G Meter accuracy??
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 417
Likes: 1
From: Just another gray haired old fart in a Corvette.
G Meter accuracy??
I was on a two lane on ramp yesterday and wanted to pass an 18 wheeler before merging onto the freeway. I whipped up the horses and leaned into the corner pretty good but still well under control. After coming up on the freeway I recalled the G meter reading and it read .91 g’s. No way, is this thing accurate?
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 10,262
Likes: 4
From: Manhatten Beach, California
St. Jude Donor '05 thru '11,'18,'20,'21,'24,'25, '26
Originally Posted by SDCEB
I think that it is mostly for fun. You get a reading if you are sitting still on a ramp, at an angle. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 996
Likes: 13
From: Dallas TX
Originally Posted by SDCEB
I think that it is mostly for fun. You get a reading if you are sitting still on a ramp, at an angle.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,375
Likes: 1
From: Northern CA
Originally Posted by SDCEB
I think that it is mostly for fun. You get a reading if you are sitting still on a ramp, at an angle.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,709
Likes: 1
From: Pacific Northwest
St. Jude Donor '06
Originally Posted by xs650
You can check the accuracy by tipping your car onto it's side. It should read 1 g.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
Yes
Originally Posted by C6-er
I was on a two lane on ramp yesterday and wanted to pass an 18 wheeler before merging onto the freeway. I whipped up the horses and leaned into the corner pretty good but still well under control. After coming up on the freeway I recalled the G meter reading and it read .91 g’s. No way, is this thing accurate?
You should be able to handle .91G's with the stock suspension according to GM. The Z51 is rated at .98 G's. I pulled .89 with my stock suspension C5 using a G-tech pro to measure it.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,823
Likes: 383
From: Bandon, OR
Originally Posted by Onyasix
If you go around a 90 degree embankment at 150 mph, it should read zero. 
Racer
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Likes: 0
From: Silver Spring Maryland
Originally Posted by C-INRED
It also follows that if the car can pull 1 g, you should be able to set it on the side of a concrete wall and it should stay there!
If it's sideways, there's no force pulling the car to the concrete. In a flat turn, you've still got 1g of force pulling the car and the concrete together, which is how it generates friction.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,271
Likes: 182
From: Manassas VA
I have no idea whether the g-meter in the Corvette has multiple axis accelerometers or not. If it does then the effects of not being on level ground should already be factored out. If it doesn't then worrying about the accuracy is a waste of time since the meter is about useless for any percise measurements since there are few places on the roads that are perfectly flat. Even drag strips usually go up or down some and they all have a slight crown (less than the public roads) to help drainage.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 996
Likes: 13
From: Dallas TX
Originally Posted by ronsc1985
I have no idea whether the g-meter in the Corvette has multiple axis accelerometers or not. If it does then the effects of not being on level ground should already be factored out. If it doesn't then worrying about the accuracy is a waste of time since the meter is about useless for any percise measurements since there are few places on the roads that are perfectly flat. Even drag strips usually go up or down some and they all have a slight crown (less than the public roads) to help drainage.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,979
Likes: 5
From: San Diego, CA "leaf" "tee" "e"
I'd expect the g-meter to be pretty accurate since the technology is very mature. During the Cold War, and before GPS, spy planes used to navigate solely by g-meters, and they did very well from what I've heard.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 26,900
Likes: 2
From: Bann Camp & N.Y.C.
St. Jude Donor '08
Originally Posted by C6-er
I was on a two lane on ramp yesterday and wanted to pass an 18 wheeler before merging onto the freeway. I whipped up the horses and leaned into the corner pretty good but still well under control. After coming up on the freeway I recalled the G meter reading and it read .91 g’s. No way, is this thing accurate?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 417
Likes: 1
From: Just another gray haired old fart in a Corvette.
Originally Posted by C6 DVL
how do you do that?
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 26,900
Likes: 2
From: Bann Camp & N.Y.C.
St. Jude Donor '08
Originally Posted by C6-er
While in one of the track modes just push and hold the page button for 5 seconds and it will recall the highest reading since power up. You don’t even have to be in track mode in the corner.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,271
Likes: 182
From: Manassas VA
Originally Posted by Black04Vert
The Vette only has yaw and lateral accelerometers and that's really all it needs. Yaw shouldn't be affected by orientation and the lateral G meter shouldn't factor out the level of the ground as the lateral component of gravitys acceleration should always be considered in addition to the cars lateral acceleration.
As an example if you have a drag car that wheel stands a simple lateral accelerometer would read much higher forward acceleration then the car was actually making down the track. Same thing is true for body roll.
This may all be a little picky but the original question was how accurate the G- meter was.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,375
Likes: 1
From: Northern CA
Originally Posted by ronsc1985
As an example if you have a drag car that wheel stands a simple lateral accelerometer would read much higher forward acceleration then the car was actually making down the track. Same thing is true for body roll.
This may all be a little picky but the original question was how accurate the G- meter was.
This may all be a little picky but the original question was how accurate the G- meter was.