I think it would be really cool if cars had altimeters!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 01/25/2018 at 10:41 • Filed to: None

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Seeing the post on the front page about Useless gauges made me think about a gauge that I always wish cars were equipped with - altimeters. Considering that most cars nowadays are equipped with a GPS sensor anyways, it would be simple to just pull the altitude data and display it on a digital gauge someplace. This would be less accurate than a true altimeter but is an easy way to accomplish this within a useful ballpark for driving purposes. I would love an incredibly accurate barometric pressure based altimeter along with a nice analog gauge but I am weird like that. It would just be really cool to drive over some mountains and know what altitude I am at without having to google it or rely on the highway roadsigns that indicate the altitude in some places.

Now this might be irrelevant for someone in Iowa living on a prarie that doesnt change in elevation for miles. But here in California I am going up and down in elevation all the time. I know I change at least 1000 feet over the course of my commute to work and the temperature changes on my temp gauge for outside really show this.

LOREM IPSUM > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 10:57

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It would be all like:

Dude, you’re way too high to drive.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 10:57

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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 10:59

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When I run with an external GPS (BCNav or a Garmin... sometimes both) on either you can display altitude data. I thought it would be interesting but... it was not. The post-trip altitude maps BCNav can generate can be pretty cool though.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:06

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I’m pretty sure some Toyotas did have them, but I don’t know when or what those were.

Chinny Raccoon > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:12

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Some Mercedes models do.

osucycler > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:13

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Always an enjoyable experience to watch the climb up to Colorado as a kid in Dad’s 1985 4Runner

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 01/25/2018 at 11:13

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I’ve just never seen one or heard of a car that had that as an option or anything like that. I have just been driving down the road and wondered what elevation I was at. This is especially true in places with high elevation that are very flat, I end up thinking I am at a way lower elevation than reality.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/25/2018 at 11:14

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Definitely would think the generated map would be cool! I imagine theres an app that would work like that on a phone since I always have my phone anyways. Could be useful for hiking and probably would work in the car too.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > osucycler 01/25/2018 at 11:16

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Haha exactly what I was thinking!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:22

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Yeah they came in some of the 4x4s.

I kinda want to snag one of these for mine

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:29

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The two apps I like are “Backcountry Navigator” (BCNav) and “WikiLoc”. WikiLoc’s website is... well it exists unlike BCNav, but BCNav can pull topo maps from a ton of different sources (CalTopo seems to be the best), lets you download maps for offline use, and seems to be a little better of an app. Both will do route/ hike tracking, with the downside being it destroys battery life. Wikiloc does a better job of being explicitly about outdoor activities and has a lot of user generated routes/ hikes available. BCNav is more generic, which is both good and bad. Both allow you to import GXP or other route files and display them as an overlay.

We used BCNav for both our overland cheap car challenge and the Oklahoma Adventure Trail and it worked really well. It has a lot of quirks, but if you stick with it, it can be a powerful tool. Also recorded tracks from either can be plugged into Wikiloc for some awesome data visualization. Below is a Wikiloc generated elevation and route map for our drive into the Grand Canyon. They’re pretty sweet.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 11:29

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There are science reasons these are not common.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/25/2018 at 11:36

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Neat, exactly the type of app I would find useful. Thanks! Battery life is never a concern, with my normal phone use mine lasts two days without dying. I like to keep to a once a day charge cycle so more use is better.

AuthiCooper1300 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 13:15

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I’m certain I’ve seen a nice picture of at least one old Aston (DB4, 5 or 6) with an altimeter on the dashboard. And no, it wasn’t James’s DB5.

Similar story about some sort of vintage supercharged Bentley. Some of those really have tons of gauges.

Don’t ECUs have (or used to have) a proper barometric sensor? Even Alfa Romeo’s purely mechanical Spica FI pump had a barometric compensator...

Khalbali > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 13:17

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My 2o15 mazda3 had one but I think if you have a nav card you can’t see it. Mine didn’t have nav so if I hit the nav button I just got a compass and elevation. I was living in Denver at the time though so it was pretty cool to go bomb some mountain roads and see how high you were.

Stephenson Valve Gear > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 17:15

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When we do cross country runs, I have elevation on the GPS screen. It isn’t critical information for the trip, but it is something I pay attention too... maybe just because I’m a bit nerdy or OCD. The car tends to get better mileage at the expense of power at high elevations, and on slight slopes, I like to know if I’m gaining or losing elevation. But, I don’t really do anything with that info, it is just interesting to me.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 18:22

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Altimeters, air pressure, intake manifold and exhaust manifold pressure... and a deer proximity meter.

But the most important is still the Oil Flavor Meter!!!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/25/2018 at 23:52

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Lots of Mercedes have them. My 06 R-class included. I like it.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 01/26/2018 at 15:41

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Is that how you test for Headgasket leaks? Oil is too sweet, must have coolant in it. Oil tastes like burnt death, must be old

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stephenson Valve Gear 01/26/2018 at 15:55

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This is exactly why I’ve wanted that sort of gauge. I could look at topographical maps for hours so it’s certainly something up my alley to pay attention to. I’d rather have that than my super overdamped coolant temp gauge or the oil pressure gauge that is even more damped. Sure those are useful if they read zero or something way too high. But a light that says something is wrong would be more effective.