Not all components and designs are created equal, and not all kits are complete. It has LEDs inside, but are they 5,500 nits brightness or 500 nits? This matters, their spec sheet doesn't say, and it probably hasn't been tested either. Can you see a raised area around the display, to hide the one on the dashboard from your eyes whilst driving? (really, you only want to be able to see the reflection on the screen, not both the source and the reflection) It records your maximum speed. What a fantastic idea, don't you think? 71 sir? Oh dear sir. Where are the wiring connectors? I supply the wire clips, and not just naff ones but 3M wire clips. Ditto the self-adhesive dashboard mountings, also 3M. (hook and loop, so that you can remove it) Supplying a complete kit, and using quality sundries, isn't free.

Last but not least support - I'm here, in the UK, available to talk and advise in your living room. I stock in the UK, so you can get what you want when you want; I sell in the UK, so that you're covered by all the buyer protection laws; I offer a warranty on the product that's worth the paper its written on; and the instructions I write/advice I give are offered in plain English. -you get none of that buying from a kid in a flat in HK

I can appreciate that you don't want forum members to get ripped off, and I honestly tip my hat to you for that.

However, I think what you've actually helped show is that the absolute cheapest that you can buy a piece of untested, illegal to use, product, in a kit that is incomplete with zero support, zero buyer protection, and no warranty, is £46. Maybe £38 if you don't pay your dues. (thanks, us honest small businesses really appreciate it)

I'm offering a quality, tested, legal, complete kit, intelligently specified and designed, fully supported, and warranted. I'm offering it at a loss to the first two people to try it out, in exchange for the how-to.

You could also buy the same thing from Valeo:

http://www.smileyouaredriving.com/uk_en-products-driving-assistance.innovative-solution-6.html

RRP is north of £100, the instructions have been badly translated from Chinglish to French to English, and they don't provide any product support. There are sellers selling off stock that they just can't sell (funny that) as low as £85 inc P&P if you look around.

Take your pick - illegal Chinese tat that may or may not set your car on fire for £46; surplus stock of (what I believe to be) a discontinued but quality legal product from a European OEM but with no after-sales support for £85+, or the exact same quality product, less the fancy branding for £40 from an enthusiast.

Granted, the £40 is not a permanent price - I was hoping to run a group buy for the forums in the new year at £60 inc p&p - and that £14 difference buys a whole world of quality. It also pays for the discount I gave the first two gurus, it'll make a contribution to your forum, and just about keeps the office lights on. (the units sold for £69.99 buy my dinner)

[SpeedView]

The Jaguar...

The test is called an "IVA" (Individual Vehicle Approval). Takes ~8 hours at VOSA and 450 pounds, but you do get 3 years without MOTs afterwards. Rulebook is called the M1 inspection manual - 250 pages odd!

Ours is a long wheelbase (+6" in the rear) 4.0 Sovereign; ex Westminster car. They're 290 bhp and 1730 kg so hustle along deceptively quickly.

Peanuts to buy if you fancy one (a *NICE* 2001 XJR, the 370 bhp supercharged version, will be under 3k). We thought we ought to get a V8 whilst we still could! Does about 25 mpg which is ok if you're full up w/ people to split the bill. Statistically the safest saloon car on UK roads for along time, in terms of fatalities/mile. Partly because the MD doesn't like his gin spilled. Mostly because there's rather a lot of metal there. Even the wood trim on the dash is metal. Walnut, laminated onto a metal casting, so that it doesn't flex/warp/rattle?!?

[Preee]

The Jaguar...

The test is called an "IVA" (Individual Vehicle Approval). Takes ~8 hours at VOSA and 450 pounds, but you do get 3 years without MOTs afterwards. Rulebook is called the M1 inspection manual - 250 pages odd!

Ours is a long wheelbase (+6" in the rear) 4.0 Sovereign; ex Westminster car. They're 290 bhp and 1730 kg so hustle along deceptively quickly.

Peanuts to buy if you fancy one (a *NICE* 2001 XJR, the 370 bhp supercharged version, will be under 3k). We thought we ought to get a V8 whilst we still could! Does about 25 mpg which is ok if you're full up w/ people to split the bill. Statistically the safest saloon car on UK roads for along time, in terms of fatalities/mile. Partly because the MD doesn't like his gin spilled. Mostly because there's rather a lot of metal there. Even the wood trim on the dash is metal. Walnut, laminated onto a metal casting, so that it doesn't flex/warp/rattle?!?

Cheers , i offten wondered when that sort of modifying takes place , What kind of inspection it would have to go through, MPG not to bad , i only used to get 31MPG from my old 1.8 Astra

[SpeedView]

The folks at VOSA are great - always trying to find a way to help decently made projects through the legislation. They get really excited too if its not yet another hearse, another se7en type kit, or yet another stinking flippin' horsebox conversion!

The XJ to go for is the X350 I reckon. All aluminium jobbie. Massive, but the V6 tips the scales at a shade over 1600 kg with 235 bhp, and the V8 is 1700 kg odd but with 295bhp. The V6s regularly hit 40 mpg on a run, and even the V8 gets 35 mpg because they're as light/lighter than any Mondeo type car these days, and super slippery aerodynamically. You'll get a good one from 5k, and the last of them before the switch to new shape, top of the range, for 20k.