Does anyone out there have knowledge or opinions on the GPS speedometers? I thinking of putting one in my 27 T Bucket but would like pros and cons from you guys. What do you think?
I used one in my 56 Corvette land speed racer. I compared it to the time slips And found it to be very accurate.
I have done a 32 5 window with a GPS speedo and was really satisfied with it. We mounted the pickup module on the front side of the mirror. Sometimes it took a few 100 yards once I backed out of the garage for it to pick up the signal but once it locked on it was very accurate. My gauges were Autometer.
I had a dakota digital speedo with gps sensor from speedway. very simple hookup, accurate. only drawback was it took a few blocks of driving to acquire a satellite
You miss out on all the fun of messing with the gears in the back of the transmission, routing the cable so it won't wiggle or get melted, getting the calibration right, etc. How boring.
I’ve used a couple of them from SpeedHut. They’re my go to now. So much easier to install and no worries if you like to swap rear gears/tires on occasion.
Put one in my 29 Like it a lot, Sensor is magnetic, mounted it on lip of w/shield frame.Speedhut Gauges and speedo
.Everyone tells me they eat up battery life. Is that true? I've been a little reluctant to try the app because of that.
Some guys install a "cigarette lighter socket" to charge the phone as they drive. I think with modern phones the GPS power consumption isn't too bad, although having the display on all the time will use some power. If you're just driving around town, you won't notice. If you're on a long trip, you'll plug the phone in to charge, anyways. So it's not an issue.
I mostly also use the phone app, the stock speedo in my 36 is about 12 mph off so instead of changing gears in the th350, I just either guess-timate or use the app. Mitch
I used to use my phone all the time in my OT tow rig truck because the speedometer was off due to tire size. We race a lot at a track that's 3:15 from my shop. It would all but kill the battery by the time we got there. That was with a Galaxy S5. I think my S20 has way better battery life, but I had the speedo recalibrated so don't really use it that way anymore.
I use my phone app with my 77 Chevy flatbed that eats speedometer cables as fast as you can put them in and on my old phone it did put a drain on the battery but as Jim said, plug it in and life is good. The truck only leaves the yard when it has a job to do and after going trough a couple of cables it is just easier to use the phone app. The app works great to calibrate a mechanical speedometer with. Check the speed at 60. calculate the difference and which way. figure the percentage and then pop the speedometer drive and driven gears out or check color on the drive gear and figure out how you have to change the gears to change that percentage.
I've used the phone for speed/distance on a couple road trips, when the speedo/odo died and I needed to keep track of gas fillups (non working gas gauge too). It works. It's just not as convenient as having a proper old fashioned speedometer that works.
I remember driving to Texas and then back to Bonneville in my 51 Merc in 1988 with no speedometer and no gas gauge, Dad was along but wouldn't drive because the gauges didn't work. He couldn't figure out how I knew pretty well how much gas the car would take at stops and when to stop but I was watching mile markers and figuring out gas mileage at every stop. No cell phone apps in those days. What a bonus that would have been on that trip.
Simple , no cost and less clutter= If you run an engine rpm tach?,You can just put some small marks for each 10 MPH*, around on outer tach face in high gear. That way the rpm tach,is also a speed-O*. You can check your real speed now days from your GPS speed on you phone,old school was to have a buddy drive beside you,holding at each 10 MPH mark you make.
I put a VDO GPS speedometer in my 32 Ford years ago, easy install, worked perfect, accurate, was happy with product. Looked it up at YOGI'S, $369 +$229 for sensor sending unit, a little pricey, do not remember what I paid back then, 15 years ? ago. I believe all cell phones have an app for speedo/maps.
I found a set of gauges from a company called Vee Three. Primarily boat gauges. The GPS speedo does a really good job. All the other gauges come with senders. It was an easy install
i plan on running gps gauge from this company in my stock speedometer location for my 30. GPS Speedometer Gauges: Universal, Aftermarket & Custom | GPS & Programmable | SPEEDHUT®
same here, i use the app on my phone and just mark my speedo to certain intervals like 30, 50, 70, etc. Found its def. more accurate compared to a "fixed" speedo calibration.
Like Dana Barlow I marked my tach & use it for a speedo. I mounted the tach next to the interior rear view mirrow at top of the windshield, easy to see..........
When I installed my Classic Instruments GPS unit, the instructions said to hook the power wire to a battery feed. I did that and if the car sat for a couple of weeks, the battery would be low. I switched the power wire to a switched sourse and that stopped that. However, the speedometer won't register if I pull right out of the garage,, for about a minute or so. So, I fire up the engine, wait a minute and everything is fine.
Run off what the tach says. Works for me. Wife even checked with her phone, now she watches the tach.
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