not sure what color profile the LX8000 is using, but XCSoar also shows the track color coded to the amount of lift. you can choose between two different color sets (including the Naviter/SeeYou color profile) and a third one that color codes the altitude instead of the lift.

basically that means that there are two types of thermal assistants in XCSoar. the traditional method with the color coded track on the map and the additional thermal assistant gauge that obviously works best for perfect round thermals and a good vario connected to it.

I personally have used the gauge for about two years now with my XCSoar device connected to a Flarm, that only outputs the barometric altitude and no direct vario signal, and I have to say that even with this small setup I am still impressed on how well the assistant already works. I can't even imagine how perfect it would work when connected to the "best performing vario" that this thread was originally about.