Viper 1180R Digital Tachometer Product Review

A full featured Economical Tachometer

It’s no secret that finding the right gearing combination is critical to on-track success. Unfortunately, a busy night of racing provides little time for guess work. The tachometer is a ‘must have’ for every racer. Today there are many options to choose from the basic needle dial up to sophisticated systems that are capable of monitoring every function from RPMs to throttle pedal input. Finding the right tachometer is often a question of features and price.  The Viper 1180R has been a popular choice for racers preferring an economical choice that delivers modest functionality – to date several hundred of these tachometers have been sold and are in use in various racing applications from single to multi-cylinder engines.

At the core, the Viper 1180R is a tachometer that works with

most popular engine configurations including 1, 4, 6 and 8

cylinder engines. The unit has multiple configuration

options that allow it to work with lower revving engines

(0-12,000 RPMs) and higher revving engines (0-20,000

RPMs). The unit displays RPMs in both a numeric and bar

graph style digital read-out. An added benefit of the Viper

1180R is a user programmable shift light. Although the shift

light is great for road racers, oval track racers have also make

good use of the light by programming the light to come on at

the desired RPMs at the end of the straight away. Although it

can be hard to watch a tachometer while driving, it is easy to

reference where on the straightaway the light is coming on.

The tachometer also records the five highest RPMs reached for the

session.  A bright orange backlit display makes the tachometer easy to view in low light conditions.

The value of the Viper 1180R is further increased by the

addition of a water temperature read-out and programmable

warning light, pushing the value beyond that of a simple tachometer.  Now racers can eliminate a gauge—RPMs and water temperature all in one

spot.  The tachometer also has a programmable water

temperature warning light that flashes when the pre-set 

temperature is reached. This is a very valuable feature for

motorcycle powered race car engine cars like mini sprints

and dwarf cars that can run hot creating the need for

monitoring. The tachometer also records the highest

water temperature reached during the session. The Viper

1180R has an added feature –an optional display that allows the racer to see a

graphical bar graph RPM readout and a larger water

temperature numerical readout allowing racers to keep a closer eye on temperatures during the race. 

Although these are the primary features of the unit, there

are additional features that will be of interest to racers

including a battery monitor and hour meter that allows

you keep track of run time on your engine.

Easy to Install

An added benefit of the Viper 1180R digital tachometer is

its easy setup. Connecting the tachometer only requires

the user to connect a few wires; one to the tach drive, one

to a power source and one to a ground. Engines without a

tach drive wire can be hooked up by wrapping the unit’s

tach wire around a coil wire several times. Hooking the

water temperature gauge up can be accomplished by

threading the included temperature sensor into a bung on

the radiator. If a threaded bung is not available on the radiator,

an optional water temperature adapter is available for purchase

that can be easy spliced into the radiator return hose.

The unit comes with a complete set of instructions as well as a

Quick Start Guide and Track Guide to ensure that racers can get

up and going as quickly as possible. The Viper 1180R measures

5.5” wide x 2.25” high x .75” thick.