speedometer with miles/km

[ady_uaic]

hi guys,

which model should I look for in order to change my speedometer? It is an european version (with km only), and I would like to replace it with miles/km - as I want to keep this car.
My car is an Accord 2009 CU2

 

[richsprint]

That could be quite hard to do, I dont think you can just swap the instrument cluster.

Its not a legal requirement in the UK, your car will pass an MoT, its just your responsibility to stick to the MPH speed limits, even with a KMH display.

You might be able to get a cluster from a scrap car and swap over the MPH dial...big might though...

 

[edgeoftime]

I bought a Jazz from an importer, it was Japanese built and the speedo was in KMPH, however to conform it had to go to some UK CONVERTER WHO RECALIBRATED THE SPEEDO TO MPH, and the motif was modified to read MPH by removing the K also the radio had to be modified.

 

[ady_uaic]

understood. I know that I'll pass the MOT, but I need it for me (now I'm calculating every time in my head - 50mph x 1.6 = x/kmh).
I don't want to convert km to mph, but just a quick swap of the dial

 

[jjmartin349571]

I bought a Jazz from an importer, it was Japanese built and the speedo was in KMPH, however to conform it had to go to some UK CONVERTER WHO RECALIBRATED THE SPEEDO TO MPH, and the motif was modified to read MPH by removing the K also the radio had to be modified.

The official requirement for an mph speedometer on import vehicles is dependent on age. If it's under 10 years old it'll need and IVA/SVA (whatever it's called these days!) to be registered here and part of that test is ensuring that the speedometer reads out in mph. If the car is over 10 years old then there is no requirement to convert the speedometer to mph from kmph as the vehicle only needs to pass an MOT prior to registration.

When being converted to mph the actual gauges aren't recalibrated as such, on modern cars with an electronic VSS the standard method is to splice in an electronic device which alters the signal to trick the dials to read low. It's not ideal though as it often causes the ECU to think the car is going slower than it is which can result in some side effects, for example in VTEC engine JDM Preludes you often lose VTEC in first gear as the ECU doesn't think the car is travelling fast enough for VTEC to engage... The best method with regards to retaining OEM functionality is to obtain replacement dial faces and have these fitted. There is always a risk of damage to the instrument cluster during installation though unfortunately.

RE the radio, they use a different bandwidth in Japan so without a frequency expander all you will pick up is radio 2. An expander is about £15 off of ebay and gets wired into the existing aerial feed.

understood. I know that I'll pass the MOT, but I need it for me (now I'm calculating every time in my head - 50mph x 1.6 = x/kmh).
I don't want to convert km to mph, but just a quick swap of the dial

fwiw I didn't convert the speedo on the Subaru I had recently, and it only took a day or so to learn the relevant kmph speeds. No need to work them out each time, just grab the equivalents to 30, 40, 50, 60 & 70 and revise them for a little bit. It will be second nature before you know it!

Alternatively you could contact a company such as Lockwood, I believe they can make custom dial faces if required. Be prepared to spend a couple of hundred quid plus fitting though!

 

[ady_uaic]

understood, thanks @Josh2109!
another way could be a HUD display from my smartphone. did anyone tried that?

 

[jjmartin349571]

At one point I used my iPhone in a cradle with a GPS speedo app, that worked pretty well - it wasn't that elegant to look at though :lol:

I forgot to mention my main bugbear with using a chip to alter the VSS signal btw, which is that it causes your odometer to contain a mix of miles and kilometres. I really don't like that myself as it makes it harder to keep track of the car's mileage history. With a replacement dial face you will find that the dial read out is in mph but the odometer is kept in km's, I think that is the best compromise myself. It's all down to personal preference though

 

[ady_uaic]

if I have to cross through all these steps/procedures I think the best way is to quickly calculate from 50miles/81km (50*1.6~)

 

[richsprint]

When I had a left hand drive car here for a bit, I didn't find it a big problem tbh. Certainly not worth spending any money on.

You only need to remember the important ones approx e.g. 30mph = 50kmh, 50mph = 90kmh, and 70mph = 120kmh.

 

[ady_uaic]

cheers mate, that's right. I thought it would be a quick plug&play swap. I won't spend any penny for useless things (if it was something around 30-50£ for the panel, that would have been great).