Topic: Data logging/telemetry

Is data logging/telemetry worth it? Live lap timing on a laptop? It sounds like good race car stuff but will it give any real advantage? Anyone use it and if so what are some good set ups? The Lemons web site has 2 systems in the $500ish range. Anyone use those? Is it beneficial for the driver to know lap times? Is Harry's Lap Timer app good enough? This stuff keeps me up at night...

2 (edited by the shaolin 2016-10-13 04:56 AM)

Re: Data logging/telemetry

There are 1000 other things to worry about first, but once you have a sorted car, I think it's worth it. 

We added an old android phone to the dashboard halfway through our second year of racing.  Liked it enough that we sprung for a Traqmate 2 years later.  The android worked great and will be enough for 98% of users.

It can be a distraction if you're focusing on it,  I really just try to use it as more of a tool.  For example, guest driving someone else's car, I started starving for fuel 2 hours into a 3.5 hour stint.  I got slower and slower as the starvation got worse, and it's hard to judge pace when you're not driving flat out, the laptimer helped a lot.

-Nathan - Team Captain, Priority Fail Racing
1997 Golf GTI VR6 Mid Engine

Re: Data logging/telemetry

we use a GPS based system. we like it best for comparing drivers. we all do better in some portion of a track than others on the team. since comparing how we each of us approach different areas of a particular track, we have all improved. great example is the carousel at Summit Point. 3 of the guys on the team were pulling 1.6g in that turn, and the fourth showed 1.95g. so we knew the car could do more there...

John

Nemesis Ridiculii 240SX

Re: Data logging/telemetry

Analysis of race laps has been far less useful to us than analysis of HPDE laps for driver improvement. I rarely do race lap data analysis any more, but still get a lot out of HPDE lap analysis, especially if I can con someone faster than me into driving the car. There's just too much stuff going on in a race.

We used some phone-based stuff, and then switched to an AIM Solo and love it. It sells for about $400, is completely self-contained, battery powered, waterproof, and has a built-in display. It's also incredibly easy to use.

Everybody grab your brooms, it's shenanigans!

Re: Data logging/telemetry

What does the solo do that a phone app doesn't? Aren't most phone units with remote GPS doing 10Hz?

I hear Samsung Galaxy Note 7's can be gotten pretty cheap right now.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: Data logging/telemetry

The Solo just works. It doesn't need a remote GPS; it's all in one small unit. It's waterproof and ruggedized, and the LCD display is immune to sunlight. It snaps in to the magnetic mount, I hit the power button, and go drive the car. I have a suction cup mount for it so I can easily take it in friend's or student's cars to log their laps. It has a couple of buttons that let me quickly step through display modes, including a sector timing mode with real-time sector differential times that let me instantly see if what I just did was better or worse than what I did before. It has enough storage to log everything all day, and the Race Studio analysis SW is easy to use. I've used phone SW before, and I don't know that the Solo does anything that you can't do in phone SW, but after using both, I'm happy that we spent the money on a dedicated solution. I think that back when a data logger cost $1000 and the display was extra, I'd have used a phone app, but for $400 all-in, I'll take the Solo.

For $300 more, it has an OBD2/CAN port and will log all of the fun stuff that your car's ECU keeps track of. I've never had a use for that, but Ricky likes it.

Everybody grab your brooms, it's shenanigans!

Re: Data logging/telemetry

Cool, now to convince a team member that they must have it....

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

8 (edited by shamwow 2016-11-04 11:37 AM)

Re: Data logging/telemetry

In Lemons, keeping an eye on your lap time isn't often that important.

As a team captain, I am normally more worried about the condition of the car, and that's something that the lap timer cant really tell you. 

Real-time data logging is where its at and Race Capture has an awesome system for this. 

basically, 1) buy their datalogger unit and plug a bunch of channels into it. Like temperature and pressure sensors, fuel level, etc.
2)buy an android tablet and mount it to your dash. The race capture now outputs all the data to the driver as gages
3)pop a 4G card into the race capture and now the guys in the pits can view that same data-both real time and historical.

The unit has built in GPS and accelerometers as well, so bonus, you get the lap time data as well.  If you really want to judge the driver, you can later add throttle position sensors and brake pressure sensors.


I really want to put the race capture in our car. For $500 its a sweet setup.

Mike @ Charnal House Inc.
Like us on Facebook!
Or send us a message at CharnalHouse@gmail.com

Re: Data logging/telemetry

We set lap time targets for drivers to keep them from driving the brakes/tires/engine-internals off of the car.

Everybody grab your brooms, it's shenanigans!

Re: Data logging/telemetry

we've used phones in the past for communicating with drivers/lap timing etc.  may be able to find a nice BT based datalogger to also add on.

Re: Data logging/telemetry

+1 on the RaceCapture.
plus it allows remote monitoring of track position, fuel level, engine temp etc.  It also really reduces the need for much of of the radio communication we used to do.
The predictive lap time feature is really great as a training aid, but not much use in the race.
Pete

Re: Data logging/telemetry

Guildenstern wrote:

What does the solo do that a phone app doesn't?

100Hz GPS in a package that's waterproof and survives temperatures that would set your phone on fire. The overheating cellphone crap is what drove me to buying the solo. I did opt for the more costly "DL" so it can log data from any ECU it understands. That's not important for Duff, being OBD-1 there's nothing to log. However, that's not the only car the solo has ever visited. In my VW, it needs to be wired directly to the ECU -- K-line is functional, but too slow. In many other cars, the OBD-II connector exposes the necessary CAN (or serial) interface.

The best part of the AIM is It Just Works(tm). We have it tied to the car's power, so it powers on/off on it's own. Plus, it's logging and displaying the car battery voltage, so a thrown alternator belt can be seen very quickly. (and tell on you!)

(I'll have to ping AIM to see if they know how to talk to a Curtis controller. :-))

Duff Beer Civic (#128) -- 2014 Sebring - Class B (#1 of 7), 2016 Barber - Class B
1981 Jet Electrica 007 [Plymouth Horizon TC3] (#128) -- Mk.1 - Index of Effluency Eco (IOEe) @ 2016 Lemons South Fall, Mk.2 - Judges' Choice @ 2017 'Shine Country Classic, Mk.3 - Index of Effluency @ 2017 Southern Discomfort