![]() It has a large LED that is easily read, however, it does struggle in strong daylight and can be over-bright at night – a shroud or one of Brantz’ sun screen/night filters is a wise choice should you be thinking of using the unit in either of those conditions. Along with the Gauge Pilot featured later in this article, the Brantz range of meters are designed and built in the UK. ![]() Tried, trusted, reliable and dependable, the Brantz International 2 PRO is probably the most easily recognisable and used trip meter in UK historic regularity rallying. Let’s have a look at the various meters and go through their pros and cons, you can read more about them by clicking on the product name. Do you need them to compete? No, is the plain and simple answer. At the top-end of the scale, you will find data-logging, engine sensors and many other functions are available, should you want to go that far. The amount of units out there is bewildering and over time the three we have chosen to feature have become favourites in the historic rallying world for a host of reasons, ease of use, ease of installation, price and functions available are all factors in their success. Where you fit the sensor(s) is down to your preference, but be mindful that there is a good chance of encountering water and/or mud along an event, both can have adverse effects. These sensors can be fitted in a multitude of places, the mechanically driven ones are generally driven from the gearbox/speedo drive whilst the electrical ones are taken (as a rule) from a sensor fitted on a bracket on a hub assembly or a propshaft. Look at some of the top crews and they go that little further to ensure reliability by fitting two sensors, one will be an electrical pulse and the other will be mechanically driven, should one fail, the other can be switched in immediately. It may well be that you don’t want to or cannot fit a mechanical or pulse driven sensor, that’s fine, just don’t expect to be as competitive as crews that do. Another situation is on a series of twisting hairpins, these sections of road can be so close together that the GPS signal cannot determine the difference in location, sending the reading out again. The GPS driven versions will lose signal and even though this can happen momentarily, it is enough to make the reading inaccurate. The reason behind this is that the antenna for the unit has to be able to receive signals from several satellites to be accurate, consider a regularity section under trees, in a tunnel or in between a gorge. ![]() A common thing amongst first-time buyers is to specify a GPS/Satellite driven trip meter to aid installation, although these are becoming more accurate as technology progresses they aren’t yet accurate enough to win an event. So, why do you need a trip meter for regularity rallying? Even digital odometers that are fitted in modern vehicles aren’t accurate enough to be competitive in regularity rallying, hark back to the analogue versions in our historic vehicles and you take a step further back, there are many things that can lead to inaccuracies, wear in the drive from the gearbox, wear in the cogs of the odometer/speedometer are just a couple of issues amongst many others.Ī trip meter is a highly accurate device, and depending on your personal preference and budget, there is something out there that will fulfill your requirements to be able to compete. Trip meters are a hotly debated subject, “what do I need”, “how do I install it”, “how do I calibrate it” are some of the questions posed prior to purchase, in this article we look at three of our best-selling trip meters and look at the pros and cons of each unit.
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