G-Force Measurement

[Tim Drury]

> Hi to all,
> I have been lurking on this list for quite awhile.  Although a G-meter is not
> strictly diy efi material, I know that many in the group may have an interest or
> information regarding my inquiry.
> 
> TO the point, I wish to either purchase or design an instrument for measuring
> the G-forces generated during cornering of a vehicle.  If anyone knows of a unit
> made for this purpose, please reply and let me know.
> 
> If I have to make one, maybe the adxl05 from Analog Devices would be the most
> suitable place to start, however I have not yet managed to get a hold of a
> databook/spec sheet.  What does anybody else think?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Brian Davies

Brian,

I've almost finished a g-measurement system like the one your 
looking for.  Here are some features:

Measure, display, and record three axes of acceleration
   Lateral acceleration helps determine if the car is cornering 
      at its maximum potential.
   Longitudinal acceleration can measure horsepower and stopping 
      power.
   Z-axis acceleration can measure suspension motion or rear-wing 
      down-force.

200 x 160 dot LCD display can show all three axes simultaneously 
and eight “soft” keys provide on-screen control.

Entry level system has 128 kilobytes of data storage.  This is 
approximately 72 minutes of recording time.  Additional memory 
is available and PCMCIA non-volatile storage is forthcoming.

Data is stored in user-definable files which can be replayed, deleted, 
or transfered to a PC using a standard RS-232 serial port (cable is 
included) for additional analysis.

-------

An initial price hasn't been set yet but should retail for under $1000
(and I'm hoping it will sell for around $600).  Let me know if your
interested and maybe I can get you a prototype that you can beta-test 
for me.  The system should be going to the PCB manufacturer in a 
couple weeks.

-tim