It’s no secret that finding the right gearing combination is
critical to on-track success.
Unfortunately, a busy night of racing provides little time for guess
work. The tachometer has become a ‘must
have’ piece of equipment for anyone competing in any class of motorcycle
powered racing car. Today there are many
options when it comes to selecting a tachometer for your racing car ranging
from old school mechanical needle gauges through very sophisticated systems
that are capable of monitoring every function on a race car from RPMs through
the slightest movement of the throttle pedal.
Finding the right system for your needs becomes not only a question of
what you can afford, but also what you really need. For many racers the Acewell digital
tachometer offers the perfect combination of functionality and economy.
What does it do? The
answer is quite a lot for its modest price of $139.95. At the core the unit is a versatile
tachometer capable of registering up to 20,000 RPMs. This is important since many of today’s race
engines are being turned at higher and higher RPM levels – often in the range
of 14,000-16,000 RPMs. The tachometer
also displays both a numerical and graphical bar display – best of all the
display is backlit orange for the best readability in low light conditions that
we have found so far. The tachometer is
also capable of displaying the highest RPM reached for the session. Another nice feature is the tachometers
programmable shift light allowing a light to display when the tachometer reaches
a user defined RPM.
The Acewell is more than just a tachometer with several
additional features. One of the most
beneficial is its ability to display water temperature. The water temperature is displayed
numerically and can be set by the user to display in either Farenheit or
Celcius. The unit also features a
programmable water temperature warning light that can be set to light at a user
defined temperature. Another feature of
interest to racers is the unit’s battery monitor. Since many mini sprints, lightning sprints,
modified midgets and other motorcycle powered racing cars eliminate the
charging system it is important to make sure that your battery is adequately
charged at all times since a drop in battery voltage can affect performance. The unit does feature other functionality
that may or may not be of value such as a fuel level display.
How is it used? We’ve
been using Acewell tachometers ourselves for nearly five years and have sold
several hundred units. We believe that
one of the reasons the unit is so popular is because of its ease-of-use. The tachometer can be hooked up in minutes
using our quick start guide. Once
installed the tachometer can be easily customized to your specific application
which includes selecting the appropriate pulse setting for your engine and
choosing at what RPMs you want the shift light to come on and the temperature
you want the water temperature warning light to come on.
Once on track the easy-to-read display shows RPMs
numerically and graphically. Personally
I rely on the graphical display most often while I am on the track. The bar increases as RPMs climb. After just a few sessions you will find you
become use to where the bar graph is allowing you to determine your approximate
RPMs with just a quick glance—since things tend to get a little busy on the
track. If I want a little better
information, I’ll extend my glance and look at the numerical display. The orange backlit display is one of the best
I’ve seen. It really does make reading
the gauge very easy, even on the most poorly lit racing tracks. One of my favorite features is the
programmable shift light. I set the
light to come on at the RPMs I would like to hit at the end of the straight
away. This way I really don’t even have
to glance down at all since the light is easy to see from your peripheral
vision. This makes it easy to determine
where I am on the track when I am hitting the desired RPMs so I can adjust my
gearing accordingly. I also like the
tachometers high RPM recall. Once I get back
in the pits after my session I can review the highest RPM I hit during the
session.
The water temperature display is also very helpful. A water temperature gauge is a must have in a
motorcycle powered racing car and the fact that this temperature gauge is
combined with your tachometer not only saves you money, but is also more
convenient. I set the temperature gauge
warning light to the appropriate temperature for my engine. When it lights, I know it’s time to pull off
the track or risk injury to the motor.
FOZ Products water temperature adapter makes it much easier to connect
the water temperature functionality of the tachometer. You just cut your radiator hose in half and
the adapter goes inline.
Finally, I do make use of the tachometers battery
monitor. I like to know exactly where my
battery is during the evening and this makes it much easier to keep an eye on.
The tachometer is available for $139.95 through www.viperpipes.com.
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