Cars without a tachometer

"BadMotorScooter" (badmotorscooter) 07/09/2015 at 11:47 • Filed to: None

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I just realized I haven’t seen a car (non-electric) without a tach in a long time. Many moons ago, I had a Sundance with a manual, but no tach. I learned to shift it by sound and feel. I don’t think there are any manual tach-less cars anymore, which I believe is a good thing.

ttyymmnn > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 11:51

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I have a tach in my 5-speed Golf, but I rarely look at it. Your ears are the best tach.

We had an 82 Rabbit that didn't have a tach, but it did have dots on the speedo, one then two then three, to indicate the suggested speed for up shifting. I ignored those too.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 07/09/2015 at 12:00

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Can confirm - shift points on Rabbit speedos are nonsense.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:02

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My Sundance had a manual and tach, but it was the SE with the 2.5 NA

BadMotorScooter > ttyymmnn 07/09/2015 at 12:03

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Yeah, I have a motorcycle without a tach, and I shift it by sounds and feel. It becomes second nature quickly. If I recall, the old Sundance wouldn’t ever rev too much anyway!

MPA > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:03

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My ‘92 Sentra E didn’t have a tach. That may be the only car I’ve owned without one.

Moves-Like-Senna > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:04

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Even my bicycle has a tach (cadence) 0.o

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:04

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Years ago I had a Mitsu Tredia. That car was as basic as basic transportation gets. 5 speed, power nothing. It had full instruments except for the tach. In it's place was a big ass analog clock. Strangest damn thing I ever saw.

Captain of the Enterprise > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:06

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2005 crown victoria, no tach until I added my ultra gauge

ttyymmnn > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/09/2015 at 12:07

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Our Rabbit also had an “E Light” that would come on whenever the car thought it was most economical to up shift. If you heeded it, you were in 4th gear by 30 mph. In VW’s defense, the light would not come if you were trying to be as uneconomical as possible (i.e. flooring it). And since I was driving it from age 16, the light rarely made an appearance, and then in true VW fashion, it eventually stopped working altogether.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:09

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This is why I'm not buying an Echo, Tercel or Corolla next - no tach!

BadMotorScooter > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 07/09/2015 at 12:11

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Damn, you had the deluxe model!

Devon lost his burner, understands electric cars don't require front grilles > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:11

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Base spec Hyundai Accents only got tach after 06, I’d guess same story on contemporary Kia Rio, but since then? Hard to find something without it.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:11

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I had a 98 5-speed neon with no tach. Good thing I knew how to drive stick when I got it.

Maximillien Morrel > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:12

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My first car was an 1986 Toyota Corolla hatchback. Manual, and no tach. Second car was a 1990 Mazda 323 hatchback. Manual, no power steering, and no tach.

After driving some manuals w/tachs, what I thought was like 6,000 RPM was more like 4. I was always conservative with my revving, apparently.

needMORv8 now with more V8 > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:12

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I think the base model toyota yaris with a manual didn’t come with a tach till the redesign in 2012. Thats the most recent thing I can think of driving as a manual without a tach.

jjhats > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:13

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ford ranger didn’t have a tach on manual base models I think they stopped making them in 08 or 09

camaroboy68ss > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:16

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My 68 didn’t come with a tach from the factory, but when I restored the car i installed the factory tach.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ttyymmnn 07/09/2015 at 12:17

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The Rabbit I had was my first real car, and didn’t have the E-light that I can recall - diesel. I usually shifted short of the shift points, but for a gas one it might well work out the opposite of that.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:30

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I have a manual with no tach, only 5 years old too. Can’t say I used it much when I had it.

Party-vi > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:34

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My Cherokee was missing a tach, which I though was odd since the fancy-pants automatic transmission Cherokees got a tach. Turns out I didn’t need it at all, except for emissions testing.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 12:34

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It is. My car has no tach, and shifting by sound takes a lot of practice.

RazoE > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 13:07

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While I like having a tachometer, I never actually use it. You shift by feel/speed.

BadMotorScooter > G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 07/09/2015 at 13:11

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I think the current versions of these do have tachs now?

Steve Zissou > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 13:23

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Drove a ‘95 Geo Prism manual with no tach way back in high school.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 13:40

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Technically my 05 Chevy didn’t have a tach when I bought it.

Until I replaced the instrument cluster...

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 13:52

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My ‘94 Safari didn’t have a tach, which for me wasn’t a problem because I had an auto. They also sold them with manuals though and they had no tach, but added a tach when they updated the interior and stopped offering the manual. Because 90s GM.

for Michigan > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 14:17

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After driving my parents’ 02 Caravan and my 85 Fiero, both with tachs, it was very strange to get behind the wheel of a friend’s 90s Civic DX 5-speed and have no tach. It seems odd to sell a manual car without a tach.

Thankfully, my 90s Civic is an EX, so it came with a tach.

kanadanmajava1 > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 14:20

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I think none of the manual cars that I have owner had originally a tachometer. Couple had added one though.

New Twingo is still without a tachometer. It isn’t even available as an option (automatic gearbox isn’t available either). But with a smart phone you get tachometer reading to be displayed through it.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 14:27

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The current ones do, but the 90s and early 2000s ones didn't.

Hiroku > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 14:54

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When I bought my car, the instrument cluster had all sorts of problems, one of which was that neither the tach nor the speedo worked. Or rather, sometimes (very rarely, maybe 1 out of 10 times) you would turn the key and they would both work flawlessly until you turned the engine off again, at which point they probably wouldn’t work again for another week.

Anyway, in the few occasions where they would work I would try to memorize roughly what rpm and speed I was in at each gear based on the sound. After a while it became second nature and, other than hitting the limiter a few times when driving spiritedly, it was never a problem per se.

However, after a couple of months the cluster started to really act up (as in, the needles would sometimes flip shit and just slap around violently seemingly at random, sometimes even with the car turned completely off and the key out of the ignition) so I went and had it changed. I have no idea why, but having the tacho (and speedo) fully functional again made the overall driving experience much, much more pleasant. I feel like I’m more in control of the car or something, for some reason.

Leon711 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/09/2015 at 16:23

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Can confirm, had 88 Polo, with tach, same shift points on the speedo as a 4 speed, even though mine had 5.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 20:46

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I’ve seen base model F-150’s without a tach (all auto) up to around 07

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > ttyymmnn 07/09/2015 at 22:06

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Some Corvairs also had gear suggestions on the speedo. As pictured by the new Corvair van that was for sale at the Lambrecht auction a couple years ago.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > BadMotorScooter 07/09/2015 at 22:17

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My first car was a 5-speed S-10 with no tach. That was all a ‘by sound’ driving experience, and seeing as it was no race car, it was actually probably a good learning experience. I only remember hitting the rev limiter once, when I was curious where it was at in second gear on an on-ramp. Not like the 2.2L was fond of making power up in the revs anyways.

Nauraushaun > ttyymmnn 07/10/2015 at 09:18

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I feel like the only people who think you need a tach in a manual are those who haven’t driven one. If you’ve spent any considerable amount of time driving a manual, you know you don’t need it. I learnt to drive on a manual with no tach, wasn’t even a problem

Tohru > BadMotorScooter 10/23/2015 at 16:35

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The TinyTohruTruck only had a speedo:

(not my picture, mine was a manual trans)