2nd Gen R57 Convertible Openometer alternatives?

Discussion in '2nd Generation: 2007+ R55 through R61' started by Laserboy, Jun 5, 2013.

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  1. Laserboy

    Laserboy New Member

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    #1 Laserboy, Jun 5, 2013
    Forgive me, please, if this steps on anyone's toes, but IMHO the openometer is among the stupidest, if not the stupidest waste of dashboard space, ever. My Mini arrives tomorrow:D (yes, I know: pictures will be forthcoming--I'll bring the laptop and camera with me to the dealer so I can post without even needing to return home or get out of the car) and my brain has been chugging for the last several months trying to come up with alternatives. I've got ideas and my wife, a sculptor, is in a position to implement them. Gotta cover that embarrassment up. I'll share once we have something in place. But I'm curious if anyone else has done anything interesting to/with their openometers. And if you love your openometer, well, I promise not to judge (out loud). It's your car and you have every right to love everything about it.
     
  2. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    #2 Jason Montague, Jun 5, 2013
    :cornut: ScanGauge II is an option that many of us use. It'll give you about any engine data that one could want except oil pressure/temp. It'll interpret and cancel engine codes. The info is real time. It's small 4in x 1in x 1in and very light. Simple to install, it plugs into the OBD II. You can run 4 modes at once. Relatively inexpensive for what one is getting at ~$150.:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  3. Justa Jim

    Justa Jim Well-Known Member
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    #3 Justa Jim, Jun 6, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2013
    Is is useful? No. Is it too big? Yes. After five years of ownership do I even notice it is there? NO.

    You are doing what we all do when we first buy a car and obsessing over things. Trust me, if you bought an "S", you will forget about the odometer quickly and find many other things to be concerned about. :lol:

    Jim

    SORRY. I read that wrong. Got to clean my glasses. :eek:
     
  4. Gil-galad

    Gil-galad Club Coordinator

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    #4 Gil-galad, Jun 6, 2013
    It's such a unique and strange adaptation that no one (other than the MINI faithful) will know what it really is unless you spill the beans. So just come up with your own creative description for it (e.g., "Ultraviolet Exposure Meter") and use the opportunity to amaze your friends.

    (There's an old thread somewhere with a list of useful alternative names for the openometer, but for the life of me I can't locate it...)
     
  5. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #5 BlimeyCabrio, Jun 6, 2013
    Crowbar, bondo, krylon... done.
     
  6. rkw

    rkw Well-Known Member

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    #6 rkw, Jun 6, 2013
    The openometer is not a separate unit that is detachable from the tach. Logistically, your options are either replace the tach-openometer combo with a standard tach, or remove the openometer inside and use the space for something else (but it is not a standard gauge size).

    The outer case of the tach-openometer combo is a single piece of plastic (front and back halves), and the gauges inside are mounted into a single plastic base. There is a photo of the opened unit on NAM: Annoying Openometer - North American Motoring (post #14). If the openometer is built like the tach, it is integrated into the white plastic back and you would have to completely chop off the gauge at the narrow point to make use of its space.
     
  7. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    #7 Dave.0, Jun 6, 2013
    You could trade it down the street for a Camery.
     
  8. Laserboy

    Laserboy New Member

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    #8 Laserboy, Jun 6, 2013
    I just came back from picking up my new Mini :beer --yes, yes, I know: Pictures. Turns out that my wife left our camera at her workplace, so pictures tomorrow. Anyway, we have an old compass from my wife's parents' RV. The kind that is a ball floating in water in a plastic holder. This is designed to attach to the dash with a suction cup. We slapped that on to the openometer, covering it nicely. So now we have an old school GPS that is infinitely more useful than the original gauge that it covers. We'll come up with something better in time. (The new Mini had 5 miles on it when we signed for it. It now has 100 miles on it--I took the long way home. Gotta go take some aspirin: My face hurts from the permagrin.)
     
  9. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    #9 BlimeyCabrio, Jun 6, 2013
    Sounds like a great first mod! :Thumbsup:
     
  10. Angib

    Angib New Member

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    #10 Angib, Jun 8, 2013
    Thank goodness the openometer is only an option in Yurp!

    Wouldn't the foot cut from an old sock cover it up so at least you didn't have to look at it (or, worse still, have other people see it....)?
     
  11. Laserboy

    Laserboy New Member

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    #11 Laserboy, Jun 8, 2013
    And that would also act as an air freshener! :wink:

    We've got a new solution under fabrication, at the moment. Might be a few days, but I'll get photos posted when it's ready. (Gonna post photos of the car in my garage later today.)
     
  12. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
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    #12 old81, Jun 8, 2013
    :useless Promises, promises. ;)

    Congratulations on your new MINI. :)
     

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