Why don't we all have one of these?

[jawz101]

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gauge_dpic.aspx

Am I alone on this being extremely cool?

[David Morton]

Yup. You're all alone. Nobody in his right mind would want such a useless and frivolous POS.


:lol:

[MENINBLK]

It is extremely cool...and extremely pricey...

[CRUZTAKER]

The timeslip the little kid gives me at the peeling painted shack tells me all of that....for free.

As long as the little bastage remembers I want the WHITE one!:P

[jawz101]

Yup. You're all alone. Nobody in his right mind would want such a useless and frivolous POS.
:lol:

Grrr. Personally, I have my doubts about it too. I just didn't know if anyone had tested its accuracy. If it did work well I think it'd be the funnest accessory you could put in a car... except for red and blue flashing lights behind the grill.

Has anyone heard of any reviews on the product or has anyone installed the Autometer D-PIC guage?

[Breadfan]

For casual testing the accuracy is probably good enough. I think one of the magazines tested the G-tech unit that does all the same stuff. It was off, yes, but relatively close. I wouldn't accept 1/4 mi times off something like this in a timeslips db, but for your own personal testing it's probably fun and accurate enough when you are just tooling around.

How much? I'm guessing around $300

[ctrcbob]

Saw it for sale at a place in Orlando called Powered By Ford on Division Street. Don't remember how much it cost.

[jawz101]

MSRP 266.51

I froogled it and found it for 189.00.

On ebay I saw some with Buy It Now prices of 175.00 and some being bid on that were at 152.95 as of today.

Yeah, it's roughly 3 times as expensive as their other guages. The other guages just measure individual things (fuel pressure, water temp., air/fuel ratio)

This does 1/4 mile, reaction, 0-60 times, 60-0 distance, WHP, real time G Forces(weird)

I just think "how???". Granted, the tests may not be as accurate as equipment that is specialized for each test, I wouldn't think some of them would be hard to compact

Here are the manuf. specs

Clean Installation
* No more devices hanging from your windshield, or cords dangling to your auxiliary power port
* Built in standard 2 1/16” gauge size – D-PIC’s compact size allows it to be easily mounted in a Pod, Pillar, Cup or custom Dash location
* Available in two styles to match either your Auto Meter Ultra-Lite or Cobalt gauges for a clean appearance and perfect complement to your existing instrumentation

Real–Time G’s
* Choose either forward (front and back) or lateral (left and right) axis instantaneous acceleration G Forces on the LED array and digital display
* LED array graph will show magnitude of the G force, while the instantaneous value will be display in the numeric digital display
* Peak memory feature allows you to recall the highest G Forces achieved in both axes (all four directions) during Real-Time operation

0 to 60mph Acceleration Time
* Measure your vehicle’s 0-60mph acceleration time with precision
* Capture Peak Acceleration G Forces
* Compare your latest efforts to a saved best, see the difference between the two, and improve your driving skills while monitoring how performance upgrades affect your vehicle’s performance

60 to 0mph Braking Distance
* Precisely calculate the distance your vehicle needs to come to a stop from 60mph
* Capture Peak Deceleration G Forces
* Compare your latest efforts to a saved best, see the difference between the two, and improve your driving skills while monitoring how performance upgrades affect your vehicle’s performance

¼ Mile ET and Speed
* Test your vehicle’s capabilities and times for quarter mile acceleration, and see both your ¼ mile speed in MPH and elapsed time in seconds
* Capture Peak Acceleration G Forces
* Compare your latest efforts to a saved best, see the difference between the two, and improve your driving skills while monitoring how performance upgrades affect your vehicle’s performance

Reaction Time
* Practice and record your reaction time in ¼ mile acceleration mode

Horsepower Mode
* Calculate peak horsepower to the wheels (whp) of your vehicle in horsepower mode
* Compare your latest peak to a saved best, see the difference between the two, and monitor how performance upgrades affect your vehicle’s performance

Also saw on another site that it has no provision for lighting
... and another forum where a supporting vendor says the connections are "only 3 wires to connect. Positive, negative and light dimmer."

I'm emailing Autometer to see what they say about the wiring. It just made it more hokey if it really just has 3 wires. There has to be some internal instrument that I couldn't see as being that accurate.

[Donny Carlson]

http://www.autometer.com/cat_gauge_dpic.aspx

Am I alone on this being extremely cool?
Mine is sitting over there ----> on the desk awaiting it's installation on Saturday, August 20. A special made triple gauge pod awaits.

I'm having a dyno pull done on that date as well to compare results to the D-PIC.

My D-PIC:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/gallery/data/500/d3.JPG

[Bowman9]

What does it hook up to?
Is this one of those gizmos that plugs into your lighter?
It would be cool if it could be shared between cars.

[snowbird]

I'm emailing Autometer to see what they say about the wiring. It just made it more hokey if it really just has 3 wires. There has to be some internal instrument that I couldn't see as being that accurate.And it would be probably interesting to hear about install procedure: Since it works with G,s device the angle of installation is probably critical for accuracy.

[Donny Carlson]

What does it hook up to?
Is this one of those gizmos that plugs into your lighter?
It would be cool if it could be shared between cars.
It's like a regular gauge. As posted before, it's three wire, ground, power, and dim. It cannot practically be shared between cars.

Regarding no provision for lighting -- it doesn't need it. It's a digital gauge. Around the edge are LED's to show acceleration forces (g forces) and in the center is a digital readout that shows numbers.

This unit has an accelerometer similar to the G-tech. It's essentially a G-tech, only in a smaller package and with a less elaborate read out.

[Donny Carlson]

And it would be probably interesting to hear about install procedure: Since it works with G,s device the angle of installation is probably critical for accuracy.
Yes, but you can calibrate the gauge if it's installed in a location where it is not level.

[Shaft333]

Jawz,
All the measurements it does are based on the internal accelerometer(s). That's why it's only three wires. It does not use any external input (accept maybe the user inputting the vehicle weight) It can display all that information based on the math it does to the accelerometer reading.
It's relatively simple, and that's why they can be had for less than $200.
Cool find.

[juno]

That is kind of a cool gadget, but me'thinks it might encourage some people to practice on the road. :D

[jawz101]

Thanks y'all. I got the same response from Autometer today as you all have described:
Thank you for your interest in Auto Meter Products. The D-PIC has a 2
wire connection. It has a 12 volt switched power & ground wire. The
gauge works of off g-meters in the case of the gauge.

Thanks again,
Marc Erickson

Director of Motorsports
Auto Meter Products
815-899-0846
www.autometer.com
-------------------------------------
I'm not a physicist or engineer but I'm sure it's probably something pretty simple... I'm just not that creative, er smart, to figure it out.
Still cool though.
Like to hear the results of anyone's testing!