Hex29A

Any comments/suggestions/recommendations (Brand/Model/Cost)? I’ve been thinking about getting a portable one since last year.

QuickVet

im sure edgar has the answer for this one :yesnod:

Hex29A

You are absolutely right QuickVet! He always walks around with that thing in his hand. Now that I think about it, Mr Mojo, Red96Coupe and I think mackeyred96 also.

REDGAR

From what I know there are two brands and cost new about the same. $429 or so.

TAG weather station which is what Panuzzo, Bob T and a host of others have. Going off memory, it holds 4 different databases.

Performaire is the other and the one that I have. It holds 10 different databases.

I think both have capabilities to download to PC but no not taking capablility on the machine.

both will predict your ET from the 1000' once you have some runs in there, in case you dump it.

TAG, keeps variations from your actual vs. what it predicted, performaire does not.

Perform air allows you to hook up a pager system so you can put it on one place and have it page the numbers to you (cool but costs more)

Another consideration is the box design. Mine is big and bulky and thick. The TAG is slender and slick and thin.

What I did when I shopped is put post on the forum to see if anyone was selling one. I got mine for $200 used.

Accuracy? Both makers get different numbers cause they use different algorythems. Panuzzo (TAG) and me (Performaire) are usually about 300' different in altitude.

I cannot get you websites as I cannot get out of the proxy now to find them.

K&B Motorsports

I use the TAG weather station and ET predictor. Deadly accurate if it's got good data.

jpee

I have a TAG... & you only get out, depends on how accurate the info you enter..

1. Be sure engine temp is the same for each run..
2. If you spin DON'T even bother entering it..
3. Always let the station stay in the shade for 10-15 min to let get the correct temp etc..

Mine is accurate to +- .015 in most situations..

portmgr198

Doesnt this take all the skill out of forecasting your ETs? :confused:

mackeyred96

If you think it that easy buy one and tell ME how well you've done ;)
It's only a tool it doesn't get you to the finish line first.

ralph

3. Always let the station stay in the shade for 10-15 min to let get the correct temp etc..

JP, i think i'm going to have to disagree with you on this...at least for my car. My car has a habit of losing .05-.07 as the sun starts to set and the track temps start to fall, BUT before the air temps drop. My logic here is that my car pulls in air from about 10-12inch off the track (i know yours does too, but stay with me anyway), and sun vs. shade will have a pretty dramatic effect on the temp of the air just off the track surface. I think i'm going to hang mine just in front of the air intake for now on. I know your car was uneffected by the sun set this past weekend, but as usual, mine dropped .06 between 5:30 and 6:00PM, while my weather station only showed a 2 deg drop in air temp (in the shade). I could feel the difference and expected the ET to drop long before the weather station caught on. I know the instructions say to keep it in the shade, but we ain' t racing in the shade.

Damn, i wish my car was as consistent as yours. Gotta be a frigg'n rocket scientist to dial mine.




[Modified by ralph, 2:22 PM 5/28/2002]

REDGAR

Ralph, you are a rocket sceince :eek:


JP, put the weather station anywhere just put it in the same place every time

Iaonnis, the Peformair is http://www.altronicsinc.com/
and the TAG is http://www.tagrace.com/

CFI-EFI

I use an Altronics, Performaire, and I have to sing the same praises and cautions as everyone else. *MY* unit usually shows a DA of about 1000' highter than the Tag units in use around here. Remember, we're starting at 4225' physical altitude with a desert climate. As stated, they use different allegorisms. As long as you stick with just one unit, it will work for you.

I have to disagree with the comments regarding keeping the unit in the sun, because we race in the sun. Even when there is no wind, the air is always circulating. Air in the shade is no cooler than air in the sun. You feel warmer in the sun, because your skin absorbs the radiation of the sun. So does your weather station. This causes your weather station to read artifically high. It seems as though that sucker will heat up in a second, but take forever to cool back down to the ambient temperature. I take my unit to staging with me. It is impossible to keep it cool when I'm driving. If it's in the car, it heats up. If I hold it out the window, it's in the sun. Once I get to staging, I wave it around to circulate air through it. I do my best to keep it in the shade and away from warm situations, like standing next to a running car. I know it will heat up in an instant, but it take a while to "normalize". I always "save" the cooest reading, because I know no matter how much it cools off, it CAN'T get any cooler than the ambient conditions.


[Modified by CFI-EFI, 7:58 PM 5/28/2002]

ralph

CFI-EFI, thanks for the comments......i've debated this in my mind and with other racers. you might be right and i know most racers would agree with you about keeping it in the shade. My only problem with that is my car will definitely run quicker under clouds ( or sunset) than it will in the sun given the same air temps (taken say 3 feet off the ground). If the station is left in the shade, it wouldn't know the difference. Ideally, i guess you'd want to keep the station itself in the shade, but have it read air temps above the asphalt at a height equal to where your car pulls in air...for me, it's like 12inches. Only, i don't know how you do that since the station is all self contained. i guess the most practical approach is to keep it shaded and just factor in the sun vs clouds. I've even tried waring it around my belt, so it is 1/2 shaded by me, but i think it's picking up my body heat.

I'm going to try to mount it right under my air intake (which is thru the bumper). That will put it out of direct sunlight, but it will be reading the air temps that the car will be using. Of course then it will probably pickup engine/ radiator heat.....who knows, but it might be worth a try.


any other thoughts on this????????

olephart

Seems like consistancy is what you want. I'd put it in the shade away from any heat source in order to get the most consistant starting point every time. Keep good records of the variables that you think are affecting it. Once you have enough data you can tweak the readings based on shade, track temp, track condition, tires, etc.

K&B Motorsports

I keep mine in the shade at all times. One of my crew measures track temp when I'm about 6 cars out which is when I make the final call on my dial for that run. I use a sign board so I can change my dial up to 3 cars from the start. Normally, you're dialing to the hundredth, so if you factor your last runs from your log, the TAG ET predict for current weather and any major track temp changes since your last run, plus any changes in wind direction/speed you've at least got a chance of getting close to your dial in the 3rd decimal. It's not easy, and I've missed on occasion by 7 hundredths through simply making a perfectly wrong educated guess at my ET. :( when I considered all of the relevant factors. I've also run a 12.305, 12.302 and 12.300 on a 12.30 dial. Sometimes you're on, sometimes you're not.

Hex29A

I’ll take all the advantage I can get/purchase…including bribing! :)

Hex29A

Thank you everybody for your input and comments.

REDGAR:
I searched the web and I knew about the Altronics (http://www.altronicsinc.com/) but not TAG (http://www.tagrace.com/). Thanks for the link.

I also found a company called Altalab Insruments (http://www.altalabinstrument.com/). Nobody mentioned them but they are at the same price range.

READ96COUPE:
Thanks for the tips. It makes sense that the more accurate information you provide, the more accurate information the device will calculate.

MACKEYRED96:
You are absolutely right. It is just a tool. You still have to drive the car to the finish line (Good reaction time, no spinning, good gear shifts, etc). I have to say thought, that for the novice driver, it takes a lot of guesswork out of the dial business.


[Modified by Hex29A, 5:03 PM 5/29/2002]

Hex29A

I don’t have a lot of information on the different features of these devices other than the bare basics.

Can someone explain why these devices support multiple databases? Is it just to accommodate multiple vehicles? Can you have a different database for each track you are racing?

Any other “interesting” features that you are using or wish you machine had?

ralph

you answered your own question on the multiple databases. Different tracks, different cars or maybe different setups on the same car, etc.

Hex29A

Thanks RALPH

CFI-EFI

Just a few add-on thoughts on the subject. When I initially received my unit,
I was troubled by my car not running as predicted. I faxed times and Da's to
Altronics. They analyzed the data and informed me that FIRST, I had to get
my car to run consistantly. Except for the conditions information, the units
are worthless at predicting, if you have an unpridictable car. Unfortunatly,
that's me.

Keeping the unit at your air intake may be a little over kill (****?), but it can't
do any harm.

As for keeping the unit in the shade...two thoughts. First, the new Altronics
models have a circulating fan to help reduce the time needed to stabilize.
Second, how bright do you think the sun shines inside you intake manifold?

There are no slams or insults intended, here. Just a little more food for
thought. Keep tuning, and plugging. I sure am. Mayby someday we'll
both "get it". Good luck.


[Modified by CFI-EFI, 8:23 PM 5/29/2002]