Can a Windshield-Mounted Device Accurately Measure Car Performance Metrics?

[dusty8683]

escort offers a passport g-timer that advertises being capable of just mounting to your windshield, plugging in your power cord and calculating 0 - 60 time, quarter mile time, peak horsepower, and g-forces. is all that possible from just a windshield mounted unit not connected (other than the power cord) to your car??

 

[russ_watters]

For the horsepower you need the weight of the car, but everything else can be calculated from an accelerometer.

 

[Integral]

And, yes, they do make accelerometers which could be mounted, along with the computer to motiter its output and compute the given quanities, to a windshield with only 12V input.

 

[russ_watters]

Originally posted by Integral
And, yes, they do make accelerometers which could be mounted, along with the computer to motiter its output and compute the given quanities, to a windshield with only 12V input.

I did my senior design project for THIS company testing piezoelectric polymers. They hand out these cute little piezoelectric accelerometers with leds attached to them. Shake it back and forth and watch the led blink.