What does the odometer measure?
Odometer: An instrument for indicating the distance traveled by a vehicle, typically by measuring the number of rotations of a wheel or fan whose rate of rotation depends on the speed of the vehicle.
How to use a car odometer to measure running distance?
Car odometers are not accurate. Find a distance that is marked correctly and use your car to see the margin of error on your odometer so you can make adjustments in the running course distance. It doesn't matter what speed you drive the car in not going to be exact.
If you get a new engine in your car does the odometer get reset?
Absolutely not. The odometer represents the mileage of the ENTIRE vehicle, not just the engine.While the engine is obviously a vital part that makes the car “go”, it is hardy the only part that wears with mileage. There is the transmission and all related driveline components. The suspension and braking system, wheel hubs/bearings, emissions systems, cooling system, electrical components like the alternator, ECM (the “brain”), etcetera, etcetera. To a degree there is a measureable fatigue life on even the body/chassis of a vehicle.To a degree, the engine is almost the equivalent of a battery in a tool. Though vital, it is not the sum of a vehicle. Resetting the odometer, which isn’t really possible legitimately these days of electronic ones (old ones were mechanical wheels with drive tabs driven by a cable from usually the transmission) They could be pulled out and reset physically.While, of course, you will always find the detractors that will say they’ve done this or that with today’s electronics, the norm is that it can’t be done. Nowadays, as well, there are services like CarFax and the like that record, by VIN, every time a vehicle has any recordable occurance , the mileage of a vehicle.This is not to say that an instrument cluster (where the odometer is located) can’t be physically replaced. Happens all the time for electrical failure or physical damage. But that is not the same as a reset because of an engine change. I hope that helps.
Is it possible to change the odometer reading on a car mechanically? If not, what mechanisms are in place to prevent that from happening?
My knowledge ends at about 2004, so new cars may have more safeguards. You can only lower the odometer reading on a mechanical odometer, and it usually requires taking it apart, because there is a often a ratchet inside that prevents simply driving it in reverse. You can increase the reading on a digital odometer by providing a pulse, but it only up counts, the pulses have no direction.You can try to over run the mileage eeprom register, and it might result in zeroing the mileage and counting up again. If display reads 999,999 maximum, then you can run the pulses at the maximum the speedometer can detect them,. I tested one from a late 80's gm car and it was around 600mph, so it would take over a month, and then who knows? You might end up with an odometer that says 999,999 and goes no further. You also might exceed the eeprom writes, and end up with who knows what number. Imagine it's a lease car, and you owe $.25/mile on 900,000 miles. You will have to sell your house.Anyway, it's all illegal, unless you are replacing the odometer and you are matching the actual mileage, so don't do it. Plus, mileage is recorded when regestering, dealer service, and smog checks, so it's easy to get caught. --Karl
Car mileage is discrete or continuous ?
A discrete set is something that can be counted. That is it is finite. I think you can technically look at your project as a continuous set. For instance, whether you tracked the mileage over 1 hour of driving, 1 year, or for infinity, with a large enough graph, you could draw the line to graph the mileage over time without lifting your pen off of the sheet of paper. Even if the odometer was accurate to a millimeter, you could still keep you pen on the paper (or chalk on the board, or have a computer do this for you) and track the change in mileage. You may have to observe the scale differently at different times (he move 10 miles in a day or 100 miles in one hour and a half, three feet in one second or zero distance in 24 hours). These are just changing scales of a continuous function. Since mileage is not supposed to "go back" it is always moving forward or sitting still (you either gain mileage or no mileage, you never lose mileage). So I would look at this as a continuous set.