Is a Tach Necessary?

[ALBERTAN]

I have an '87 Turbo T daily driver which came with a big 5" Autometer tach with memory and shift light. It's a nice unit, but I find its' the last thing I look at when I'm driving. And being mounted above the stereo and HVAC controls, it's quite clearly visible from outside the car. The car already has a Scanmaster sitting right below the tach and I just swapped in an ECM to run DirectScan in the car and will likely add a TMF laptop mount in the near future. I know some recommend the tach for the track, but to be honest I've never missed it on the GN. Basically what I am looking for is a reason why I should keep it in place.. The big 5" tach that spins to 9,000 rpm just seems a little pointless in the car but maybe I am missing something. Thanks guys.

P.S. I did a search but never found anything relating to the benefits of having a tach, just technical threads.

 

[azgn]

prolly not very useful unless you shift manually...although I wouldn't be without mine (use for launching, shifting, locking TCC, etc)

 

[Nightcrawler]

I just removed my small tach after being in my car 10 yrs. I never use it. Looked cool but I can use my Scanmaster 2 if I have to. At the track it would be preferred for launches and manually shifting,etc. I removed my old boost gauge and replaced it and moved its location as well when the tach was removed.

 

[salvageV6]

If you have a scanmaster and Direct Scan I would say not needed.

I have a 3" Autometer I installed in one of my cars years ago that I only use to check idle rpms every now and then.

Playback on direct scan works great and is safer for me since my tach. rotates down a bit when I shift to D.

On the steering column.

 

[ALBERTAN]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I'll pull it as I'm not planning on doing anything too whizzy with this car at the track...I bought it for use as a daily driver.

 

[GrndNatnl]

My 3-3/4" Autometer is malfuntioning. It works off and on. I like it for watching shift points, and launching when toying at the track. Good for watching RPM for any reason without having to flip modes though the scanmaster. I'm going to need another one though.

Which model is it? If you dont plan on using it for anything, and can maybe snap a picture of it, drop me an e-mail if you want to sell it. I know the 5" inchers seem a little ricey, but whatever. Easy to see, and I mount it low anyway. Not right up on my dash for the whole world to see my RPM.

Let me know.

 

[87gninpa]

I had the same problem that GrndNatnl was having, it only worked sometimes, and there was nothing wrong with the wiring or anything, so i just took it out. i actually feel better without it, it was pretty gay looking just sitting there. its better just to use the scanmaster

 

[krom]

Originally posted by ALBERTAN
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I'll pull it as I'm not planning on doing anything too whizzy with this car at the track...I bought it for use as a daily driver.

How is that Az car adapting to the cold Alberta weather?
I could not handle it anymore so I moved.

 

[turbojimmy]

I installed an adjustable-RPM shiftlight instead of a tach. I have a tendency to not know what gear I'm in after staging, burn-out, and launching. I need the light to tell me when I hit an RPM that I shouldn't be hitting (the car is so damn quiet I can't hear anything with my helmet on).

Jim

 

[XLR8]

Whats a tach?
When I race I have one eye on the scanmaster and boost gauge and the other on the track. If I had a 3rd eye I might use a tach.

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by XLR8
Whats a tach?
When I race I have one eye on the scanmaster and boost gauge and the other on the track. If I had a 3rd eye I might use a tach.

That's exactly what I like about the blindingly bright shift light. It lets me know I've f'd up without having to watch it. I have a hard enough time watching boost and the knock gauge.

Jim

 

[Anthony K]

why watch a boost guage? you know what its set at. you can watch a tach to see when your trans is going, in high gear, rpms will be higher than normal, trans not shifing when light comes on, trans flaring up. i would rather look at a tach than TRY to look at the scanmaster. what is the data rate on the scanmaster? 4157 4664 5237 5581 5159 4750 4126. tach is 1 ot 1, or a playback tach.

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by Anthony K
why watch a boost guage? you know what its set at. you can watch a tach to see when your trans is going, in high gear, rpms will be higher than normal, trans not shifing when light comes on, trans flaring up. i would rather look at a tach than TRY to look at the scanmaster. what is the data rate on the scanmaster? 4157 4664 5237 5581 5159 4750 4126. tach is 1 ot 1, or a playback tach.

I have DS that I can playback. Boost very rarely stays where I set it - maybe it's me. Boost seems to fluctuate a lot more than my RPMs at shiftpoints. I just like to watch boost, knock, and FP "real time" and playback the RPMs.

Jim

 

[XLR8]

I keep a very close eye on the KR with the scanmaster.

 

[ALBERTAN]

Originally posted by GrndNatnl
Which model is it? If you dont plan on using it for anything, and can maybe snap a picture of it, drop me an e-mail if you want to sell it. I know the 5" inchers seem a little ricey, but whatever. Easy to see, and I mount it low anyway. Not right up on my dash for the whole world to see my RPM.

Let me know.

It's listed in the Parts for Sale Forum.

 

[84turbogn]

I can see wht you need a bigger garage albertan! You've managed to gather quite a collection of bad ass cars. Is your employer looking to hire anyone else!!

 

[JP87GN]

I wish I had a tach when I first dyno'd my car, I SPUN IT UP TO 6200 RPM AT 122MPH WITHOUT KNOWING IT