![]() Mechanical, capacitive, piezoelectric, and even semiconductor accelerometers,īut all have one thing in common. There are several different types of accelerometers: To acceleration or deceleration forces that it will measure positive or The unit is calibrated to read zero g, and at a constant This particular car was using an FT500 and had a Racepak installed, so there is no accelerometer on this particular image. In Group 1, you can see the basics of the engine tuneup, and in the second group there are several more items, and so on. Most of the data shown in this article is from a Racepak, but this screen shows some of the capabilities of the FuelTech datalogger system. ![]() Standalone datalogging system like those offered by Racepak and others, or evenĪs part of a broader vehicle management system like the David Technologies System like a FuelTech, Haltech, BigStuff3, or any of the other major racingĮngine management systems on the market. Vehicle will accelerate more quickly at the beginning of a run, and as speed isĪttained, the rate of acceleration will drop off.Īccelerometers can be preinstalled in an engine management In a drag racing application, the vehicle is most likely notĪccelerating at a constant rate as boost ramps in, or more nitrous is added, a Have an acceleration rate of 10 mph/second. If a car accelerates from 0-60 in six seconds, it will The tires are spinning, a car may not be accelerating even though it is movingĪt a rate of 80 mph. Although the objecta car in this instancemayīe moving quite quickly, it is not necessarily accelerating. The simple definition of acceleration is: the measurement ofĪ change in velocity (speed divided by time). The forces it measures may be static, like the continuousįorce of gravity, or dynamic, as in the case of an accelerometer used in a drag The goal of the meter is to measure the g-forcesĪpplied to it, then output those readings to a data collection system of some Simply put, the g-meter is an electromechanical device thatĬan be manufactured in a standalone configuration, or as part of a broaderĪpproach to datalogging. But every millisecond counts in racing, and the top tuners like Ledford and Lee are analyzing the data down to the smallest bit of information. Now, these look like huge swings, but this could depict just a small wheelstand of a foot or two. We can see that as the car comes down from the wheelstand and the ride height dips below that of what would be considered a normal run, that the green accelerometer in the top graph has a corresponding dip before it recovers and basically follows the good run in red. The ride height sensor on the green run displays a huge spike, then dips below the graph from the run depicted in red, what would be considered a good run with no wheelie. The one on the bottom is the ride height sensor, and the top graph is that of the g meter, with two runs showna good one, in red, and a bad one, in green. This particular graph is from a small-tire radial car. There are two graphs in this screenshot, displaying false g from a wheelie. The most valuable tool we have in our arsenal, says tuner Jason Lee of PTP We're using it in all classes where it's permitted. You're accelerating, says tuner Josh Ledford of Pro Line Racing. The higher you can get the g-meter to read, the faster We're trying to accelerate from point A to point B as Racers to set records and document performances that improve year after Systems, but it's the accelerometer as used in drag racing that has helped ![]() Accelerometers are used in many differentĪpplications from cell phones to laptop computers to airbag deployment The g-meter, orĪccelerometer, has one taskto measure acceleration, or how hard the car is ![]() That's where the g-meter comes into play. Quickly than the next guyand the way to do that is to be faster than he is. Because, after all, we're trying to get from point A to point B more The data point that must be elevated above all else is the rate of forward Important, as they provide a window into the performance of the vehicle, but Of course, measuring data points from each of those items is Simply no other measurable metric that is as critical to performance asĪcceleration rate not torque, nor RPM gain, power-adder boost, nor even In the sport of drag racing, acceleration is king. Photography by Steve Baur, Kevin DiOssi, and Josh Ledford ![]()
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