Awesome. A new noise!

[thesameguy]

The XR always had a cable, but TurboCoupe did not.

The Lx3 ECM expects VSS and everyone says they run better when it's connected. VSS improves steady-state cruise performance and it improves idle performance. I'm as close to 100% certain as I can be that lack of VSS is what causes trailer hitching with trailing throttle... the ECM doesn't know I'm doing 60mph and the idle valve should still be wide open, not trying to idle. This behavior is very consistent with Bosch ECMs deprived of their VSS, and it would certainly make sense that EEC behaves the same way. This has been on my to-do list forever... along with so many other things. It's time will come sooner or later!

[thesameguy]

Oh, and some quick looking last night led me to believe both the LA3 and the VSS on the '94+ T5 both are 8000ppm, so that would be a lovely match! The actual sensor - I think - is 8 pulses per rotation and should be geared to 1000 rotations per mile.

This reminds me of an annoyance I have with the aftermarket... what I really want is an RX8 cluster.



Not *specifically*, but the concept. I want a big tach, digital speedo, and then the misc. must-have gauges. Nobody makes "analog tach with digital speedo" unless it's for a motorcycle.

Now I'm rambling, but I also just remembered a big reason I've been holding off on this... I wanna try and sneak a PIMP through smog, and then I can use pidash etc. Bah. Everything is difficult.

[my8950]

Now I'm rambling

That's what we do best!
Also, probably main point of the forum...

[john keefe]

Not as nice as an RX8, but you could do an XR8...

03719C10.JPG (715 KiB) Viewed 2753 times

A little patience rqr'd to move things around with the integrated board, but overall pretty easy to do. Also, the answer as to why I don't pay much attention to the mph on the highway.

Since the turn signal lamp indicator is now on the right and not in a good "see me" position relative to the steering wheel, I eventually had to switch to a bright LED bulb.

[thesameguy]

The problem I have found with aftermarket gauges is that I can't cram all the info I want into the space allotted, which is why combining gauges is so important to me... I don't much use the speedo, so having it waste a third of the real estate drives me up the wall. The RX8 cluster really addresses that for me, leaving space to add an oil pressure gauge, etc.

[john keefe]

That would be a really nice IC. You figured out a way to get that into the XR pod/surround, or will you fab your own new one? I see there's a couple vids on-line showing it removed from the RX8 pod. I'm guessing you already have a plan to adapt the EEC and sensor signals to work with that cluster?

[thesameguy]

No, I've not done $#!%. I really don't wanna spoil the aesthetic of the XR's dash so using an actual RX8 cluster would not be my preference. I just keep hoping the aftermarket will someday, some way, fix this. A company called SPA makes approximately the right thing, but it's a 9000rpm tach which seems... optimistic. And I don't wanna pay $550 for that level of optimism.

[john keefe]

9000rpm... yeah but think of how impressed anybody looking at the car, or sitting behind the wheel will be! It's all about the bling these days, right?

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

Interesting... didn't know the VSS controlled the speedo in later models. Got one with the 5.0LXR T5 signalling the A9L, but never noticed that the EEC might then sends a signal to the donor Mustang's speedo, though I'd suspect it with an automatic. Don't have cruise control, so I would do without one if I could, but it would throw a code.

What gauges do you need in all? Got at least one good IC and some extras I will probably never need in the future. Do you know what color is the 23 tooth driven gear? Got one or two extras laying around as well.

On my 86 car it has a one piece cable. On my 89 car it has a 2 piece cable with a little wire coming off where the two parts connect. I assume it is a square wave signal similar to what ford used on other cruise controls at the time. That wire goes to the area under the dash behind the steering wheel. There's two styles of cruise control module as far as I know but they take the signal from this wire. So I bought a 120mph VDO analog speed meter which has the adjuster on the back. I plan to adjust it really far off and then passengers can say wow we are really doing 140?

[john keefe]

I plan to adjust it really far off and then passengers can say wow we are really doing 140?

Ha!

Of all the XR's I've had, only one had cruise control, so I'm only familiar with the single-piece speedo cable. All but one of them had leather interiors, and this current one has leather and everything else, but no sunroof, no cruise control. Guessing that cruise control was at the top of the options list back then?

[andyofcolumbusmerkur]

I plan to adjust it really far off and then passengers can say wow we are really doing 140?

Ha!

Of all the XR's I've had, only one had cruise control, so I'm only familiar with the single-piece speedo cable. All but one of them had leather interiors, and this current one has leather and everything else, but no sunroof, no cruise control. Guessing that cruise control was at the top of the options list back then?

I have heard that all the later cars got cruise control but it is still listed as an option on the window sticker.