russlex

Has anyone installed or know how to install an after market tachometer on at RX450h (or 400h)? I find the power gauge to be quite useless, wish they'd just kept the rpm gauge that's in the RX 350.
I realize I would have to mount it somewhere, would probably place it somewhere inconspicuous.

mcomer

Will a Tachometer on a car with a CVT be any more useful than the Power Meter? When I select Sport in the ES300h and the meters change I then can watch it peg at "0" when stopped and then wave up to...2500 RPM!

russlex

[QUOTE=mcomer;8370338]Will a Tachometer on a car with a CVT be any more useful than the Power Meter?

Yes, I would be able to tell how much I've goosed the engine and it would give me a visual to tell when the engine is off, as it's often hard to tell being so quiet.

Even though it's not a standard trans, I feel naked without a tach. The "power meter" is redundant, other than indicating when the battery is being charged (which can also be seen in more detail on the Nav display "fuel economy" mode), it provides no real useful information, at least for me it doesn't.

CapeDave

[QUOTE=russlex;8370792]I COMPLETELY agree! This is actually a reason I have not seriously considered the 450h. So darn hard to tell when the motor is on. And how much one has "goosed" the motor. I actually would find myself going too fast when last drove one. A 400h I think.

It is one of my pet peeves when a manufacturer thinks they know better than 50 years of proven experience. For God's sake, Lexus, throw a little tach in there. Or better yet, make the tach the regular size and throw in a little power meter. It really should not require me (and the OP), to figure this stuff out

I will be happy to charge $50K for my "design consultation".

RXSF

Well actually the power meter is pretty much like a tachometer with the numbers. At the highest point, you can guess that is around 6500 rpm and you can scale it in your head.

rayaans

[QUOTE=CapeDave;8370875]Ha thats just so petty. I have a 450h, who cares how much youve "goosed" the engine? and why would you care to know when the engine is on? Besides, you can hear the V6 growling when your goosing it anyway!

Droid13

Actually, the power meter is very informative. But it is more targeted to the hyper-miler driver than the qtr-miler driver.

Charge Range: shows range of regenerative charging
Eco Range 1: shows maximum power allowed for unofficial EV (vehicle initiated)
Eco Range 2: shows maximum power allowed for official EV (operator initiated) operation
Power Range: Forget that EV stuff, range of system power output up to max, which is a very similar curve to rpm, at least in that range

If you really want a tach, $20 buys a Bluetooth connector for the car'computer port, then your smartphone is a tach too.

vlad_a

Had to look it up; 450h tops out at 6,200 RPM.

vlad_a

Honestly, I do not miss a tach. For a regular gas vehicle, sure, I want one. On a hybrid, not really. Just let it do its thing and mask the gas engine presence. Just got to appreciate how well it does what it is intended to.

CapeDave

I would be willing to try it I guess. Things do change. And I think the 450h is definitely one of the best all around hybrid cars. I drove the 400h and would love to try the 450h sometime. Maybe next car, who knows?

Allannde

Actually an easy solution is to purchase a ScanGuage. It reports the engine speed digitally. It simply plugs into the CAN plug that the service guys use for their test gauges. They sell for about $100.

This is my first post here. I have been with PriusChat since 2006 and have a Plug in Prius.

I just ordered a 2015 RX 450h to go with the PIP.

subtones

"It simply plugs into the CAN plug that the service guys use for their test gauges. "

What's a CAN plug and where might I find it?

BTW thanks for all the comments to my original post. Many of you made some good points about a tach being redundant in a hybrid. But for me, I still want to see how hard the engine is working via a tach than a vague power zone. And I also want to see when the engine is off which is sometimes hard to tell when cruising / not accelerating.

I bought my 2010 450h in Dec and I'm delighted with the gas mileage... about 30 mpg in winter is substantially better than my old 400h.

I was also delighted to learn I could change from metric kmh to mph (miles per hour ) on the heads up display, and to be able to change the gas economy display into mpg rather than "liters per 100km" which, having grown up with imperial measurements in Canada (now that dates me...) is still meaningless to me

The only disappointment is the control on the steering wheel to force it to run on battery alone is usually "not available", like when the engine is cold etc.

Allannde

The CAN BUS is connected with the OBD II plug which is under the dash to the left of the brake pedal. The CAN BUS is the place where the car records all of the data needed to manage the engine for emission control. Many things including RPM can be read from the CAN BUS. This includes any "codes" which have been set because of engine faults (which also cause the "check engine" warning light to come on).

I will mount my ScanGuage on top of the dash to the left by the little window. More information about the ScanGuage is available here: http://www.scangauge.com/

As for your disappointment with not being able to use electric only at any time, there are several conditions which prevent EV only operation to protect the Hybrid System. They include:

The traction battery is too cold
The traction battery is too hot
The gasoline engine has already started and needs to complete its warm up,
The level of traction battery charge is too low.

Our cars are designed to protect themselves which is why they are so durable. Sometimes this interferes with our convenience. It is a good tradeoff in the long run.

vlad_a

Actually, Prius is a bit less restrictive to the EV mode. For example, I could force it to go into EV when it is completely cold to move it around the garage or a parking lot. The electric system does not need to warm up and since the engine is off, there is no need to keep the catalytic converter hot to treat the exhaust.

RXh, on the other hand, must be fully warmed-up to go into EV.

Allannde

vlad

Since I do not know otherwise, I must take what you say.

But it does not make sense to me. There is no need to warm the engine for the electric system to operate. Is it possible that you are not quick enough with the EV button? I had that problem with the EV button at first with my first Prius (the Plug in Prius defaults to EV). Once the engine gets started, you must wait for the warm up to finish before the EV works, of course.

Try being quicker with the EV button. I will, of course, try my RXh when it comes.