[zoltiz]

I honestly tried to find a 1/4 track in the area - the closest is 90+ miles from me - which got me thinking about some sort of alternative.

So the question is - how stupid would I be if I would get something like that:

It's a 10-year old acceleromter from G-Tech, that can be purchased for about $30. Supposedly measures 0-60, 60-0, 1/4 ET, 1/4 trap speed, and lateral G. I have less than zero ezperience with this kind of stuff, so here I am.

The reason why I want this thing is to monitor my progress, and mayb test stuff like tires / brake bads, etc.

Opinions sincerely appreciated.

Edit: The user manual for the pre-historic G-Tech Pro

 

[lo bux racer]

If you are just planning to use it to tune your car, they're pretty good. They are repeatable enough to provide data you can use to make changes and evaluate with some degree of accuracy. Just don't expect to do a 1/4 mile run on the G-Tech and see the same time at a real track. It rarely (if ever) comes out like that. It's also not a great idea for you to compare your numbers to someone else's unit. They have been known to vary significantly from unit to unit.

 

[Obike]

After messing around with one of the newer ones I say don't buy it. It's only accurate measurement (for the newer one) was lateral g's, the 0-60, 1/4, and trap speed were way off (it claimed my 1/4 time was 13s, which is just impossible).

 

[gwnichol]

I have Beltronics vehicle performance computer which is esentially the same thing only less expensive and available at Circuit City for around $160. I bought it when I was modifying mt 2002 VW GTI 1.8T. It was invaluable in order to measure increases in performance from chipping the engine as well as exhaust and intake modifications. I haven't modified the suspension other than tire replacement but the accelerometer measures lateral Gs which will help in setting up antiroll bars and tire pressures. This is the first thing I would buy before you do any modifications so you have a baseline level of performance to start with.

 

[Dr. Isotope]

Dunno what the opinion is about digging up "dead" posts round here, but at leats this will appease the Search Gods.

Just wanted to offer my 2¢ on the GTech. I recently bought a new GTech Pro SS, after being sold by the neat-o flash animation on their website, and I have to say-- it's really neat. I get a bit geeked out on gadgetry, and this one is great. The accuracy appears to be quite, quite good...

I have a Scangauge, which has displays for RPM and MPH, which is draws directly from the OBD2 port; I've done a couple of slow passes up to 60, watching both gauges, and damned if they don't agree with one another. The key (at least with the new one) is precisely calibrating the unit's tach, and making sure the accelerometers are zeroed before making any runs.

I give it extra points for accuracy, because my first pair of runs were laughable: 9.1 and 9.0 0-60, respectively. Then I noticed the A/C was on.

Best run to 60 now stands at 7.46, and I'm pretty chuffed about that. Still looking for a piece of road where I can get a full 1/4 mi run in without traffic or law-- and in SoCal, those are few and far between. Did manage a 10.0 1/8 mile @ 73mph-- and have no idea if that's good, bad, or otherwise.

But it is great for tinkering with, and the g-meter is fantastically cool. I figure that I've wasted more money on things I've used much less, so this was a pretty good buy ($160 shipped off of eBay). I don't regret buying it at all. If you love gadgets, this is a great one to have... and the Scangauge is pretty nifty, too.

 

[Plissken]

Originally posted by Dr. Isotope@Oct 6 2005, 11:30 PM
Dunno what the opinion is about digging up "dead" posts round here, but at leats this will appease the Search Gods.

<------------ Appeased. Good write up. You should consider adding it to the Product Reviews section.

 

[zoltiz]

Need to dig up my G-TECH now. Finding a nice flat road even for 0-60 is tough.

 

[Dr. Isotope]

I'm finding the GTech to be troublesome. That damn g-force meter is causing me to take turns at unreasonable speeds, in an effort to get the meter to read a higher number than the last corner.

So I've managed .92g while cranking it through a right-hander. Hadn't lost grip by that point, but somewhere in the mid .8s the Basslink rolled across the hatch area with a delightfully frightening thunk.

So I can say the 245s must be grabbing a bit better-- the bungee cord restraining the sub is proof of that.

Finding a clear stretch of road to get up into the 90s is still proving difficult.

 

[lo bux racer]

I should get one of those, it would be fun to know...

 

[Kirill]

Originally posted by zoltiz@Feb 25 2005, 07:43 PM
I honestly tried to find a 1/4 track in the area - the closest is 90+ miles from me - which got me thinking about some sort of alternative.

So the question is - how stupid would I be if I would get something like that:

It's a 10-year old acceleromter from G-Tech, that can be purchased for about $30. Supposedly measures 0-60, 60-0, 1/4 ET, 1/4 trap speed, and lateral G. I have less than zero ezperience with this kind of stuff, so here I am.

The reason why I want this thing is to monitor my progress, and mayb test stuff like tires / brake bads, etc.

Opinions sincerely appreciated.

Edit: The user manual for the pre-historic G-Tech Pro

Car&Driver did some tests on performance meters and one of the best ones was
G-Timer (reasonable price,very accurate) witch is under 200 bucks.
I'll buy one, after I get my ESC installed.

 

[lo bux racer]

My toy budget just got shot. Powerhouse Racing is ready to release their Supra CARB legal turbo kit. It only makes 500 hp, but I can live with that if it's smog legal.

 

[Plissken]

Originally posted by lo bux racer@Oct 14 2005, 01:25 AM
It only makes 500 hp

Yeah, that really is a bummer! Only 500 HP.

 

[lo bux racer]

In the Supra world it is...

 

[Zygote55]

Too bad you can't get a used supra in decent conditin for under $25k