Re: 200mph speedo wanted

[alex@ravenet.com (Alex C. Green)]

Hey Dig.

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> From: dig@rrnet.com
> To: GMC Motor Sports List <syty@syty.org>
> Subject: Re: 200mph speedo wanted
> Date: Sunday, August 31, 1997 4:04 PM
> 
> 
> > Hello again.
> > 
> > I know we all talked about this a while back.  How to get a 200mph
speedo
> > into our dash.  To get a new dash face is easy, but how hard is it to
> > recalibrate the DRAC?  What does that involve? 
> 
> I doubt the DRAC would need recalibration, but the speedo motor would
> need to change somehow. I'd think you should be able to make a vette
> or Camaro unit work somehow, since most GM stuff operates on 2000 PPM
> or 4000 PPM. If you found a good speedometer shop, they could 
> probably make something work for you.

So what you're saying than is that the instruments are electronic and
motorized?  I did not know that.  For some reason I presumed they were
mechanical.  I heard that the stock turbo gauge is also electrical.  How
did they do that?  Why are the VDO and aftermarket gauges mechanical using
vacuum rather than electronics?  Which way is more accurate and/or more
preferred?  Or is it purely a matter of cost incurred in the design of the
gauge?

> 
> > Has anybody attempted this?
> >  Recently, while returning from the GLG event, I finally realized just
how
> > bad my Ty is aching for a 200mph speedo.  Ok, here's the deal.  I was
> > driving on I-70 and I-76 and had both my laptops connected.  One
connected
> > to the ALDL running Diacom Plus, the other connected to a GPS
performing
> > onboard real time computerized navigation and speed monitoring.  
> 
> Of course, when the cop asks you if you know how fast you were 
> going...

Yes, officer, I know exactly how fast I was going.  Says here I was doing a
buck 46.  Here I can prove it.  Watch...  Somehow I don't think he'll find
this too amusing.

> 
>  Then a
> > great opportunity came up.  Several miles of no traffic.  :-)  I
hesitantly
> > cracked it open a bit.  I couldn't see my needle as it quickly pegged
the
> > speedometer past 120mph.  I looked at my GPS and looked at Diacom and
they
> > were both reading the same speed - 146mph!!!  My pedal wasn't even down
to
> > the floor and my VDO gauge was reading a mere 12psi!!!
> 
> That's flyin'. Doesn't surprise me much, though, your truck has a lot
> better top-end then most of the trucks I've been in.

Thanks, but I kinda wished it was the other way around.  I don't spend most
of my time driving at those mind numbing speeds.  Too much traffic ya know.
 I wish it was more lively at the bottom end.

> 
> >  For some bizarre
> > reason, my TD-06H seems to hit it's power band at around 3400-3700rpm. 
The
> > truck really wakes up when you stab the pedal past 100mph.  Is this 
> > normal?
> 
> It's more of a function of the cam and porting work you have done, 
> although the turbo allows you to use the cam and heads a lot better.
> 
> >  I'm not complaining, but It seems kinda funky to pick up all that
power on
> > the top end.  Could my cam have anything to do with this or maybe the
> > torque convertor, or possibly the exhaust dump?  Or is this strictly
the
> > function of how much more exhaust is flowing through the larger turbo
at
> > higher speeds and rpms?   
> 
> You should have a lot more pull at low RPMs, too, it's just that 
> you've got waaay too much fuel on the low end. Once you get up in the
> RPM range in high gear and get things a flowin', your AFR comes a 
> little more into line.

I gotta find a way to lean her out at low RPM's and leave the richness
where it belongs - at the top end.

> 
> > 
> > What can I say other than driving at that speed is such a rush!!!  Call
me
> > crazy, but I love the flow of adrenaline and the need for speed. 
> 
> I sorta gathered that when we were doing 90+ in that 25 zone... ;)

Aw, that's nothin'.  If you thought I drove fast in the Ty, you haven't
seen me on my Ninja.  Let's just say it's a JATO powered black casket on 2
wheels.  :-)  I've never been scared driving too fast in the Ty.  The bike,
now that's a different story.  That thing will give you goose bumps.  When
I end my ride and finally get off that beast, I can still feel a numbness
in my hands and feet.  Now that's movin'!  Say, does Jim make a Stokes
powered Ninja?  :-)  LOL
  
> 
> 
> Dig
> Dig@rrnet.com

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Alex C. Green
1992 GMC Typhoon #1153 (Green/Gray) - 12.67 @ 112.7mph
1997 Subaru Legacy GT (Red)
1992 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11 (Black)
Hockessin, Delaware
E-Mail: alex@ravenet.com
ISTA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Member
"Reality is for people who lack imagination"
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