Hello guys, I've been modifying my car for last 9 months with no single tracking event. After those few mods, I really do not know the actual HP, accelration, de-acceleration,braking distance and torque. I'm planning to track it for the first time in its life this weekend. My question is, I wouldnt want to go to an official track or raceway to do so, I wanna do it myself. What tools and stuff you think I would need?

To start, I'll list some:
Stopwatch
Another friend to help measring and timing
Some cones or roadmarks to mark every 10 meters

What else?

 

are you talking like drag strip track or road track???

 

Well, assuming you that you have a place already set where you are going to, may I suggest getting an accelerometer such as a G-Tech pro or similar to do your measurements. These things measure acceleration, braking, g-force, etc, so for your purposes they may be a fairly good investment. I think they are fairly accurate, and probably more so than a buddy with a stopwatch.

 

For straight-line measurements, you can do it yourself: An incredible price at Amazon ($70 for the Escort GT2): http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passpor...4046019&sr=8-1

You can buy the cheaper GT1 there for $40 as well, but at that price I'd spring for the extra $30: http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passpor...4046019&sr=8-2

The true measure of a MINIs speed, IMHO, is not in a straight line but on a road track. It requires a blend of power, handling and driving skill.

 

+1

 

agranger, is this product accurate? No Installation! Only plug to the lighter! Mount at windsheild!! I doubt it unless someone really tested it.

 

I do not have a place. I can secure a nice road which is around 1.5 miles with no single intresection and it's always free as it's out of the city. I wanted to test the car's stability and cornering, so I was planning to setup something like an autocross track.

 

... Why don't you just take her to an actual autocross?

 

Can you define secure? This sounds like a bad idea.

 

No police, completely out of town area... Street racing is prohibited here.

 

Street racing is prohibited everywhere on public roads, no? I would definately recommend against using public roads for testing/racing and, in fact, I think that it's against NAM board rules to even discuss it. Not safe for you, your car or anyone in the area. Please reconsider.

There are lots of opportunities for Autocross and/or DE days where you can stretch your automotive legs in a safe, controlled environment. Please investigate those.

 

Unless it's a private road this is a bad idea.

 

Where is your hometown? And those "plug and play" systems for measurement are surprisingly accurate.

 

I'm in Saudi :D

 

So yes, they work. If you do the G-Tech, get the power from the battery cable terminal next to the air box, cause you won't get good RPM signals from the cig lighter. But keep in mind that it measures wheel HP less losses to wind resistance. I think that's 18 HP at 70 mph if I remember right. So the numbers will be lower than you're used to seeing from dyno charts.

Find a track and just have at it. Don't worry about it being first time out. There are lots of nice race computers out there too. Traqmate and G2X are some of the better for less than a grand....

More than a grand and your options open up. Some tracks have timing beacons as well. You just have to get the transponder that works with thier system.

Matt

 

Matt, you are going so far advanced. I think I'll do what you recommended on getting the G-Tech. I just wanna track it to know how does it feel. This would be once in 6 month or so. I'm not modifying for racing, I'm modifying for my own pleaser, hence, I do not have a project map.

 

Brake at the cones, turn and accelerate. Honestly, seat time is what you need to get to know your car and how it can perform.

I can only hope you have an instructor with you while you learn. If not, ask for one. Change instructors to get another perspective. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Off the top of my head a good kit might include: towels, water, umbrella or sunshade, spare brake pads, ATE Super Blue, tools to change out the brakes, brake bleed kit, air pump and gauge, and storage box or bag to hold all of the loose stuff in your Mini. A Triple-A card if you are in the States--JUST IN CASE.

If anything ever happens to your brakes (fade, worn pads, etc.) and even if you have never messed with the brakes, you will find someone else at an event who can help you so make sure you have everything you need. Check the howtos in this forum for a list of tools.

 

I bet you can do like those crazy stunts I see on youtube!

 

I've jsut placed an order for the advanced one . I'll see what are the results when I receive it next weekend

 

If I hadn't gotten a lay-off notice a week or so ago (I've got 4 months left... plenty of time), I'd probably already have one in my car!

Thanks for the tip on using the engine bay power for a source. That's very helpful!

 

For all of you who tried this G-Tech. Is it really accurate? Did you compare the results to some dyno results?

 

Kind of hard to say since the road, weight of vehicle and so many other things can come into play and affect. I really think it was a good investment and is good for checking for changes that i have made with my car. I can test my car one morning, make changes and then test it again as soon as I'm done. The key is to duplicate the conditions to have accurate results. Same road, amount of fuel(weight), temp etc.... Just like you wouldn't want to go to a different dyno everytime you changed something, you have to be consistant.

And my car has been really consistant with the numbers it pulls within 1-2hp just like on the dynos.

 

But who really cares? How well does one dyno compare to another, especially with an intercooler? What's important is that it's self-consistant. That is I've gotten results (when careful) that are good to a couple percent. That's almost what you'd get with a good engine dyno (getting better than 1% is hard, no matter what!). What you should take from this is that anyone who quote numbers to decimal places forget everything they ever learned about significant figures, and that really it's about % improvements.

The key to good numbers is setting the car in the same state (operating temp, weight etc), and testing the same way. Then you can trust the numbers. If you really want to compare what your G-Tech or whatever tells you compared to stationary dynos, you'll have to figure out, estimate, or measure your Cd so you can know how much you're losing to wind.

Matt

 

Matt, I read the manual carefully. This product does not depend on the power supply to read RPM and hoursepower data. Actually, it "calculates" HP based on some information you got to input. So, I get the assumption that the power connection is only for power. Nothing else.

 

No, actually it gets the rpm signal through the power supply as well as powering up the unit. After an initial RPM calibration, it is fairly accurate. And also, I'd suggest to try the cigarette lighter first...That's where mine is plugged in with no issues.