tbran6

I'm considering the new BlackVue cam for a PDR.

https://www.blackvue.com/dr900s-2ch/

Anyone using this as a PDR? or have thoughts on this, or other suggestions?

thanks friends.

ASTROCREEP

This looks like just a nice dash cam. The PDR in the vette also saves telemetry. That can be viewed with the cosworth tool box.

This unit does not as far as I know.

X25

You just need a cheap OBD-II transponder, and probably also a GPS transponder for higher frequency data, and you can do you own version very easily. The video below is when I switched to a cam with optical image stabilization (Sony FDR-X3000); so much better than GoPros I've used before.

bullitt4110

Is that with that with Harry’s lap timer?

tbran6

I was thinking if I used the Blackvue as the PDR cam, I would then get a GPS and an ODBII model. The ODBII module would read the telemetry data correct?

tbran6

Thank you for the info. Mind sharing what GPS transponder your using?

X25

It's RaceChrono, and video was created by RaceRender.
I've been using XGPS160, lately. There are quite a few units at 10Hz like this one, and it's honestly hard to wrong.

MarkRacerX

Waylens is an option too, live data mph/g force/rpm , 0-60mph, 1/4mi , GPS lap timer and more! Android / Apple app to make setup easy, record on/off. Leaderboard also in the app to see how you stack up among other users. Pretty nice overview, good video quality dashcam. I used Waylens in my GTR before getting my Z06 with PDR.

https://www.waylens.com/horizon

Flame Red

Anyone else have experiences with any other all-in-one PDR replacement? I looked at this Waylen unit and it had some really bad reviews on Amazon.

I upgraded my HMI and my PDR stopped working. I thought it might be cheaper to buy an aftermarket unit than to figure out how to get the GM unit working.

Bryansuavo

​​​​​​I have the rhinkware 800 pro. Love it.

tbran6

You're using the Thinkware 800 as a PDR cam?

Bill Dearborn

There are ways to duplicate the PDR but not always as simple as most people think. If you are using an App like Harry's Lap Timer or Trackmaster on a smart phone you will need to tie in a GPS receiver that refreshes at 5 or 10 Hz Vs the cell phone's 1 Hz rate. The GPS receiver can pose a mounting problem since ones like the XGPS160 need to be where they can access the GPS satellites and are just small rectangular boxes that need to be fastened down. You will also need to tie in a scan tool plugged into the OBD port that ties to the smart phone as well. I hate things tied into the OBD port while I am driving. I seem to hit them with my left leg all the time. Then you need to provide some power for the smart phone as the data apps I have used really suck power and the phone quickly depletes its charge. If you aren't using the smart phone to capture video you need a camera. Once you get home you need a PC so you can use Race Render to make a combined video. That also involves converting the data csv file to a data video that can be loaded into RaceRender along with the actual video. I always found synching the data collected with the smart phone and the actual video was fairly difficult. You can get close without too much trouble but you can't get exact without a lot of work and making sure you have some reference marks recorded so you can bring them together. I used to loudly say "Mark" or wave my hand in front of the camera when I went across the start finish line so I had a reference of some sort in the video. I could then use that reference point to slide the data file video so it's start finish mark lined up with the mark in the video.

All of that stuff is automatically taken care of in the PDR and no post processing is necessary. Instead of 3 or 4 things hanging around in the car you have a camera installed behind a panel next to the rear view mirror, some electronics installed down in the passenger side foot well and an SD card reader/writer installed in the glove compartment. Then you have the free Cosworth Tool Box available to analyze data along with the free Pi Toolbox light or the Professional Pi Tool Box.

I have seen data installations that combine all of that stuff the same way as the PDR but they usually cost more than the PDR and they take up a lot of room in the car and need to be fastened down.

Bill

tbran6

Thanks Bill.

Good info. question, what is the GPS hz in the built-in C7 PDR?

X25

Bill, you should also mention what you get "in addition", once you set that up. Below is my take on Pros/Cons
Pros:

• Very cheap. The 10Hz GPS dongles start from $80. Ultra small OBD II reader is $13, and PC app is free or up to $20, depending on which one you like.
• You can customize your layout. Put your gauges on the left, or top, or put your second video feed at a corner, or add other gauges you prefer; all very easy to do.
• The phone app gives you all the information LIVE! This is the biggest benefit in my opinion. The lap timer app will give you the information on how you're doing with the current lap with a simple glance. It'll tell you your delta with your best lap of session, and can even show you sector time deltas (though it's hard to glance that info, so I don't look at sector times).
• You can fix issues with data very easily. For instance, you can correct the speed you display if you're running different diameter tires; as simple as adding a correction factor to the input data settings.
• The video output is much better quality. I used Sony FDR-X3000, which is full HD AND has optical image stabilization, which removes all the shake. Colors are also correct, not dimm like PDR camera's output.
• Speaking of which, you can also get your body moves into the video. That little steering wheel icon doesn't help me enough to understand steering inputs in PDR videos.

Cons:

• Not as simple to use as PDR; customizability means initial setup time for which data to log, how to lay them out on screen, etc. You also need to sync, though it's very easy if you are capturing the phone screen in the video.
• You need to charge your GPS transponder before the event; that usually have about 10 hrs active runtime, which is enough for about 2 days.
• You need a good place for the camera to mount. I have harness bar, so I have no issues, but there's not much else to mount on for a nice on center video.

tbran6

Anyone know how many hz's the Cosworth GPS is? I've looked in the 2019 Infotainment and owners manuals and didn't see it.

bullitt4110

And as awesome as the factory PDR is, if you have a 1LT/1LZ like myself you’re limited to the aftermarket solutions. A little more pricey but has anyone tried the AiM solo with a camera compared to doing a smart phone set up with all the add ons?

ROBMARZ

I had the Aim SOLO DL with a GoPro in my C6 and like Bill said it was a chore to sync the two but doable. The analysis software was good for comparing laps etc

Overall, I liked it and it worked well

dfettero

The
ScanTool 426101 OBDLink MX Bluetooth

works well with Harry's lap timer and my HTC11U video

tbran6

In your video I see that the overlay MPH is always behind from what the speedometer MPH is showing. Would a 20Ghz GPS help with that?

X25

The speed reading is actually from OBD, not GPS. As such, the GPS refresh rate has no impact.

The Corvettes' dash has a very slow refresh rate, so it's hard to cross check, but since I have the data, I usually do corrections for the actual tire diameter (vs stock) so the speed reading on the video would be very accurate. As such, if it's reading slower, it is likely since I'm using a shorter diameter tire, and correcting the speedometer readings on overlay data. This is one of the luxuries not available with PDR.