Author Topic: Digital dash + which analog gauges?  (Read 3559 times)

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Offline entropy

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Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« on: March 10, 2014, 09:32:57 AM »
My Partner Don & I are preparing a belly tank B gas Lakester, mild V8, nothing extreme.
We'll have a Racepak system with a digital dash and a good assortment of sensors.

On my LSR bikes, i had an AIMs dash, but I also had 2 analog gauges: voltage, oil pressure. 
On the starting line, I looked quickly at the AIMs dash for a variety of data (primarily oil temp, water temp), but then also looked at the analog gauges for voltage & oil pressure to know that the bike was ready to rock & roll.

Seemed like i was more comfortable with a combination of digital & analog info to start the run.
Now i'm wondering if those analog gauges were overkill.

Q: Which analog gauges do you guys run in this type situation?  None?  Lots?
thanks for any input you may have,
Karl


Offline Stainless1

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2014, 10:20:30 AM »
Karl, You should have an oil pressure light and a Tach or shift light... all the other data you want on your digital dash being recorded.  You will not really spend a lot of time looking at gauges, and likely vibration will make it hard to focus on little digital numbers.  I say that because we added an AFR display to the lakester just above the line of sight when we started using the turbo. 
Only melted the engine twice.  :roll: 
A couple of years ago we added a mount for a GPS, that helps determining speed to leave the truck (better to see 30 than count to 10) and exit speed when you are slow enough to leave the track safely and still make it to the exit road.  Speed is really hard to judge on the salt.
There were a variety of gauges on the liner, can't say I looked at any of them after the first mile.
Just my opinion, your attention span may be better, but by the time I pass the quarter, most of my attention is focused on my spot on the horizon, glances to ensure I am headed between the signs without getting too close to one and tach checks to determine if I am shifting again.
YMMV  :cheers:
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline entropy

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2014, 10:42:55 AM »
Stainless,
I agree with you 100% about not looking at gauges going down the track.
Unless i am VERY interested in some specific thing, i only pay attention to the shiftlight and a point on the horizon (hopefully the BIG red oil light never comes on).  On the salt, rpm will definitely come into play, and I am planning to display % tire slip in some very visible/simple way.

You have a very good point about mph during shutdown, I will make mph one of the big numbers displayed on the Racepak dash

But at the starting line when i am waiting for the starter's "all clear", i am used to going thru a lil routine, making sure basic functions are good.  I liked seeing analog voltage & oil pressure gauges, then looking at the digital dash for oil temp, water temp.

I was just wondering if others liked analog gauges even when they have a digital dash.
My partner doesn't really feel the need for analog gauges so i am re-examining my SOP.
Karl


Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2014, 12:25:26 PM »
Karl, I'm going to offer up my usual suggestion for displays and lights on the dashboard.  I don't know how your shifter will be set up -- that is, with a definite shift pattern or just sequential, like a bike's tranny.  If sequential I advocate for not only a "shift" light but also a "Don't shift any more" light to tell you when you're in top gear.  It's not quite as important on the salt, where you've got a few miles, versus Ohio or any of the other short tracks, but still - that one clutch-trans-neutral event might encourage some damage or at least some WTF time while you're going down the course.  I'd make the don't shift light bright green or some color like that so you don't have a big red light coming on to scare you.
Jon E. Wennerberg
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 Skandia, Michigan
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Offline Sumner

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2014, 01:08:16 PM »
.....
A couple of years ago we added a mount for a GPS, that helps determining speed to leave the truck (better to see 30 than count to 10) and exit speed when you are slow enough to leave the track safely and still make it to the exit road.  Speed is really hard to judge on the salt....

The exit speed was the hardest thing I had to deal with on my license runs.  As you said it is very hard to tell how fast or slow you are going at the end of the run and I didn't want to make a fool of myself and spin the car going to the return road and then managed anyway by not making it to the return road by a hundred yards or so a couple times  8-).  All except the last one I was able to re-fire the motor and get over there.  On the last run I didn't get back but I was the last car down the track and as it happens everyone went home so it was not problem, just had to wait for Hooley to come get me.

Going down the track is no problem with speed as you have the tach and should have an idea how fast you are going by it, but maybe we will try the GPS for the other end of the course.  So far leaving the push truck hasn't been a problem but I do want to try something on the lakester.  I'm going to have a green LED light in the lakester and a red one on the tail of the lakester.  The push truck will be able to turn the green light on in the lakester when we reach our agreed speed to try and pull away with a cheap wireless remote (hopefully).  If for some reason the person driving the lakester wants to abort they could toggle the red light on the tail on and the pushtruck driver could see that.

On the gauges about all I could really concentrate on at higher speeds was the tach.  I'll have warning lights for anything else that is critical.  We had fairly cheap Tachyon helmet cameras in the car and one was on the dash so we could review the gauges later and that was nice.

Overall I'd be doing as Jon said and put my money into data-logging as much as possible.  It has the biggest benefits,

Sum

Offline entropy

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2014, 11:49:45 AM »
Slim,
agree that on a bike a gear indicator is good; the Racepak dash has the ability to show what gear it is in. 
If i still end up reaching for nonexistant gears, i may take your suggestion on a light. 

Sumner,
I will be displaying gps mph on the Racepak dash, and hopefully it'll be easy enough to see during shut down to keep the speed reasonable.
"Overall I'd be doing as Jon said and put my money into data-logging as much as possible.  It has the biggest benefits"
100% agreed, we'll log all useful stuff.
karl

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2014, 02:01:24 PM »
Karl, our bikes had gear choice indicator on the readout, but one of the bikes.my helmet vibrated enough that I couldn't be sure I was reading it right, and on the other one -- well, the TRE made the bike think it was in fifth all of the time -- and that's what :| the readout showed.
Jon E. Wennerberg
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 Skandia, Michigan
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Offline Stainless1

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Re: Digital dash + which analog gauges?
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2014, 09:31:35 PM »
That's why we learn to count when we are young...  :-D  It is prepping bikers to know what gear they are in.
Told Pork Pie to only shift when the light came on... we usually only run the first 5, would have been doing 210 if the light told him to shift into 6th, at the end of the run he said the light came on before the 3, and he shifted to 6th.  Car flattened out and ran 200 to 201 with almost no gain for three miles... Yep he was right, data showed the rpm spike... probably hit a bump, got a little wheel spin, light on and shift.  It is really hard to tell when the engine is screaming 12500 and pops up to 13000 for less than a second, can't rely on your ears or the tach to catch that.

Sum, over the years we had issues with turn out speeds, it is really hard to judge the exit speed.  60 to 80 is a little too fast, but seems slow when you just made a 200 pass.... we usually end up stalling the engine if the speed drops below 20 in 1st.  I usually down shift to 1st after the chute is out and try to start driving the car at the 6-6 1/4 looking for a turnout. 
The speedo sure makes it easier  :cheers:
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O