Installing Digital Speedo – Lotus elan.

Did You Know That Digital Bicycle Speedometers Can Calculate Speeds Up To 200KPH? (124MPH)

You might think that’s a bit of BS, but it’s not. Cycling is a great sport and a great form of exercise. But we are not here today to urge you to ride a bike.

But if you do ride a bike, you would already know that a digital bicycle speedo is capable of measuring quite high speeds, not that you will ever push your racing bicycle much beyond 80KPH, and that would be more than likely down a steep descent, but the instrument is capable of computing speeds near 200kph which makes these compact digital devices very useful as an alternate automotive or motorcycle speedometer, but they are not just a speedo, they are also a data logger.

With a little bit of work, the digital push bike speedo can be adapted to the elan (Or Super Seven – Or other) and can be calibrated to  GPS accuracy. You may not believe that, but it is fact, they are extremely accurate when calibrated correctly. The good brands are multi-function which enables them to be used just like a mini halda… the rally people reading this will know what that is.  At the end of each drive or event, the trip data log information can be accessed and downloaded to your computer. Yes, I can hear you say that Garmin make speed measuring equipment that operate on the GPS system, but they probably cost a lot more than $50.00.

Four reasons why installing a digital bicycle speedo into the elan could make sense.

1. The old Smiths unit has passed it’s use by date.
2. The speedo has become inaccurate, and may not even work.
3. The speedo needle swings wildly around the dial making accurate readings impossible
4. Excessive cost of repairing the old analogue speedo.

Many people may have read the article on another web site about a fellow who installed a bicycle speedo into a lotus super seven, the thought was, is it possible to install same into the elan?  Surely it cant be that hard to do… and as it turned out, it wasn’t, this could be something that you might want to do.

We want to share with you all of the installation and set up details, we have compiled a complimentary PDF ebook that you can download for your own reference, the download link is at the end of this article.

To some people the install process may appear to be to difficult as there are small brackets and fixtures that need to be machined/fabricated/brazed, plus one or two small items that will need to be made via the aluminium metal casting process. We will explain the process and point you to where you can learn how to do DIY metal casting.

Before you rush out and purchase the speedo, consider which brand provides the highest speed reading. Here in OZ, it happens to be the Sigma BC1609 hard wired model. If you want to do some research into other brands then by all means do, as you may find something that suits your purpose better.

But the Sigma is a good choice as it can be hooked up to a PC docking station which means all of the data (And I means lots of data) can be collected by the speedo and downloaded and analysed on your computer.

Typical Data Collection:

• Distance.
• Driving time.
• Ave Speed.
• Max speed.
• Point to Point (Stop watch)
• Ambient Temperature.

The cost of this device is only $50.00 AU. We are not talking about an expensive data logging device. But having said that, I know what you might be thinking, why not just purchase a GPS speedo instrument, well, you could do that, but here in OZ, good quality devices sell between $480.00 to $700.00. And to my mind a $50.00 pushbike speedo is a much more economical answer to produce accurate speed readings.

The complimentary downloadable ebook explains in full detail the install and set up process of the compact digital speedo in the lotus elan.

To show you just how neat and tidy the set up is,  refer to the photos below.

The S2 elan test bed in which the sigma speedo is installed.

The Cockpit View.

No, the horn button is not lost, we just forgot to pop it in the Momo steering wheel boss before taking the shot. BTW, The digital speedo is very easy to read while driving. In fact I prefer to look at the digital instrument rather than the old analogue gauge. (Which swings around the dial like a drunken sailor anyway) This installation is not just a quick bolt on addition, it is a fully integrated fixture, but the best part is, the entire speedo assembly can be easily removed without leaving any trace of it ever being on the car. A scenario that could happen if you ever decide to repair the original Smiths speedo

Want To Learn How To Install And Set Up The Digital Speedometer?

If that’s a yes, then Click Here To Grab Your Complimentary no strings attached ebook download now. (Right click-save link target as)

We were going to offer the ebook for sale on our web site, but then we decided to share it with our fellow elan owners, so grab your complimentary copy now to read and learn about the project,  or use the info to help someone else with the project in a special car of some kind. Quite a bit of time was spent figuring out how to do this,  so most of the  thinking and hard work has been done for you.

You might also be wondering just how reliable this small digital speedo is, well I can tell you, the sigma has been operating for more than two years without a problem, apart from battery replacement every twelve to eighteen months.

This project probably wont endear the purist too much, but that’s fine, no hard feelings, but please don’t email us to vent your disapproval if that is your bent. But if you think it’s pretty cool, leave your comments below.

And if your are wondering why the need for accurate speed readings here in Australia, well, unfortunately, we have the anti fun police out on the roads most of the time, and they love to ping you, even if you exceed the speed limit by a few KPH, hard to believe I know, but that’s what we have to put up with in OZ, it’s a kind of cat and mouse game, but if you don’t want a bunch of speeding tickets and loss of demerit points, you need an accurate speedo.
Enjoy.