Rob P

Just wanted to know what is recommended.

davidfarmer

Racechrono is new and pretty awesome! Tell them I said hello!

http://mh-motorsports.com/laptimers.htm

Charley Hoyt

David, this product looks very interesting. Have you tried it? How does it compare to a traqmate?

fatbillybob

for down dirty quick and easy trackmaster for android phones was within 3/100ths of a sec. of my official time as my phone was sliding around in my C5's center console. TM can do splittimes etc...

mfquinn

And, if you are an iPhone user, yes there is an app for that. TrackPro

rbl

Mine!


GPXT - 10 tracks, split times and more

ssdeuce

I like the price and they have a rental program

Aardwolf

Oven timer or get times off video.

NOSLO6

Or Harry's Laptimer which can overlay data / times on iPhone 4 vid.

With an ebay better GPS antenna it works well enough for HPDE and having fun.

sebdavid

iPhone update rate is 1Hz, isn't it? Even with a good antenna and good satellite lock, to me that's far from being precise enough for what we do... Great for running, not so great for track driving.

This looks more promising for iDevices: http://www.maxqdata.com/Quantum.htm

fatbillybob

ny htc is only 1hz but is accurate as I posted above. most of these phone also can use a 5hz bluetooth gps for less than 50 bucks and get you all the speed you need.

ssdeuce

I bought this late last season and haven't had a chance to use it yet. Glad to know it works well. I bought the Tomtom antenna for my Ipod touch.

mfquinn

Update: TrackPro's new update will allow video. However for another $10. They are way over priced now and don't give the functionality that Harry's GPS LapTimer has (which includes video) and is cheaper. I won't be using my TrackPro anymore.

Thanks for the heads up on a great product NOSL06. And Harry answers emails when you have questions really fast. I am amazed.

mhoward1

Good day all,
My name is Marty and I have gotten a few emails from some of you so that I have answered, but I thought it would be a good idea to log in and see if there are any questions I could answer for everyone to see. First and foremost thanks to David for the recommendation. Looking forward to getting out there again with you in February. Some of the questions sent were
1. What do you offer with each package
2. What makes the RC different that what’s out there
3. Do you have predictive lap timing
4. Details on the PC Pro


Here’s what we offer with the RC-pro and RC-pro with OBDKey. Our real strength is a great display, real time feed back with colors, data review at the track without having to download, and easy to use interface. We offer segment feedback and overall lap time feedback and not just predictive overall lap time. Predictive lap times are somewhat useful but it also has some draw backs. If you working on a particular section or sections then you will need to keep track of the time as you enter and exit each section to see how what you did effected the time. It’s a good way to keep track of progress as a whole for the lap but a little difficult to track section by section and isolate changes. If you gained time in one area but lost it in another then the predicted time will be harder to estimate what worked and what didn’t. It is easier though to just start out and track your overall progress with no pre-trap set up.

With defined segments/traps you see how what you did effected not only the overall lap time but also how much you gained in speed and time for that section alone right after you go through. A simple +/- time display with easy visual cues for a quick glace can be very helpful in real time. It does require some planning ahead of time to place the traps and segments in appropriate spots

Here are some other details on the RC-pro packages:

• Great PC based software
• Bluetooth so no wiring needed
• GPS sampling at 10 HZ
• Simplified software on the unit itself so data can be reviewed in the car while the session is still fresh
• Real time feed back while on the track that requires little attention due to simple color effects (green if better, Red if slower, blue if the same as the comparison which can be best lap, last lap, optimal lap, or other person/session lap)
• Easy course mapping and separate optional start and finish line traps. Mapping a trap is as easy as starting the units, then walking the AutoX course adding the start and finish lines as you walk with a simple button push.
• All traps and travel routes include bearing so you can overlap but still mark them separate.
• Real time lap and sector speed display
• Gauge display for unit or OBDII readouts
• Timing for:
o Lap Times (documented to be within .05 seconds of AMB lap times)
o Sectors
o Splits
o Trap Speeds
o Hi/Lo Speeds
o Traveled Route Map
• Performance tests include
 1/4 mile
 1000 metre
 1 mile
 0-60 mph
 0-100 kph
 0-100 mph
 0-200 kph
 80-120 kph
 60-160 kph
 100-200 kph
 And More
• OBDII Channels that can be recorded with the Lap Data:
o Engine RPM
o Throttle Position
o Throttle %
o Steering %
o MAP
o Calculated Load Value
o Coolant Temperature
o Fuel System Status
o Vehicle Speed
o Short Term Fuel Trim
o Long Term Fuel Trim
o Intake Manifold Pressure
o Timing Advance
o Intake Air Temperature
o Air Flow Rate
o Absolute Throttle Position
o Up to 8 Oxygen sensors voltages/associated short term fuel trims
o Fuel System status
o Fuel Pressure
o Many others
• Circuit Tools and Race Analyst data compatibility
• Data sharing with VBox, RL DL1, Motec, GXP3 and other systems
• Video overlay software included
• Data definition in TrackVision
• Over 200 pre-defined track in the track library

Are there any other questions I can answer here?

Charley Hoyt

This looks like a great unit....but I have a couple of questions. How are the video graphics? Is the example of your web site a good representation? Also how does the track mapping work on tracks not listed in your library (for example California speedway)? How does the video results compare to other units like Traqmate?

Thanks for the help.

mhoward1

Hi Charley,

There are two main ways to create the video's you see on the website. The first is the free software that comes with the units or downloadable from the website called RC2Avi. This creates a video overlay file with the RC data. You then use a video editing program to merge your digital Camera video and the video overlay files. The RC2Avi program is decent and they have some nice dashboard built you can get off the web.
Samples:
My simple gauges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb6btarxASs
Better ones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCB4DrXcVMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBfS_eCeeoM

The second most popular was is using the TrackVision software. With this everything is done within the program and you can just open your RC data directly and it does all the video merging. This is a paid program though but has VERY nice dashboards in it and handles more information and displays.
Samples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irpd2lffGY0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZ-39tG9LQ
http://vimeo.com/1760529

All of these were all using RC-pro Units to record the data. Since we sample at over double the Traqmate GPS rate our data is pretty darn good.

Mapping a new track is very easy to do, and can be done at the time or after you run a session.
Adding a track real time.

1. Turn on the RC-pro
2. Select New Session
3. Optional – name the session under Session Title
4. Click Track and select Create New
5. Click Start
6. Click on start live timer (you will see the message “start line not defined”
7. Drive to an area next to the start/finish line such as the pit lane
8. Click on Add trap
9. Select Start/finish line
10. Run your session

Adding a track afterwards.
1. Turn on the RC-pro
2. Select New Session
3. Optional – name the session under Session Title
4. Click Track and select Create New
5. Click Start
6. Run your session
7. When finished click on back until you are back at the previous sessions menu (you will need to say yes to pause session
8. Select the session you just created
9. Select browse traps
10. Select Add New
11. Use the left and right arrows to “drive” the red car to the point where you want the start/finish line to be or track split. The arrow on the car shows the direction the car was driving at that moment.
12. One the start/finish is complete you should see laps and lap times:

One of the nice things we offer is either a single start/finish line or they can be mapped separately. All of our traps also include bearing information so the track or course can overlap and double back and the units will know it’s different.

davidfarmer

I have Harrys' Lap Timer, and while it is better than nothing, it is not accurate enough to be very useful. The maps are pretty distorted, and the lap times vary greatly.

Trackmate is very popular, but I think Racechrono is the future of data capture. I demo's it at NCCAR and was blown away. It is beautiful, intuitive, integrates with OBD info, and is powerful and affordable. I plan on getting on as soon as soon as I pay for everything else I have to buy!

Thanks for chiming in Marty!

drivinhard

most folks just use a $1k traqmate as a fancy laptimer

hamdog

I use Racelogic Performance Box. GPS based Data logger, lap timer, performance measuring for $500. It's a nice product in the mid price point.

sebdavid

Hamdog, are you integrating any additional data inputs to yhe performancebox, such as rpm, brake, throttle position, etc.?

Have you tried to do video overlay?