In today’s world, just about everything is available in a wireless configuration. Intercomp offers both wired and wireless versions of its incredibly accurate scales, so we thought it might be a good idea to see what the differences are and why you might want to use one over the other.

Wired Up

Cabled scales have been around for decades and get the job done. They are also less expensive than their wireless counterparts, which is likely the main draw for prospective buyers. The reason they are less expensive — requiring a hardline connection to the control unit —, can be a downside for some customers, however.

The process of running the cables under the vehicles can be a little cumbersome, but how often you have to do this is directly dependent on how often you scale a vehicle, and whether or not you can leave them set up in a shop or have to put them away each time.

Despite the robust nature of the scale pads, the cables can be damaged by any number of things rolling over them, such as cars, welding carts, toolboxes, etc. They are a bit of a tripping hazard as well, and should you trip over them, you could damage the cables, the scales, and even yourself. That said, a modicum of care and mindfulness can keep them in good condition and provide years of dependable service to your shop or racing program.

Less Wires, Less Hassle

Wireless scales have been around for 15-plus years now and Intercomp has imbued its wireless offerings with the company’s RFX Wireless Weighing Technology. According to Intercomp, this provides the same reliability of a cabled connection, but through an encrypted, wireless avenue.

Ease of use is a wireless scale’s best attribute. To get started, you simply switch on the pads and utilize a laptop, or dedicated handheld indicator, or use the iRaceweigh mobile app via Bluetooth on a tablet or other mobile device to begin measuring.

Adding to the wireless scale’s ease of use is the fact that you can sit in the vehicle and view any changes made right from the seat.

Intercomp’s scales are made of high-quality materials and are extremely accurate.

Intercomp quality

For both wired and wireless scales, Intercomp tests and calibrates its load cells and scale systems using  National Institute of Standards and Technology methods and standards. The standards that the scales must meet include, accuracy, repeatability, RFI/EMI interference, and permanence. According to Intercomp, its scale accuracy tolerance is 0.1  percent on every scale system.

Intercomp has been building scales in its Medina, Minnesota, location for over 45 years and is an ISO 9001-certified company, which means the quality standards are very high. Intercomp is a weight and measurement scale company by trade and while the company’s product line stands as the official scale in over 20 different racing sanctions, the company’s products are also used in aviation, transportation, military, and agricultural applications.

Made in the USA, Intercomp scale pads are machined from 6061-T6 billet aluminum to the highest levels of durability and accuracy. Just as well, all of the electronics, assembly, and calibration are performed in-house to ensure the highest quality control.

More Than Just Measurements

Intercomp’s wireless scales offer racers, chassis builders, performance shops, and tuners several features that can help the racing operation become more efficient and data-rich. The first feature is the ability to save 100 chassis setups.

“This allows a racer, or chassis shop, the ability to store different baseline set-up scenarios (for a specific car or track), then recall a specific baseline weight set-up, whether at the track or once back in the shop, to do a comparison on what may have changed and retune the chassis to the desired baseline target set-up,” said Intercomp Director of Racing Sales and Service, Chris Zins.

“When the ‘Actual Weight’ is less than the ‘Target Weight,’ the weight value is positive and ‘Tune’ weight would be added/repositioned to reach the Target Weight,” Zins told us. “When the Actual Weight is greater than the Target Weight, the weight value is negative, and ‘Tune’ weight’ would be removed/repositioned to reach the Target Weight.”

A chassis shop will use a set of scales to help solve traction issues and other problems a car might be having.

One of the key aspects of scaling and weighting a race car is to adjust the vehicle’s center of gravity. How can changing the center of gravity benefit a race car you might ask? We posed the question to Zins, who responded with the following:

“The position of the center of gravity (C.G.) is very important in determining the balance of the car. C.G. has many impacts on how a car handles. Bottom line, the better a car handles, the faster the car will roll and carry speed.”

Moving components can change the C.G., as can adding or subtracting weight; and the closer the C.G. is to the front or rear end, the more weight that end will carry. The lower and more centrally located the center of gravity is, the more load transfer is reduced and grip is increased, under the most demanding track conditions.

For pavement circle track racers, this is in the turn. For drag racers, this in a straight line. For dirt track racers, the higher the C.G. is the more the car will roll over in the turn to maintain rolling speed and grip.”

User-Friendly Features

Intercomp has incorporated a lot of features into its scale’s software.

Intercomp’s wireless scale systems are also packed with other less glamorous, but still useful attributes. For instance, average battery life is around 400 hours. There are user selectable display modes to make the data easy for everyone to read from the giant half-inch display characters.Each scale can hold up to 1,500 pounds, for a total of 6,000 lb vehicle weight, (Microflex® scales are available in 8,800 and 16,000 lb system capacities for heaver vehicles or pull down rigs) so even if you’re scaling heavyweights like a Dodge Hellcat or a diesel truck, Intercomp scales have you covered.

“Intercomp offers truck scales and aviation scales with up to 60,000-pounds-per-pad capacity, with even more upon request,” noted Intercomp’s General Manager of Marketing, Aaron Van Heel. “No other racing scale company does this — we are a Weight and Measurement Company by trade.”

Decisions, Decisions

The decision to buy better-performing, go-fast parts is often the easy one for enthusiasts, especially when they see more successful racers utilizing something different. While that is a great strategy, it’s entirely possible to run the same parts and not get the same results, simply because you are not able to take advantage of the increased performance. Collecting data and making changes can increase a vehicle’s performance, and using tools such as Intercomp’s scale systems can provide that information and allow you to make accurate changes in order to find out what works and what doesn’t.