View Poll Results: Your TACH....Do You REALLY NEED It?
I Can't Drive Without My Tach
12
16.44%
I Watch My Tach More Than My Speedometer
31
42.47%
I Have a Tach, But I Don't Pay Attention to It
13
17.81%
I Have a Tach, But It's Not Hooked Up
3
4.11%
I Have a Tach I Want to Hook Up
1
1.37%
I Wish I Had A Tach
10
13.70%
What is a Tach?
1
1.37%
Tach? Is That What You Use on Horses?
2
2.74%
Voters: 73. You may not vote on this poll
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
From: Surprise AZ
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
I'm Always, Ever Curious to the Needs/Why's of Others.
I have HAD, but Never NEEDED a TACH. I "HEAR" the RPM's in Everything I've ever owned. I've paid Attention to the Sounds of my vehicles.
I posted on another thread, that I KNEW when I was @ 80mph in 2ND gear, @ 7K RPM in my Vette & Ponies, 'cause I LISTENED. (I raced & was dialed into my vehicles.)
I took Auto Shop in High School. Screwed UP the AZ State Rules in the '70's, NO FEMALES, with a G/F. WooHoo! WE were the FIRST 2 Girls in the State to say, WHY Can't WE??"
We, including Me, WON, our Regional Ford Troubleshooting Contest that same Summer! (My AUTO Shop Class, All guys, gave me my 1ST & BEST Wedding Shower party @ our Instructor's home! What a Terrific Crew!)
I was taught to Listen & Analyze the SOUNDS I HEAR.
I learned Most of what I've Done for the past 30 years from these WONDERFUL guys. I've done my OWN tune-ups, minor repairs, etc., everything including major engine overhauls. I CAN do it, I HAVE done it, but don't, anymore, have the TIME to do it. A Pro can do it DAYS faster, than me...lol!
So... I'm a GIRL. I HEAR my Vehicles. Do You LISTEN?
Jane
I have HAD, but Never NEEDED a TACH. I "HEAR" the RPM's in Everything I've ever owned. I've paid Attention to the Sounds of my vehicles.
I posted on another thread, that I KNEW when I was @ 80mph in 2ND gear, @ 7K RPM in my Vette & Ponies, 'cause I LISTENED. (I raced & was dialed into my vehicles.)
I took Auto Shop in High School. Screwed UP the AZ State Rules in the '70's, NO FEMALES, with a G/F. WooHoo! WE were the FIRST 2 Girls in the State to say, WHY Can't WE??"
We, including Me, WON, our Regional Ford Troubleshooting Contest that same Summer! (My AUTO Shop Class, All guys, gave me my 1ST & BEST Wedding Shower party @ our Instructor's home! What a Terrific Crew!)
I was taught to Listen & Analyze the SOUNDS I HEAR.
I learned Most of what I've Done for the past 30 years from these WONDERFUL guys. I've done my OWN tune-ups, minor repairs, etc., everything including major engine overhauls. I CAN do it, I HAVE done it, but don't, anymore, have the TIME to do it. A Pro can do it DAYS faster, than me...lol!
So... I'm a GIRL. I HEAR my Vehicles. Do You LISTEN?
Jane
Last edited by JB13; Apr 11, 2003 at 03:47 AM.
Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,359
Likes: 0
From: Charleston, SC
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
I have a tack built in to my ears and head, I can be half asleep in the passenger seat and tell you what gear my wife is in and what the RPM are.
Believe what you want.
Believe what you want.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,821
Likes: 19
From: South Dakota
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
Everything on the farm is run by a Tachometer, well almost every thing. Try running a Haybine, listening to a tractor radio, with a roaring diesel engine (with out a Cab), and then tell me what rpm you are running after a hour...all ranges pretty much sound the same. The only thing that you can distinguish is when some thing breaks, because it is associated with a "bang" of some sort.
I guess it is natural for me to watch my tach more than my speedo, after all I spend more time running equipment that is VERY rpm sensitive.
I guess it is natural for me to watch my tach more than my speedo, after all I spend more time running equipment that is VERY rpm sensitive.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,914
Likes: 1
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
When I was a kid, far too young to have a drivers license, I was driving tractors. You drive a tractor using the tach. All of my vehicles since have had a tach and I drive using the thing. It's probably the reason I can get better gas mileage than most folks. I know where the shift points are and watching the gas gauge and tach you can tell where an engine is going to give you the best mileage. I still listen to the engine though. I can tell you if a cylinder misfires or one is weak.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,357
Likes: 3
From: S. Mississippi
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
i want a tach because my truck makes this god awful clattering noise at highway rpm's. its not as loud as it used to be, but its still audiable.
Makes me wonder if i've got steeper gears out back than what the truck came with.
Makes me wonder if i've got steeper gears out back than what the truck came with.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 8,140
Likes: 4
From: Oak Harbor, OH
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
even with an auto trans the tach can be an asset. It can tell you when you've got something going on, if it's jumping under load, you have a miss somewhere. Also you will be able to know where your power band is, as it varies depending on engine/tranny/rearend combos. Also you can see where your fuel milage is and run in those rpms.
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Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,529
Likes: 1
From: The Star-Club, Hamburg
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
I watch the tach for the same farm reasons listed above, and also because in my '85 F150, the tach is centered in the dash and the speedometer is left of it. So when I glance down, the first thing I see is the tach. I can pretty much tell my speed by how many RPM's I'm turning.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: USA
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
I really do watch my tach more than the speedo. My new truck is an auto, and didn't come with one. That was the first thing that I put in. Also my 88 F-350 I had, the speedo cable broke, and I drove for 2 years without fixing it. Never got a speeding ticket or anything. when I got rid of that truck, and got a new one, no tach, I got a speeding ticket. 
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,214
Likes: 2
From: Minneapolis, MN
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
The tach in my car let me know something was up on a cross-country trip. TC clutch wasn't locking up and I thought the tranny was going...until I happened to stick my foot under the brake pedal. Adjusted the cruise disconnect switch and all was fine. I'm sold. Won't drive a vehicle without one.
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,496
Likes: 0
From: Calgary Canada
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
A tach is CRITICAL to fine tuning a snowmobile, for everything else I can pretty much tell by "ear" or "feel".
They're real nice to have though, and besides, a man can never have too many gauges and gadgets.
Waxy
They're real nice to have though, and besides, a man can never have too many gauges and gadgets.
Waxy
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,208
Likes: 0
From: Conyers
Your TACH...Do you REALLY NEED It?
After learning to drive my dad's truck, I can't STAND to drive without a tach. When I got my truck on the road, that's the very first thing I did, I found an instrument cluster with a tach and threw it in. Best 5 minutes I've spent working on the truck. I love the thing when I'm offroad or in the mudhole and I'm shifting my truck like a manual (it's automatic) I can find the torque peak. I REALLY LOVE it!!!!