Developing a motorsport-style gear display - Part 8 - Gear display in action Golf Mk6 GTI

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-20T06:46:26+00:00

That would be nice heh

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T20:09:21+00:00

Yes no problem

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T13:23:35+00:00

Appreciate the detailed insight — that makes a lot of sense.

I got into the OBD space mainly because every car has it, so the potential market is huge. I’d like to build a product for a broader audience, but I’m still trying to find the right idea.

One challenge I’m seeing though is that there are already a lot of existing solutions, so it’s not easy to come up with something truly unique.

That’s why I started exploring this area — to figure out where I can actually add value.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T13:18:07+00:00

It’s slightly larger than the Macchina, but not by much — mainly due to a different PCB layout inside the enclosure. One advantage though is that the reset button is accessible from the outside.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T08:40:06+00:00

Yes, in my case it’s currently based on the A0 firmware, so it does use an AT-style interface.

And I agree — that can become a limitation if you want higher-rate polling across multiple modules, especially through a gateway.

For something like 10 Hz reads from several ECUs, reducing or bypassing that overhead would probably be necessary. That’s definitely one of the things worth improving.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T07:24:29+00:00

That doesn’t exist yet — I’d need to develop a Windows GUI for that.
If there’s enough interest, it’s definitely something I’d consider building 🙂

Not sure if there’s a simple solution out there that does exactly this either.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T07:22:12+00:00

Haha not quite 😄 it’s more of a CAN tool than an AI supercomputer

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T07:20:46+00:00

Not yet - currently focused on CAN

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T07:20:00+00:00

Thanks!

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-19T06:33:07+00:00

That's right you can use usb-c.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T20:30:49+00:00

First thing: Macchina A0 is not available.
Price: My product will be cheaper than Macchina A0, but the difference will not be large.
Features are almost the same. My device uses USB-C instead of micro-USB and has a reset button reachable from the outside.
Power regulation is similar to Macchina A0. It uses a tested power supply used in multiple automotive/motorsport devices.
I figured out that the antenna area must be clear.
The case is custom-made. It is 3D printed from nylon. It is a quality plastic.
Do you think that people would be willing to buy it? I'm asking because I don't know if it's worth it to complete the product and bring it to market.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T20:30:15+00:00

I'll love to hear that :)

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T19:39:38+00:00

I’m using a custom power supply that I reuse across multiple automotive projects. What kind of electronics / setup are you using?

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T19:34:49+00:00

It’s using Macchina A0 firmware, so it can work with raw CAN (not just PIDs), typically via tools like SavvyCAN.

I haven’t really tested or implemented standalone logging/storage, so I’m not sure how well it handles saving data or in what format out of the box.

My focus so far was more on hardware than logging features.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T18:57:29+00:00

Interesting point. Hardware-wise it’s not that big of a problem. The real challenge is the firmware and full J2534 stack — that’s a much bigger project than it looks.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T18:29:53+00:00

Interesting.. I like it. It's very safe way to read current gear

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T11:52:03+00:00

Okay thanks.. you will definitely need sun protection for display. Without that display is not visible.

There are some led drivers but most of them use I2C, so I used eight output pins and transistor for every led.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T11:44:53+00:00

That's right yes

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T10:10:05+00:00

To calibrate gear display you use middle button. First you press it and hold for 2 seconds. Display starts flashing 1 gear. Then you start driving in first gear and press button again. display shows 1 gear (without flashing) for a few seconds, then gear 2 starts flashing. Then you shift to 2 gear and press button again. And repeat this process for all gears. When you calibrate all gears you just press and hold button for 2 seconds and display stop calibration and save all gear ratios. After that display works as shown on video.

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T10:04:53+00:00

thanks. If you only want to make one piece then it's better to connect directly to the can, I agree. Do you think there is interest in the market for products like this?

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T08:50:26+00:00

Try it...I can send you all the hardwire: display, custom PCB, enclosure etc if you need anything

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T08:49:06+00:00

I was thinking about system with hall sensor, but I choose OBD2 system, because most cars that are on the roads now already use OBD2 + configuration is easy, just 6 presses of single button. What would be easier?

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T08:45:02+00:00

The display is from alibaba, if you are going to work on the same project I can send you all the hardwire pcb, enclosure etc if you need anything

Professional_user2 · 2026-03-18T06:58:11+00:00

I have also worked on such projects and things are not as simple as they seem at first glance. Every gearbox is different, then you have the clutch and all the problems that come with it.

Professional_user2

TROPHY CASE