What do you think a KM only Speedometer in USA if you were in the market for a 1M?

nachob · 02-24-2017, 10:48 PM

I saw this story where someone in the US passed on a Canadian 1M legally registered in the US because it had a KM only speedometer. Changing the speedometer in the 1M costs about $1200-$1500 a the dealer and the part alone is about $900. I don't know how long the 1M speedo will be available so I have been thinking of buying one and hanging on to it just in case.

The problem is that I love the KM speedo! It's cool, and exactly what German 1Ms have. It has started many conversations at Cars and Coffee when people notice and it was the cluster the car came with.

On top of that, the digital display is switched to miles per hour, temperture in Farenheit and odometer in miles so I'm not missing anything.

I would rather spend that money on a set of BBS RG-Rs for the car which I also like and I don't plan on selling the car ever but what if?

So my poll to my fellow 1Mers in the USA and those looking for one is above.

What do you think a KM only speedo in the US, if you were looking for a 1M?

eeghie · 02-25-2017, 04:24 PM

This original 1st US 1M owner has an EU perspective and would trade the speedo with a KM / Canadian / EU version in a heartbeat. And if you know the business end of a torx-20 driver, the exchange is just postal fees

The US speedo being hybride in displaying both miles AND KMs, it's not like you'd be giving up on the Km unit.

In the long run global admiration for the 1M will transcent local variations.

champignon · 02-25-2017, 07:31 PM

The analog speedometer is set by BMW to under-read true speed by approximately 2-7 mph, depending on the car and on your speed. This cannot be coded out, or at least can't be coded out by Carly.

With Carly (and perhaps other coding methods) you can code out the intentional overstatement of the speed in the digital speedometer, and if you car doesn't show the digital speedometer, you can code for it to show. My 135 coupe and 135is vert did not show the digital speedometer until I coded them to show, and then to show true speed.

My 1M (Canadian originally) did show the digital speed and it was set to intentionally overstate it, which I coded out. This car had its speedometer converted to mph instead of kph (only) prior to shipping by the selling dealership. This analog speedometer overstates the speed in mph, however not by as much as my 135i vehicles.

So, if you do change the speedometer of a Canadian vehicle to be the MPH version of an American one, the readings you get won't be accurate in any event, although this would be true of all US BMWs, and probably of all Canadian ones as well. I only look at the digital speedometers in all 3 of my 1-Series cars, since the digital speedo is the only one that is accurate anyway.

View Poll Results: If you were looking for used 1M in USA, what do you think of KM only Speedometer?
I like it, I think it's cool to have	4	36.36%
I Can go either way as long as I like the car, condition, price	5	45.45%
I would consider it but it would be a significant hurdle	1	9.09%
I would consider but demand seller pay to have it converted to miles	0	0%
I would never buy it. This is America dammit, KM are for commies!	1	9.09%
Voters: 11. You may not vote on this poll

02-24-2017, 10:48 PM	#1
nachob Brigadier General 2314 Rep 4,341 Posts Drives: 2004 330i ZHP, 2022 Cayman T Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California iTrader: (5)	What do you think a KM only Speedometer in USA if you were in the market for a 1M? I saw this story where someone in the US passed on a Canadian 1M legally registered in the US because it had a KM only speedometer. Changing the speedometer in the 1M costs about $1200-$1500 a the dealer and the part alone is about $900. I don't know how long the 1M speedo will be available so I have been thinking of buying one and hanging on to it just in case. The problem is that I love the KM speedo! It's cool, and exactly what German 1Ms have. It has started many conversations at Cars and Coffee when people notice and it was the cluster the car came with. On top of that, the digital display is switched to miles per hour, temperture in Farenheit and odometer in miles so I'm not missing anything. I would rather spend that money on a set of BBS RG-Rs for the car which I also like and I don't plan on selling the car ever but what if? So my poll to my fellow 1Mers in the USA and those looking for one is above. What do you think a KM only speedo in the US, if you were looking for a 1M? Last edited by nachob; 02-24-2017 at 10:54 PM..
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02-25-2017, 04:24 PM	#2
eeghie Kind of a big deal 300 Rep 1,674 Posts Drives: an 1M not often enough Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: between Unlimited and Hard to Get iTrader: (0)	This original 1st US 1M owner has an EU perspective and would trade the speedo with a KM / Canadian / EU version in a heartbeat. And if you know the business end of a torx-20 driver, the exchange is just postal fees The US speedo being hybride in displaying both miles AND KMs, it's not like you'd be giving up on the Km unit. In the long run global admiration for the 1M will transcent local variations.
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02-25-2017, 07:31 PM	#3
champignon Disrupter 1566 Rep 2,484 Posts Drives: 1M;Z3M Cp;135is Vert, 996TT Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Idaho iTrader: (0)	The analog speedometer is set by BMW to under-read true speed by approximately 2-7 mph, depending on the car and on your speed. This cannot be coded out, or at least can't be coded out by Carly. With Carly (and perhaps other coding methods) you can code out the intentional overstatement of the speed in the digital speedometer, and if you car doesn't show the digital speedometer, you can code for it to show. My 135 coupe and 135is vert did not show the digital speedometer until I coded them to show, and then to show true speed. My 1M (Canadian originally) did show the digital speed and it was set to intentionally overstate it, which I coded out. This car had its speedometer converted to mph instead of kph (only) prior to shipping by the selling dealership. This analog speedometer overstates the speed in mph, however not by as much as my 135i vehicles. So, if you do change the speedometer of a Canadian vehicle to be the MPH version of an American one, the readings you get won't be accurate in any event, although this would be true of all US BMWs, and probably of all Canadian ones as well. I only look at the digital speedometers in all 3 of my 1-Series cars, since the digital speedo is the only one that is accurate anyway.
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