Inclinometers. Do they work and do you trust them?

[muddyjames]

I am looking at buying a cheapo £10-£15 inclinometer for the disco as my main fear with off roading is rolling sideways and having an inclinometer would ease my head a bit and not panick so much I hope.

Does anyone have any views (silly question) on getting one ie make or if they are reliable and can one trust one on a side slope?

[muddyweb]

Pointless bit of kit in my opinion.

1) You shouldn't be looking at a guage... you should be looking at where you are going

2) Every vehicle has a different tilt angle, and unless you know what yours is...  the guage is meaningless

3) You need to feel the vehicle...   if you need a guage to tell you if you are about to roll it, then you've already gone too far.

[way2deep]

they could lead you into a false sense of security,normally i go for the bum twitch method.it's far more reliable... :D  :D and as i found when mine rolled no inclinometer would have gave me enough warning anyway.

[way2deep]

but to answer your questoin ...yes they work .yes you can trust them.rely on them NO NO NO

[gords]

As a newcomer (don't know about muddyjames) which I still feel like, I think they can serve as a useful reminder/warning. Like Tim says though, considering the different makeup of everyone's cars (new/old suspension, lifts, etc) they can only ever be a guide!

I don't have one myself - sometimes I think it would be nice to have one. Although I suspect I almost certainly bottle out way before the car's limits :oops:

Maybe having one would make me push it even more ...  :-k  ... nope, I definitely don't want one  :lol:

[muddyjames]

I have only just got the disco well fairly recently and I have only done 1 days worth of green laning so far in it. When I had my series 3 I saw other people go over humps and be at an angle and looked fine, I went over it and there was nearly a bad smell in the car!

I know that when I get to my limit the car is probably way from the limit and going to roll but it just feels so bad sat inside. Maybe it is a good thing as the car is probably always stable then! Hopefuly  :lol:

[muddyweb]

I know that when I get to my limit the car is probably way from the limit and going to roll but it just feels so bad sat inside. Maybe it is a good thing as the car is probably always stable then! Hopefuly  :lol:

Nail..... Head....  blammo !

If you continue with that mindset, you'll probably never suffer a roll.   :-)

[way2deep]

yeah ,i think if you fit one you would then need to get the vehicle lifted on it's side to the point of no return so you could mark it's position on the gauge ,but this would be subject to being correct at that moment in time .once others were in the car or loaded roof racks etc the mark would then be incorrect...give you an example mine was teetering on the going over and once everyone fell to that side it finally pushed the balance  :oops:

[muddyweb]

Plus, the conditions will also determine whether the roll occurs or not... if you start to slide sideways and then get some grip, this can push the vehicle over... if you are close to the limit and drop in a dip... the speed you are moving forward will affect it...   etc. etc.

[V8MoneyPit]

The likeliest cause of a roll is not a constant angle but a bump that throws the car beyond it's limits. In these circumstances the inclinometer is useless.

As everyone else is pointing out, it is the seat of your pants that are the best indicator  :D Side slopes always feel 'exciting' and you feel the car is leaning over scraping its doors on the ground and you are thinking "how brave am I?"...... then you see someones photos of you driving and it's only 20 degrees  :lol:

[muddyjames]

so the answer is as someone said above. Use your arse as the meter!

[landraver]

When I bought my 90 there was one already fitted in the dash. However in two years of off roading before the 90 went into the garage for the rebuild I can honestly say I never looked at it once when driving a side slope, hill or decsent. As Tim says, you need to "feel" the vehicle, not rely on a bit of kit.

IMHO they are a waste of your hard earned dosh.

Needless to say it won't be going back into the truck when I eventually get it back on the road.

Jeff

[Jake]

My mate Green Meany has one in his car.
Only to scare his passengers though.
Its always of the scale.
 :lol:

[j99mud]

Te cheapest option is to secure a glass of water to the dash when the water comes out you have gone to far :lol:  :lol:

[Budgie]

I've not got one fitted and use the "arse" method.
This is about as far as want to go, trying to get the roofrack under a tree that came across the track in Belgium!!  :shock:

I was sure I could reach out of the window and touch the ground.  

[Bulli]

I dont hold much store by them. They are great on decents when you can see how steep it was...but only on straight short ones. You are too scared otherwise! I think the bum method is the best go as for as you think and you will have a very good safety margin. I have pushed mine a few times to the point i was sure a roll was coming and still nothing...but i never enjoy it .
I have seen a couple of rolls and i dont intend to have one but mistakes do happen. I dont think having a widgit on the dash will be much help....unless it sent up a flare!

[chuggaman]

ive got one




absolutly bl**dy useless bit of kit



the only reason i have not removed it is it stops my diary falling off the dashboard.



tat      



mike

[muddyjames]

the only reason i have not removed it is it stops my diary falling off the dashboard.

 :lol: brilliant I love that.

So why do shoguns have them then? Status symbol or something or another thing to go wrong and shogun owners have to pay loads to get it mended? I see shogun ones have water inside to slow the speed of the ball thing inside down.

[muddyweb]

So why do shoguns have them then?

It's not just the Mitsubishis... some of the Toyotas have them too as part of the centre console.   It's just a spec thing really.. lets the marketing people put another feature on the list and lets the designers add another gimmick inside.  Why do you think the Discovery 3 has "terrain response" ?  ;-)

[Wanderer]

The thing is that if you look at Budgies picture you've normally pulled the buttons out of the seats well before that point.

I had one at Wicked Whaddon 2 and all I could see out of the side windows was a muddy puddle. An inclinometer would have told me it's version of the angle I was at but couldn't tell me if there was a dip in the bottom of the hole that would have rolled me.

I've got one. Never got round to fitting it but.....

They are a toy and you shouldn't have time to look at it while you're moving. Just a distraction.

[stratie]

Wast of time, mine goes off the scale when i go up the curb into my drive way.
The only reason i bought it was beacuse i thought it looked trick, and im a sucker for gizmo's  :lol:  :lol:
It was only £20 so im not going to lose any sleep over it

[DISCO-CHRIS]

muddyjames wrote:
So why do shoguns have them then?
Cos there made in japan and as we all know they love a gadget!! :lol:

[LandRoger]

Think because your disco is tall it probably feels worse than it is , they allways look alarming when followed along side slopes -that my 90 takes in its stride, i wouldnt worry too much as most rolls seem to take an age to go over -you will have enough time to get out and take a pic,

[Xtremeteam]

i wouldnt worry too much as most rolls seem to take an age to go over -you will have enough time to get out and take a pic,

Hmmm not likely,BTDTGT had enough time to wonder why the cage was bending & windscreen was moving & ohh look,the horizon is up there  

[Tom Mc]

Wonder if Michael Caine had an inclinometer fitted to the coach featured in the last scene of the Italian Job?

It would have been a waste of money for them as well as off-roaders!

[alaric]

Whilst I wouldn't go out and buy one, I have one fitted as standard to my Pajero, and I have used it on a few occasions.

On a gradually increasing side slope, I will have my passenger watch the guage, and tell me if I'm approaching 40 degrees. I know the car is good for this (and a bit more) but at anything past 35, I need to back the speed right down and look very carefully for low side dips/high side bumps.

I certainly agree that the driver has more important things to be looking out for though!

Alaric.

[Bulli]

Yep , shoguns have em, they are simply a fun thing to watch on roundabouts...see what angle you can get by going faster!!!! Not that i would condone such actions,LOL

[Dirty Gertie]

As a newcomer (don't know about muddyjames) which I still feel like, I think they can serve as a useful reminder/warning. Like Tim says though, considering the different makeup of everyone's cars (new/old suspension, lifts, etc) they can only ever be a guide!

I don't have one myself - sometimes I think it would be nice to have one. Although I suspect I almost certainly bottle out way before the car's limits :oops:

Maybe having one would make me push it even more ...  :-k  ... nope, I definitely don't want one  :lol:

It's all about experience; This Pic was taken on my first trip to the sadly now closed Kirton Lindsey quarry; I had a mate riding shotgun and halfway through the axle twisters I'm not ashamed to say I bottled it; on some of the sideslopes it felt like we were going over; I told him "You got me into this, you can get me out!" - I'm the shocked looking person in the corner of the pic, going "OMG, MY CAR!!!!!!"
Twelve months later I laughed my pants off as I romped the same section with a 'newbie' passenger squealing by my side!! :(biglaugh):

[muddyjames]

I always think it takes more guts to bottle out than it is too carry on and potentialy go out side your own limits or the cars.

I have done the opposite to you. I went to a course near Tadley in Hampshire and went down a hole that the front end went down and the back end followed and nearly went straight over the top. luckily I realised and floored it and the front wheels had enough grip to pull me out of the situation. Never again am I doing that hole. Well for now anyway. there is 1 hole I havent done as I have never had a snorkel. Next time it will be different!

[Bulli]

Gertie, any news on Kirton? Im sure i chatted to you there, i was with muddibabe in my disco...great site real shame that its closed! I was hoping it would reopen.....