G Meters

panthro

panthro

panthro

Soldato
Joined
19 Nov 2004
Posts
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Location
Wokingham
Ive seen these mentioned a few times on here and remember seeing them for sale in the back of performance car years ago? What are they and how well do they work?

The No 1 return on google for G meter was channel 4's gay-o-meter!! :p
 
It's a bit of a guesstimate to be honest although it should be within say 30BHP of the real figure. I think you have to input the weight and by using the G force created it can work it out.

Might be totally wrong but I'm sure there will be somebody along soon enough to correct me.
 
someone from another forum took one on a plane with him at take off. it came up with a crazy figure.

id like to try one but i can see it as a waste of money as youre only likely to use it once or twice
 
One thing I've never worked out is how it actually knows when you're doing 60? and when you've done 1/4 mile??

I've recently been using http://www.tempes.com/features.html this doesnt seem that accurate either, even confirmed by the makers when I emailed them saying 'The GPS receiver does update once a second, and the program interpolates this data to get the acceleration results. The accuracy of results depends on the accuracy of the GPS system and this varies from time to time and from place to place.' Kinda makes it pointless.
 
The GMeters have been shown to be pretty accurate.. if you use them right. They are only a low cost 'fun' item though and no replacement for proper timing equipment :)

Never actually used mine in my car :)
 
If you use them a bit more 'scientifically' they are pretty good..

I've had one for a while (Only cost me £25), and if you find a nice stretch of flat road, and use it as per the instructions, it seems to give pretty consistant results.. I even get mine to tie in with stopwatched timings as well, but it's quite easy to set them up wrong.. and it helps if you understand how they work, then you can appreciate how they can give false results..

Certainly no good on fast bikes..
 
One thing I've never worked out is how it actually knows when you're doing 60?
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Easy, they measure acceleration. Once you measure acceleration from a standing start it's just a calculation it has to make to know when you have hit 60mph.
 
sorry, i am now officially ignoring this thread.

if you talk me into getting one it will be a waste of money and i will try and try over and over and ruin my clutch :D
 
Yes they are bad news for transmission and tyres if you have a FWD/RWD car, but if you get a time in the 6 seconds of less category your car will be on the OcUK G-Meter time which is sticky at the top of this forum

My Pulsar's still up there now :)
 
I have one, and although I would not describe it as super accurate, its a bit of fun. Shame my Jeep Diesel got knocked off the official list (12.83 sec if I recall!), and the new Jeep misses out with 7.6sec
 
If you set them up correctly they are pretty good. You have to be very careful to have the solidly mounted and level, and be on a completely flat and smooth road (too much vibration can mess up the reading).

With it set up properly its been pretty damn close (usually slightly slower, but then thats probably me being a crappy driver) to the manufacturer's stated times on all the cars ive tried it in.
 
MouseMat2004 said:
One thing I've never worked out is how it actually knows when you're doing 60? and when you've done 1/4 mile??
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Simple equations of motion :)

With it having the "G" meter you have enough of the variables to work out the time taken to hit 60mph.

You know your initial velocity, final velocity and the acceleration. As for qtr mile, you also know the distance you're travelling.

They are supposed to work pretty well with people going up the strip with them and coming out with very close times.

But you do tend to use it a few times then keep it in a box, although comes in handy when you have a new car and mates always want to have a go. Haven't done it in the 172 yet, had a little go in the wet and got na ok time so will give it a go soon :)
 
MouseMat2004 said:
I've recently been using http://www.tempes.com/features.html this doesnt seem that accurate either, even confirmed by the makers when I emailed them saying 'The GPS receiver does update once a second, and the program interpolates this data to get the acceleration results. The accuracy of results depends on the accuracy of the GPS system and this varies from time to time and from place to place.' Kinda makes it pointless.
Click to expand...

Been looking for something like this for ages, knew there was another use for me phone and gps reciever other than tomtom.
 
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