Randy_J

What's the verdict on the G-Tech Pro??

Joe944

I don't know about the pro specifically but I do know that they are good for measuring differences in performance. The et is way off because of the way that tracks calculate them but while the 1/4 times are a little optimistic sometimes its a useful tool.

BartW

My neigbor just got one and this past weekend was the first opprtunity we had to test it. We only did accelaration runs with it. First we tried his V8 Durango, the G-tech said we ran a 16.5 at 83MPH with a 2.4 second 60ft time, that time seemed a little optimistic considering the magazines had that thing at 16.9-17.0 and 82 mph but it was a cool day (about 40 degrees and very crisp air) and the Durango does not seem to loose much traction even on the cool road surface. Second car we tried was his brand new Focuse ZX3 with a 5 speed, it ran a 16.3 at 84 MPH twice with 2.48 and 2.53 60ft times, which seemed very much in line with what other people are running with those things. We then tried it on a Mitsu 3000GT twin turbo AWD and had some mixed results depending mainly because it belongs to our other friend who can't drive worth a crap, he pulled a 14.5 with it at 102 mph and that was with lousy shifting and about the worst launch you could get out of an AWD car, we then took his car without him and I dumped that pig at 7K and the G-tech said that I ran a 13.3 at 103mph which seems optimistic since the car is stock and all the mags have them at 13.6 and same MPH. We then took his Mustang out and could not get any traction even witht the NItto drag radials on it and were basically spinning in every gear including about the first 30 feet after popping it into 4th so the results were very inconsistent but the times ranged from 13.5 to 14.7 at 104 to 107 mph with some very inconsistent 60 ft times which were probably throwing everything off although I think the G-tech performed quite well. It is very easy to use and very much fun, I think that learning to drive consistently would be key to using it as a tuning device, overall I think that thing is pretty accurate and definately worth the money in entertainment value as well as I believe that you can get a pretty good idea of what your car will do, just don't think that if you get one ridiculously fast run on it that it was your car going so fast but rather that the g-tech was a little off that time.

BartW

I just thought I would add that I do not condone testing of this sort on the street, we were being as carfeul as possible and fortunately I live in an area where about 2 miles up the road is a freeway on-ramp from a 4 lane road that stretches about 1.5 miles straight and has no crossroads or oncoming traffic, we felt that since it is not frequently used this was the only relatively safe place to run a car up to 100mph without encountering any traffic or the possibility of a car crossing the road.

dave120

I think the G-Tech's 1/4 mile times are a bit optimistic, seeing as the S2 did a 13.8 @102 mph...WAY below what its rated at (or am I just a better driver than all the magazine guys? yeah, right). I've never run it at the strip but I'm guessing mid 14's is more likely what she'd do if I drive it right. I only did it 2 more times because I don't like trying to launch this car hard and I did 14.2 and 14.0 which I think are still really low. The 0-60 in about 6.3 is pretty close..magazines show 6.4 or something around there.

It IS pretty consistent though so if you do some upgrades on a car you'll definately be able to tell what the differences in performance are.

IanM

Randy,
I've got a GTech Pro (not the new GTech Pro Competition). You can borrow it sometime if you'd like, and try it out. I've only used it to estimate wheel hp, and I've got to say it's pretty accurate, gave results VERY close to what the dyno told me. I think it uses some basic fudge factors to account for wind resistance, but I'm not positive. You can use it to measure 0-60, 1/4 mile, cornering and braking g's, etc.

pedro951

i found it completely inaccurate for 1/4 mile times, and the local drag racers have no respect for anybody bragging about a "g-tech timeslip". i was a full 3 seconds slower at the local track than my best g-tech runs. part of this may have been traction issues at the track, but i still dont trust the g-tech for 1/4 times. extreme weight transfer seems to particularly throw the readings off, which you can see happening when you shift with the g-tech in HP or G-force mode.

i DO find the g-tech very useful for measuring HP in a single gear.

Joe944

3 seconds.. you didn't do it right then. It's never that far off.

BartW

Dave, the fact that you ran faster than the magazines is no surprise, remember that they often differ in between each other as well, the magazines take an average of their times and not the best time, also the "panzy" reviewers at Motor Trend and C&D do not try to get the best time out of the car but say they rather drive it like an average Joe would and then take an average of those runs for their posted numbers so that you know what the average yahoo can run with that car. I have personally drag raced quite a few cars and have run on average of about 6/tenths faster but as much as a full second faster in the stock car over what the magazines have printed, it is all about driving skill, traction, and weather conditions. My Mustang used to run about 3-4 tenths faster in late fall than it would in July in the sweltering heat.