alfadriver wrote:Keith wrote: Of course, street cars are a different thing. A full datalogging system is expensive (the computer in that multi-gauge Miata couldn't take any extra inputs, thus the gauges) and can only tell you what happened, not what's happening.So you can see, and interpret 6 things at once, and still drive?
If you can rotate the gauges so that normal is vertical, it's quite easy to scan the gauges and see something that's moved off normal. Eyeballs seem to sense verticals and horizontals well for some reason. You can spot trends as well, such as a temp gauge that's creeping up gradually. Of course, you know this and you're just screwing with me...
It's about choosing the correct display/datalog for the purpose. Readings that vary widely or change rapidly in the course of operation aren't much use as a gauge, and you're really only worried about them staying within a certain range. If you can get the car into a stable state, then they stop varying widely and you can get more use out of them. A boost gauge is a great example. You can't watch it all the time, but if you need to check the maximum boost under full throttle at a certain load then it's very useful. Same with a/f.
Ones that change more gradually are useful, as you really only have to scan them for changes. Interestingly, I feel that the former type of gauge is best displayed in an analog format (tachometers don't work well as a numerical digital display) while the latter works better numerically (exact coolant temperature or speed? Yes please).
The Miata I posted above was set up for some testing on the dyno and interstate. I wouldn't want to try to manage that setup on the autocross course or in traffic.
