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Dynolicious turns iPhone into cheap performance meter
- Thread starter nizmoz
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it says that they do have a 0-60 mph. it says that they have 0-10 all the way thru 0-100 in 10 mph intervals
Not very useful on iphone v1
...also how many people have actually floored their car to test its 0-60 speed?
Even if the speed limit is 60 I'd bet a cop would pull you over in a second to find out what the heck your doing/if your drunk/etc.
why wouldn't it be useful on iphone v1? it doesn't use GPS
Why do you say that? According to their webpage: "Dynolicious utilizes the accelerometer built in to your iPhone or iPod Touch to sense the motion of your vehicle. This data is sampled as many as one hundred times per second, developing a detailed picture of the car's acceleration. This information is then used to determine the speed of the vehicle and the distance travelled. Due to the unique hardware integrated into the iPhone, this can all be done with no setup, wires, or extra equipment!"
Nowhere on the website or the App page is anything mentioned about a GPS requirement.
Oh, and the 2.0 bit refers to the 2.0 iPhone software, not "second generation" iPhone. All first-gen iPhones support the 2.0 software.
What do you drive?
I assume horsepower is something you input/or your car type? Without knowing weight the acceleration data wouldn't be enough to calculate it.
2005 Dodge Durango...
I'm still not sure how it works, but it is fun to play with...
Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 6,600 lbs. vs Curb Weight 4,671 lbs.
I need to retest using the Curb Weight + Me = ~4,900lbs and see what happens...
Scale weight is 5240 + 235 = 5475
What do you drive?
I assume horsepower is something you input/or your car type? Without knowing weight the acceleration data wouldn't be enough to calculate it.
I'm still not sure how it works, but it is fun to play with...
Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 6,600 lbs. vs Curb Weight 4,671 lbs.
I need to retest using the Curb Weight + Me = ~4,900lbs and see what happens...
Scale weight is 5240 + 235 = 5475
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Well, I "splurged" and bought it. I've thought many times of getting a GTech Pro RR for autocross and trackday feedback, but never felt the need to spend the $300 for it. The SS version is cheaper at $200, but for my purposes would just be a toy without much practical use. So only thirteen bucks for the toy seemed like an easy decision.
By the way, I have a first-gen iPhone. So far, playing with it in my living room, I don't see any functionality that requires GPS.
I've never been to a drag strip and don't plan on it, so I have no real way of determining if it's accurate or not. I'll leave that up to the professional auto sites/mags.
In the meantime, I'll answer some of the questions and confusions about the product and the principles behind it.
First, you initiate a test run by hitting the start button, but the recording doesn't actually begin until it passes a certain g-force threshold. The default is 0.1 G's. Meaning you can secure the iPhone, hit the start button, put your gloves on, tighten belts, get everything ready and whatnot, then drop the clutch.
Second, GPS is not required to calculate your speed or distance. The software knows the time and acceleration, and using highschool physics concepts can figure out the distance and speed bits.
Third, the acceleration runs end at 1/4 mi. No top speed runs with this.
Fourth, the skidpad function only shows the max for each of acceleration, braking and cornering. There's no g force trace, so you can't see how often you were at certain accelerations, say during an autocross run.
Fifth, using it in a pocket won't work - it would move around too much, and it must be in-line with the car (vertical or flat, doesn't matter.)
Sixth, a Lamborghini would do about 0.95 g's cornering depending on tires and road surface IIRC. No idea what it's acceleration g-force would be, I'd guess somewhere around 0.6 or so?
Seventh, when you enter a car into your garage, you input its weight (it's TOTAL weight including driver and all cargo.) Based on that, and the measured acceleration, the software can do some math to figure out how much force was required, and how much power was needed to generate that force. If your weight is off, you won't get a "true" horsepower figure, and if the weight fluctuates any (a full tank of gas can weigh nearly 100 lbs depending on capacity, for example) you'll get different readings. So it's unlikely to be significant enough to tell you if that intake really gave you 10 hp or not, but it's fun to play around with.
Eighth, the reporting is rudimentary so far. It'll give you its 1/4 mi timeslip, but so far I don't see any way to get a hold of the g-force/hp/mph graph to view.
Finally, I'd love to see this software developed further with roadrace/autocross elements.
By the way, I have a first-gen iPhone. So far, playing with it in my living room, I don't see any functionality that requires GPS.
I've never been to a drag strip and don't plan on it, so I have no real way of determining if it's accurate or not. I'll leave that up to the professional auto sites/mags.
In the meantime, I'll answer some of the questions and confusions about the product and the principles behind it.
First, you initiate a test run by hitting the start button, but the recording doesn't actually begin until it passes a certain g-force threshold. The default is 0.1 G's. Meaning you can secure the iPhone, hit the start button, put your gloves on, tighten belts, get everything ready and whatnot, then drop the clutch.
Second, GPS is not required to calculate your speed or distance. The software knows the time and acceleration, and using highschool physics concepts can figure out the distance and speed bits.
Third, the acceleration runs end at 1/4 mi. No top speed runs with this.
Fourth, the skidpad function only shows the max for each of acceleration, braking and cornering. There's no g force trace, so you can't see how often you were at certain accelerations, say during an autocross run.
Fifth, using it in a pocket won't work - it would move around too much, and it must be in-line with the car (vertical or flat, doesn't matter.)
Sixth, a Lamborghini would do about 0.95 g's cornering depending on tires and road surface IIRC. No idea what it's acceleration g-force would be, I'd guess somewhere around 0.6 or so?
Seventh, when you enter a car into your garage, you input its weight (it's TOTAL weight including driver and all cargo.) Based on that, and the measured acceleration, the software can do some math to figure out how much force was required, and how much power was needed to generate that force. If your weight is off, you won't get a "true" horsepower figure, and if the weight fluctuates any (a full tank of gas can weigh nearly 100 lbs depending on capacity, for example) you'll get different readings. So it's unlikely to be significant enough to tell you if that intake really gave you 10 hp or not, but it's fun to play around with.
Eighth, the reporting is rudimentary so far. It'll give you its 1/4 mi timeslip, but so far I don't see any way to get a hold of the g-force/hp/mph graph to view.
Finally, I'd love to see this software developed further with roadrace/autocross elements.
Err, another thing - there's a full calibration routine available. Plus, each run does a small calibration at the beginning, so you don't have to have it in any particular orientation. Flat, face down, straight up, whatever. (Just in-line with the car, the developer says. Dunno why, I would have guessed they could take readings from all three axes of the accelerometer and figured it out from there...)
bummer it won't work in a pocket. I'll have to rig up a handlebar mount using a hard case of some sort. Would be nice to see the info as it's happening, though.
At least once a day since 2.0 I've been feeling less and less guilty about buying a $600 cellphone.
At least once a day since 2.0 I've been feeling less and less guilty about buying a $600 cellphone.
This does look very cool I will most likely get that. So thanks for the heads up. I'd be amazed if it was especially accurate, but it looks like fun, so I wont take it too seriously.
Just a little note for you guys though.. Accelerometer based performance meters need an accurate weight measurement input. Or your readings will be wildly skewed.
I will most likely get that. So thanks for the heads up. I'd be amazed if it was especially accurate, but it looks like fun, so I wont take it too seriously.Just a little note for you guys though.. Accelerometer based performance meters need an accurate weight measurement input. Or your readings will be wildly skewed.