The Acceleration Gauge

I became a car enthusiast the day I got my driving licence and then spent much of my spare time restoring old sports cars by reconditioning engines,  gearboxes, respraying bodies, restoring interiors etc. I was interested in the dash board instrumentation and always thought that enthusiasts and mechanics needed a new instrument to better assess their vehicles’ performance.

The ideal solution was an Acceleration Gauge which could instantly display acceleration in forward and reverse (Braking) giving accurate performance figures for all of the motion modes of a vehicle in any gear and at any speed.

This meant that an accurate sensor needed to be designed to provide instantaneous information for the computing and display circuits of the gauge, however, there was nothing available commercially at the time. 

After months of research and several prototypes created, a suitable unique sensor was finalised and work began on the design. A slimline display used 22 LEDS to provide a bright easily read semicircular dial. This was just 6mm thick and suitable for sticking directly to the dashboard or on the steering wheel boss. The Gauge consisted of the display unit, a sensor unit and a cigarette lighter plug which was a suitable for a 5 minute DIY installation without needing to alter the vehicle in any way.

The dial indicated from 0 to 1.1 G in 0.1 G steps and additional LEDs indicated Forward and Backward motion. The sensor unit was mounted in the glovebox on the vertical back panel.  

The Acceleration reading displayed on the gauge is the time rate of change of speed of the vehicle, and is proportional to the power of the engine minus all of the losses that the vehicle experiences e.g. rolling resistance , transmission losses, air resistance etc. therefore a true comparison between two vehicles or the same vehicle on 2 runs can be ascertained thus indicating state of tune of the engine without the need for expensive Dynamometer testing. The Gauge also indicates braking performance under road conditions.