For you TA/FC 5.50's guys...

Hey guys:

I need to put a tach in my car for a new driver who just completed Hawley's this week (not Mike Neff). I threw the tach out the window 8 years ago because one tire shake and they're done. Back then when I was heading to the Auto Meter trailer at a national event to buy the third tach in three runs I made a quick u-turn and decided all I needed a tach for was setting the ide anyway, and it already idled fine so I figured it was a waste of money. Now I need one so he can have a reference. As soon as he figures it out there will be another tach in the trash can behind my pit area.

Anyone have any luck with any certain types/brands? One that will take a licking and keep on ticking? Naturally MSD 44 single mag.

Randy

 

Here's an option, get a micanical tack ( if they still make them ) or get a shift lite and put a red lenze in it and set it for what ever rpm you want, (i'm asuming you want it to leave the line) then put a switch under the gas peddal to shut it off after the car leaves the line, then the other shift lite will tell him when to shift. all the years me and my brother Anthony raced , we never had a tac. in any of our cars.

 

Randy,
I was told by the Autometer sales rep that if you call the tech people they will gel the board for you. MSD has a new shift light that runs independent of a tach if that helps. Shift points are programable too.
Dale

 

autometer

Randy I bought a new autometer electric tach for our TAFC this year. It works great, been through a couple runs of tire shake and it has never faultered. I bought the smallest 11,000rpm tach available to keep the dash as small as possible. They make a special 11,000 rpm 3 3/4" tach for NASCAR. It's a silver faced pedestal mount tach, part #6604-05703. As you would need to run their shift light and any other electrical tach with a MSD44 you also need the 9118 mag adapter box. Only took a couple weeks for me to have it in my hands even though it was a special order.

 

Randy, A few years ago I had some of the same issues with shaking tachs apart. I spoke with Dave Leahy and he sent me a schematic of a way to use a two step switch to activate a shift light. You put a stage rpm chip in it and a shift rpm chip. The two step is switched by a brake light pressure switch plumbed into the front brake lines. When you are staging with the brake on it is set for the lower rpm chip and when you let go of the brake and leave the two step switches to the other chip for your shift setting. It is amazingly simple and reliable. Dave Germain

 

We talked about a shift light for launch RPM. I thought about deactivating it through a normally closed air pressure switch hooked to the WOT air switch. The brake light switch seems like a better way to go so the launch RPM light doesn't come one whenver you roll off the throttle.

I worry that he will focus on the light and rely on it as strickly a minumum but screw up on the maximum. In other words, he would stage the car at 6,000 but let it wander up to 7,500 because the only goal is to keep the light lit without concentrating on the feel for the RPM itself as it creeps up.

He comes from the super categories where eveything happens against a chip.
At Hawley's, all his cars do the burn out against a throttle stop which I refuse to put on my car.

The tach might be helpfull when doing the burn out if it's easily within his vision so he could get a feel for how high or low the RPM is. He is very aware of the mechanical side of things and not a tone deaf driver from what I can see. Whatever we do would be taken off the car pretty quickly I think. My spool has a sweet spot at about 6,200 which makes it pretty easy to nail. He just needs to get used to it without throwing too many runs away.

Nathan, I like the idea of the smaller tach. I looked at the back of the injector last night and wondered if a small one could be placed up their temporarily. While it would be in his line of sight it might be a little hard to read that far away through the Monte Carlo windshield. I could zip tie it to the side of the carbon fiber stove pipe inside the car I guess (just kidding).

 

Randy, I had a driver that had a hard time holding a steady RPM at the starting line, no tach. So everyday I had him suit up and get in the car, we would start it and have him practice starting line RPM. I would use the serial cable from the racepak to a laptop and watch RPM and point up or down to get the RPM where we wanted it. Told him to pay attention to sound and feel. After a few times (8 to 10) he got comfortable with it. Next time at the track he left the start line 5 times in a row within 100 RPM. Burned a little fuel and probably a little hard on valve springs but it sure made it easier to get him to leave the start line the same everytime. Good Luck. Joe

 

Joe:

In the pits I can tell by listening if it's too high or too low within 50-100 RPM. I would do the thumbs up or down motion with Pete to let him know if it was high or low on the jack stands. He usually did a great job nailing it, as did Marc and Larry Miner.

I wonder if anyone could make a 10" long strip of LED lights that could be set up in 100 RPM increments starting at 5,500 to 6,800. Red lights from 5,500 to 6,000 with an amber at 6,100 and something easy to see like white at 6,200 then back to amber at 6,300 then red from 6,300 and above. Stick it on the dash and catch it peripherally.

To confusing, I think. Sounds like a recipe for .250 and above reaction times.

Sandracer:

Do you know my pal Shane Sanford?

What you are talking about amounts to what our game plan is. We are going to Las Vegas (if they'll have us) and make about 50 runs if we have to. As many back to back runs a we can physically do provided we don't run out of parts in the trailer.

In 1997 when Pete was getting his license we did several test sessions where I would stand about 100 feet down track behind the guardrail in the opposite lane so he could see me through the tree. He would rev it up to stage and I would make a motion to tell him higher or lower. That worked well, too. In just a few runs he got it.

Maybe I need to make him trust his instincts from the get go and forget the tach. Might make him a better driver.

RG

 

Randy, yes I know Shane he is a hitter in the sanddrags! He told me you help him with his tune-up. Unfortunately he hurt some parts at the last race. Top Alcohol at the sand races is a pretty tough class too. Top five or six cars within a couple hundreths! Have you been to any sand races? I think you are right, don't put to many distractions in the car to confuse him. Give him some time to learn and lots of laps. Joe

 

Get an Autometer shift lite

I put a new autometer LED shift light. Its got a digital tach and programable shift points. Its also got a function for launch RPM. Rig up a switch on the brake and while your on the brake it goes into launch mode when you get to launch RPM light comes on if you go past it the light will start to strobe. You also can pick different colors for launch and shift point. I love mine. Kevin Newburgh

 

Randy,

For the small tach we made a sort of tall streched v-shape dash that the 3 bolts that go into the steering box bolt through. Machined the hole for the tach right at the top which puts the tach just above the steering wheel (photo below). I suppose it's different for everyone, but I don't think it'd work for me as well being right in my line of sight...it would sorta be in my way then, funny cars are hard enough to see out of sometimes.

I don't know that not having a tach or shift light in the car makes one a better driver. For me, when I started driving TAD 6 years ago, then 4 years ago swapping to TAFC the tach helped me to find that 'feel' everyone talks about. As I'm sure you know, once you get a bunch of laps under your belt you can just tell what rpm you're at, whether it be in the burnout or in staging. So anyways- long story short, after a while it just becomes a guideline as to what feels right.