iain Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Having followed the thread for Tripmeters and sensors, what are the thoughts on timing equipment for Rallying? (I know in period they used Aircraft clocks/ Stopwatches etc.). What are the pros and cons of the various options? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
4Mal Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) it depends on what type of rally you want to do and to what regulations. You can go for a period Speedpilot / Halda ( much dosh, but the best )or later versions of a mechanical trip. Some regs allow certain types of electronic trips like some Brantz. Electronic that show average speed are not normally allowed in Historic. Again, the stopwatches /timers are various from electronic to the traditional mechanical stopwatch /timers. I would love a set of Heuer, but again much dosh. Hanhart do some period style. What are you thinking of doing? A variety here. Not definitive but shows a good range http://www.donbarrow.co.uk/ http://www.autochron.co.uk/ Edited January 17, 2014 by 4Mal Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoTim Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) I have one of these for "rally time" and I love it (the notion it's from a MIG fighter is a selling point too). Accurate, too.http://www.ebay.ca/itm/AChS-1-Russian-Military-Aircraft-Clock-near-EXCELLENT-/201020136547?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ecdbbdc63 As for stopwatches, modern digital ones are very user-friendly and have the "lap-time" function which is ideal for accurate resetting as average speed changes or controls are entered on timed-to-the-second regularity sections. BUT, mechanical ones are far more "period" and can be bought cheaply. I've used both but, I confess, have only won events with the digital/lap-time version. Brantz or other LED timers with nice large numbers are easier to read, for sure. But then if we were looking for everything to be easy, we'd be rallying a Subaru, wouldn't we? Here's a photo of my dash as set up for Ontario Road Rally Championship events a couple of years ago... Edited January 17, 2014 by TorontoTim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Tim I like the 4 wheel drive switch! Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 A Mig clock! Nice! I don't know much about the tripmeters, but I can give some info on the stopwatches. Russian stopwatches are often cheap and good. There are some fine Chinese s/watches too, but it's often rubbish. Heuer, THE brand from the 60s and 70s are unbelievabely expensive: prices above 3K GBP for a matching set is no exception. (If you happen to have an old pair of these... turn to http://www.onthedash.com for references and contact). Then there's Hanhart and Sinn (German made, beautiful!). To keep it British, search for Lemania's BBC stopwatches. Sought after, but they can be found sometimes. Lemania also made a lot of stopwatches for the British MoD: UK's submarine officers were issued Lemania stopwatches. CWC and Smiths are other, fine British brands. Older stopwatches can be repaired. Don't be put off by the fact that they are 'kaputt'. There's a guy in Sheffield, Richard Askham, who can do miracles on these little machines. http://thewatchspotblog.com You can not simply put an old track and field stopwatch on the dash of a car that's going to be used for rallying: the movement, shaking and vibrations of the car driven in anger will destroy the stopwatch' inside mechanics. If you want to know more, just send me a PM. Menno Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoTim Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Tim I like the 4 wheel drive switch! Stuart. Good spot, Stuart! This is a joke for the eagle-eyed Subaru teams that I have to compete against here (no Historic events...). It actually controls additional dash/map lights. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted January 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Competing against Subaru's......now thats too much for me to think about. Would appreciate some guidance on how to get started, beginners/idiots guide type advice! Low key/preferably low cost to get a taster for Regularity type events Not thinking this year but next, gives me time to get sorted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoTim Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Iain, I was assuming that some of the UK-based rallyists would answer with some pointers for starting out... It's been a LOT of years since I rallied on historic events in the UK (early 90's in a Vitesse) so my comments would be pretty generic. It might be worth looking back over this section of the Forum because I'm thinking that this must have been covered before. Key thing - get out and do an event. Have fun and learn. And here in Canada, there is a mantra: stay on the road, stay on the route, stay on time. In that order! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MichaelH Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 Iain, If you want to try low cost rallying join your local car club and join in with the 12 car rallies. As an absolute beginner you will get a lot of help to get started, or just go and see what happens. Our local club is running 12 cars about every 2 weeks : 50 miles midweek starts at about 8 o'clock. Been doing it in a TR4A for years - helps if you have a good navigator! I am sure you will get a welcome. It is great fun as long as you don't take it to seriously Good luck Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 To add to Michael good advise I would suggest you first of all go to a good school to find what type you would like to do,the greatest sport of all but get it wrong and your bank balance will suffer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iain Posted January 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 Lots of great advice thank you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR24178 Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Use a Brantz rally timer and a Brantz distance recorder if they are allowed, because the driver can see the clock, important on regularity sections, especially if the driver does the regularity timing himself, trying to read an old style stopwatch and steer the car is for me impossible. the above are legal in MSA historic stage events and are cheap and easy to install, sensor on the front hub, just a bit of simple wiring, they both have a remote that you can sight nearer to the nav if required, on my MK 1 escort we have them mounted on the door, probably not needed on a Tr as you are quite close to the dash. Go and have FUN John W Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thescrapman Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Use a Brantz rally timer and a Brantz distance recorder if they are allowed, because the driver can see the clock, important on regularity sections, especially if the driver does the regularity timing himself, trying to read an old style stopwatch and steer the car is for me impossible. the above are legal in MSA historic stage events and are cheap and easy to install, sensor on the front hub, just a bit of simple wiring, they both have a remote that you can sight nearer to the nav if required, on my MK 1 escort we have them mounted on the door, probably not needed on a Tr as you are quite close to the dash. Go and have FUN John W Getting the driver to do the Regularity timing eh??, to paraphrase Kylie, I should be so f**king lucky.. :-) One thing to note, some regs demand a speedo cable mounted sensor rather than a hub sensor. Get yourself signed up for a local Motor Club, and get out there on 12-car rallies. Try some untimed ones if possible first, just to get in the swing of it. We do the 30mph 12-cars in a TR6, we are about at the limit some of the time. Once you have found a Nav you get on with, hang onto him/her like a limpit, drivers outnumber navs 2 or 3 to 1. Cheers Colin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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