Speedometer... Why not?

R

rockymtnmf

Guest
With all the speeding penalties on pit road why isnt there a speedo on the cars? Im assuming there must be a rule against it. With GPS tech it would be so easy to do.

I understand the idea of not having one attached to the tranny, like a normal car that why I bring up the GPS tech. There would be nothing attached to the tranny, nothing to break. With the technology today in GPS, make one that only reads MPH. It would weigh next to nothing so that wouldn't be an issue. If is not 100% accurate, it should be within +/-1 MPH. At least it would be a back-up to the tach.

So why not?

Thanks
 
So in essence nobody knows for sure why there are no speedos in the cars. The arguement of gears and such in the tranny does not apply anymore with the advancement in GPS technology.

If there is a rule against it, like stated in the other thread you linked me to, if someone know the reason behind that rule I'd be curious to know why.

Thanks
 
Far as I know, the only place speedo's would help is the 2 plate tracks, if the drivers knew the actual speed they were bump drafting at, i bet you 100 bucks they wouldn't be bump drating....

General Consensus is the drivers don't want to know how fast they're going. And being in a petty ridealong, i wouldn't blame them.
 
i assure you that they aren't oblivious to the speed they bump draft someone at plate races.
 
A speedometer doesn't have to register the speeds on the track. They could use a digital meter that topped out at 55mph. That would be more acurate than a regular one and would show them their pit speeds but would be useless otherwise.
 
A speedometer doesn't have to register the speeds on the track. They could use a digital meter that topped out at 55mph. That would be more acurate than a regular one and would show them their pit speeds but would be useless otherwise.

It would have to be at least 5mph over that of the fastest pit road speed on the circuit, otherwise you won't know you are speeding. unless none are 55mph anymore.
 
http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/strap_in/story/23005b46c
Seems noone really knows
Why Is Pit Road Speed A Secret?

Can anyone tell me why NASCAR doesn’t allow the fans watching TV to know how fast someone is going on pit road? I’ve read very little on the subject, but I do know one of the networks told a reporter from The Charlotte Observer recently they are, “specifically prohibited from doing so”. Why is that, what is NASCAR trying to hide?

I was watching a little of the race from Martinsville last Sunday in the home of a friend. The TV was muted and in the background. I wish I had a better memory because I can’t remember the two cars, but one guy clearly passed another guy right before they got to the line.

The guy (driver X) who got passed was running along out by the pit road wall and as he passed one of the pit stalls the jack dropped and the other driver (we’ll call B2) took off. Driver X was ahead by nearly a whole car length but B2 immediately closed to just a few feet. They ran like that for a few seconds and just as they approached the line B2 forged ahead. I made a comment to the guy beside me that B2 was speeding.

We were very surprised B2 wasn’t given a stop-and-go for passing someone on pit road. Maybe driver X was not going the speed limit but I can’t believe he would give up a spot on pit road without a fight. I do remember they were both top runners.
 
I really dont get the point of this thread or what would be gained by having a speedometer in a stock car . The largest guage by far in a stock car is the tach with a face from 4 to 6 inches . Once you establish your pit road speed say 3500 rpm in second gear you know your maximum speed and that if you exceed those RPMs you are speeding .

What would be the benifit of a speedometer over the tach ?
 
I understand where you are coming from, Multi. But you can't tell me that a tach is as easy to read in a vibrationg race car than a digital speedo. We are not talking about a $120 speeding ticket here. These teams can loose big money due to this, like I said in my 1st post it would be used as a back-up to the tach method.

Lets face reality here, there must be a rule against it. If it were legal to use a speedo, there would be one in there. In fact there must be somethong in the car already, the Track pass tells you the speed and on TV they can show you how fast teh car is going (except on pit road).

Im just curious to know why it cant be there.
 
Well, maybe it's just me, but ... drag? Believe it or not, speedo attached to the drive train cause as much drag as ... say, loose tape on a fender repair. For what? 4 seconds of use per pit stop? Just plain silly if you ask me. GPS? Nowhere near accurate enough to be of any use. Not to mention that when these guys are driving, they don't want anything more than they absolutely need.

Now, if it was really as big an issue as you're making out, there's certainly no rule stopping a pitman from using a LIDAR and verbally call out speeds to his driver over the radio ....'cept that by the time the crewman could tell him he's speeding, it's too late.

Which is all it really comes down to. There only one guage in the car that the driver has a clear view of while moving at speed, and turning (which they usually do heading for pit road) and that's the tach. With the confusion that is pitting, he doesn't want to be looking for another guage.




But, if it's so truely important, why not email the question to Nascar? Or your favorite driver?
 
I understand where you are coming from, Multi. But you can't tell me that a tach is as easy to read in a vibrationg race car than a digital speedo. We are not talking about a $120 speeding ticket here. These teams can loose big money due to this, like I said in my 1st post it would be used as a back-up to the tach method.

Lets face reality here, there must be a rule against it. If it were legal to use a speedo, there would be one in there. In fact there must be somethong in the car already, the Track pass tells you the speed and on TV they can show you how fast teh car is going (except on pit road).

Im just curious to know why it cant be there.

I'm as curious about it as well.

We're not talking about putting these cars on Jupiter. We're talking about a simple device that probably every car sold in the world today has.

And you're absolutely right....we're NOT alking about a simple speeding ticket. We're talking about what could be the difference bewteen what every driver wants and every fan wants for their driver... the cup.

I don't now what the problem is with your query - maybe low post count - but welcome to the boards and don't be afraid to ask questions.
 
I really dont get the point of this thread or what would be gained by having a speedometer in a stock car . The largest guage by far in a stock car is the tach with a face from 4 to 6 inches . Once you establish your pit road speed say 3500 rpm in second gear you know your maximum speed and that if you exceed those RPMs you are speeding .

What would be the benifit of a speedometer over the tach ?

Tach doesn't work if you run out of gas:p
 
Setting your speed by the tachometer is only good for those drivers near the pace car. The farther back you are the more apt you are to be off by a little.
ie. cars 1-4 and 21-24 would have a better, more accurate reading than cars 19 and 20 (that is the end of the 1st group, right?) and 40- 43.
And, yes the engineers can determine the speed by the tach before they get there but this should be a non-issue.
 
Hey if they let Trickle put in a cigarette lighter why not let them have a speedometer . Heck why not an ipod jack and vanity mirror why their at it .
 
I'd beg to differ. They are accurate to the tenth of a mile as far as speed goes.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank you, finally some of you understands where I'm coming from. So this would eliminate "drag" there would be nothing attached to the drivetrain, etc.

The technology is already in place, if I can see the speeds on track pass, and the Fox and NBC guys can pop it up on the TV, it already in the cars.

I think you are missing my point... Put yourself in a crew chief's, owner's, or even driver's mind, if pit road speed is that important, why wouldn't you want a back-up plan, if it doesn't effect the car? I assume there is a rule against it, I'm just trying to find out why?

Professur said:
...But, if it's so truely important, why not email the question to Nascar? Or your favorite driver?
I have, never got an answer.

One more thing...
Professur said:
...Not to mention that when these guys are driving, they don't want anything more than they absolutely need.
Now thats not true, have you ever seen the steering wheel on a F1 or Indy car?

But thanks to all the responses I'll keep searching for an answer, been searching for a NASCAR rule book, can't find that either. Maybe I'll just call Mike Helton's office in the morning, I'm sure he's just sitting around waiting to talk to some crazy fan about speedos!!
 
Thank You, Thank You, Thank you, finally some of you understands where I'm coming from. So this would eliminate "drag" there would be nothing attached to the drivetrain, etc.

The technology is already in place, if I can see the speeds on track pass, and the Fox and NBC guys can pop it up on the TV, it already in the cars.

I think you are missing my point... Put yourself in a crew chief's, owner's, or even driver's mind, if pit road speed is that important, why wouldn't you want a back-up plan, if it doesn't effect the car? I assume there is a rule against it, I'm just trying to find out why?

I have, never got an answer.

One more thing...

Now thats not true, have you ever seen the steering wheel on a F1 or Indy car?

But thanks to all the responses I'll keep searching for an answer, been searching for a NASCAR rule book, can't find that either. Maybe I'll just call Mike Helton's office in the morning, I'm sure he's just sitting around waiting to talk to some crazy fan about speedos!!
NASCAR doesn't have a written published copy to the inability to print something that is in pencil and changes by the lap.
 
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