Acura RSX Dials/Cluster

[2 Wheels]

Does anyone know if it's possible to use a cluster or just the dial from an Acura RSX in a DC5? If so, doesn't this seem like a viable route to take in order to avoid the speedo conversion as the RSX is in MPH

 

[ste01]

Why not just convert it? That way when the ODO reading is converted too it maintains the mileage of the car in a nice correct way without any of the "well the car was imported with X amount Kms, then I put in an RSX cluster reading X amount miles, then it now reads X, so if you add X km and X miles you get blah blah blah"

Really don't see any benefit to it

 

[2 Wheels]

Thanks for the reply. What you say makes complete sense, I just wasn't aware that the KM reading on the ODO could be converted to miles. I haven't actually got an Integra yet but I see a lot of ads stating a very confusing mixture of KM & miles

 

[VtecPaul]

Sorry for the bump - but is there any replacement dial face for the speedo to convert to mph? I‘ve read about clear decals to add mph to the kph dial, but can‘t find any suppliers of such an item. I‘d have thought Lockwood or similar would have done a direct replacement face, but alas it seems not to be the case.

 

[ste01]

Do you mean like this MPH?

 

[VtecPaul]

No.
I mean that either replacing the entire dial face, removing the kph speed marks and adding mph instead - or just adding mph marks around the dial so that it‘s possible to see the mph speed the car is travelling without having to work it out in your head.

This would do away with needing the speedo converter electronics, and leave the odometer in kms, but give the driver the ability to see the speed they are doing in mph.

Eg at 80kph it would also say 50mph on the dial.

 

[ste01]

Why does anyone want to keep the odo in km but read miles for speedo? I've got both in miles... Most of us live where both are ideally in miles

 

[VtecPaul]

everyone is different
I‘d prefer not to have another bit of electronics that can fail converting speedo and odo. As you‘ve no doubt seen too, a lot of cars have a mix of km and miles on the odo meaning a calculation has to be made to determine exact mileage covered in any single unit.

Odo conversions are always dubious unless coupled with a BIMTA cert - but leaving in kph means a slightly more complicated awareness of speed on UK roads where limits are set in mph. I‘m not sure where you‘d stand in court for a speed offence if you used the excuse - “my speedo is in kmh”.

Anyway, my question still stands - other than putting stickers on the dial face, are there any replacement faces that look more OEM” that could be used?

 

[2 Wheels]

Hi Paul, why not try what I suggested/enquired about in my original post? It would be OEM however the downside is that it wouldn't say "Type R"

 

[VtecPaul]

Hi Paul, why not try what I suggested/enquired about in my original post? It would be OEM however the downside is that it wouldn't say "Type R"

Yeah, may just buy one and see if the dial face is removable - I think the dial electronics itself will be different, and I‘m not sure if the speed range is the same but can check that
Don‘t have a DC5 yet, just doing my research!

 

[daniel-cmyk]

I got the car converted to MPH as soon as it was imported into the country, but left the mileage in kilometers and also left the KMH on the dials to keep its originality. (I absolutely hate them MPH stickers or when they use a silver pen to rub out the K)

Mine is easy to figure mileage as I have the BIMTA certificate. So just anything from the mileage entering the country is in miles. I'm first owner by the way.

I'm personally not down with clocking back the odometer regardless of who and what company has done it to convert it to miles...

 

[VtecPaul]

I got the car converted to MPH as soon as it was imported into the country, but left the mileage in kilometers and also left the KMH on the dials to keep its originality. (I absolutely hate them MPH stickers or when they use a silver pen to rub out the K)


Mine is easy to figure mileage as I have the BIMTA certificate. So just anything from the mileage entering the country is in miles. I'm first owner by the way.

I'm personally not down with clocking back the odometer regardless of who and what company has done it to convert it to miles...

That sounds confusing to me! Speedo that reads in MPH but says KPH on it, an odo that‘s a mix of miles and km, and an electronic converter to change the pulse signal from the gearbox that *could* fail.
It‘s exactly the opposite of what I want! Haha.

That said, what I want can‘t be easy to achieve otherwise everyone would be doing it. In my head it would just be a case of removing the old dial face and putting another one on (as I used to do for other cars when fitting Lockwood dial faces) but presume it‘s more complicated due to backlighting etc.
If I can source an RSX speedo for a cheap price I might give it a go

 

[ste01]

Isn't there a chance that an RSX cluster *could* fail? After all, they are electronic and older than a speed converter as well 🤔

 

[daniel-cmyk]

That sounds confusing to me! Speedo that reads in MPH but says KPH on it, an odo that‘s a mix of miles and km, and an electronic converter to change the pulse signal from the gearbox that *could* fail.
It‘s exactly the opposite of what I want! Haha.

That said, what I want can‘t be easy to achieve otherwise everyone would be doing it. In my head it would just be a case of removing the old dial face and putting another one on (as I used to do for other cars when fitting Lockwood dial faces) but presume it‘s more complicated due to backlighting etc.
If I can source an RSX speedo for a cheap price I might give it a go

Haha, nah it sounds confusing but for example:

Car imported at 133000 kms = 82000k miles

Car currently on 135000 kms (2000 more than imported) = 82000 (Imported mileage) + 2000miles (miles covered in UK) = 84000.

It's literally anything above 133000 (imported mileage) is miles. Simple maths.

The odometer converter can fail when the odometer shows the mileage in miles so same thing as you explained above. I know people who have ran the converters for years and years and they never have an issue... Only when they're installed wrong from the get go. How often does a calculator go wrong? That's literally all it is in theory.

Having RSX clocks will then show wrong mileage right? and then also will never say Type R?

 

[VtecPaul]

Nah you‘re both missing the point - I said RSX dial face (for speedo only) not the entire unit. Literally just like the “sticker” that is under the needle with the numbers on.

Agreed they will miss the “type r” logo/writing on. Some appear to have type S which would be annoying.

I‘ve actually emailed Lockwood to find out what they do, if they can do something (they do custom dial faces) and how much it‘d cost.

This means absolutely no mechanical changes whatsoever, and a dial face that could be removed and reverted to standard very easily.

 

[VtecPaul]

Having looked at the RSX dials, their speedo goes to 140 or 160 mph over the same 270 degree sweep, so I think their electronics and pulse signal are different anyway, which would rule this swap out.

 

[2 Wheels]

I'd be interested in this. I also don't like the idea of adding electronics to change the speedo/odo. Cheers

Nah you‘re both missing the point - I said RSX dial face (for speedo only) not the entire unit. Literally just like the “sticker” that is under the needle with the numbers on.

Agreed they will miss the “type r” logo/writing on. Some appear to have type S which would be annoying.

I‘ve actually emailed Lockwood to find out what they do, if they can do something (they do custom dial faces) and how much it‘d cost.

This means absolutely no mechanical changes whatsoever, and a dial face that could be removed and reverted to standard very easily.

 

[VtecPaul]

Had a response from Lockwood this afternoon. Apparently due to the DC5 dial face not being totally flat, it was not possible for them to come up with a replacement.
I have asked if they could do a clear overlay that would add a second “ring” for mph inside the kph ring, and will see what they say. It would need some designing and measuring due to the “type R” logo, but some variants of the RSX have two scales so it could work.

 

[ATC]

Wondered about this when I first started looking at these cars - that way you get an OEM dial with both mph and kph showing, and a better spaced Speedo...

However, no matter what you do you'd need a pulse modifier unit to make the odo read right, and with the DC5 dials I'm not sure the numbers on the rsx speedo face would match up with where the needle should point.

I also think the rsx dial looks a bit busy with both sets of speeds on it, at least now I have a real Speedo infront of me to compare it to.

The kph to mph conversion is a very simple set of electronics - I wouldn't worry about it going wrong, and I'm pretty sure most cars about have Bimta cert for a mileage conversion, that way everything reads purely in miles without having to do any conversions or maths, and you avoid the risk of an mot tester recording it in the wrong units and the mot history not stacking up as it looks like it changes between miles and Kms year on year.

 

[VtecPaul]

To your last few points, I‘ve looked at / researched over 30 DC5s that have been up for sale over the last 3-5 months. So many of them have incorrect MOTs, lacking BIMTA certs, and a variety of different cluster conversions it‘s unbelievable. For me, I have to buy the seller as much as the car, and 2 seemingly genuine sellers were proved to be lying and I had to walk away from the purchases, even after driving nearly 200 miles on both occasions.

I don‘t understand why anyone would want an odometer with a mix of km and miles - but so many importers cut corners and fail to adjust the reading to be fully miles. Perhaps they aren‘t BIMTA certified and can‘t do it, I‘m not sure.

I do know one thing tho, I‘ll be checking MOT paperwork as soon as it‘s handed to me to make sure the tester has recorded the right units and not missed any digits though, it only causes confusion at time of sale!